Danesha Sapp Discusses Her Urban Salon Finder App – GoNappturale, Pt. 1

This story is close to my heart (and my wife’s head). My wife has ALWAYS had “difficulties” finding a decent hair stylist. When she went natural several years ago, it just made matters worse. Searching all the “Black Pages” sites turned up disconnected phone numbers, shabby website construction with missing information, and plain old split dead ends.

So when I stumbled upon the GoNappturale iPhone app (now also available for Android and BlackBerry) that finds urban salons AND black-owned beauty supply stores (which is a WHOLE ‘nother post in and of itself), I felt I needed to do my part to spread the word. So part 1 of my story, I am going to focus on the actual GoNappturale App and do an app breakdown:

Here is the short and sweet about the app from Danesha Sapp, app developer of GoNappturale and co-founder of Matriarc Media:

GoNappturale is a mobile application that provides women of color with a resource that is important to them and simplifies their life. By bringing salon information to the user’s mobile device, we omit hours of research that would normally be done via archaic tools like Yellow Pages or limited Google or Yelp searches.

We provide targeted search for our core audience, so that they don’t have to do the frustrating footwork. Ladies can search for full service or natural hair salons with on click OR if they are looking for black-owned beauty supply stores, they have the option to search for those nearest them while using the app as well. We want to circulate dollars within the black community, and reinforce the importance of taking back industries that we dominate such as the beauty supply industry.

The GoNappturale app does just that. Open up the app and you now have a number of options to pick from (Full service salons, natural salons, your search history, etc). Once you decide which option suits you best and allowing the app to use your current location, you are taken to a list of salons in your area with additional information about the salon. You can call the salon, bookmark it for later, or using your smartphone’s installed map application, get directions to the salon.

Yeah I know, going to another hair stylist is considered a sin punishable by death (or a bad perm, whichever is worse) in the black community. But if you MUST venture out in search of a new stylist or if you’re from out of town and need an “emergency wash-n-set” you can hit up the GoNappturale app on your smartphone and quickly find an urban salon.

Stay tuned for part two of this story, where I get into the creation of GoNappturale and some tips on mobile app development from the Danesha Sapp, co-founder of Matriarc Media, the company behind GoNappturale.

About the Author
Terrance Gaines is a husband, father and self-proclaimed Technology Evangelist who shares tech news, reviews, tips and tricks on his blog BrothaTech.com as well as other sites and in print media. You can also find him talking "all things tech" on Twitter @BrothaTech.
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