Social Discovery Explained

Gary Schofield

A Silicon Valley entrepreneur with experience at a number of successful startup companies in the area, Gary Schofield is the founder and chief executive officer of Ravel Labs. As the head of the social discovery mobile app developer, Gary Schofield draws upon a background in the gaming sector to deliver a one-of-a-kind social discovery experience.

Characterized by the identification of information about things, people, or places, social discovery has emerged as one of the most prominent functions of mobile apps in recent years. Social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter facilitate social discovery in a wide variety of areas. Some of the most innovative new technologies involve maximizing the efficiency and relevancy of the social discovery process.

Unlike years past, when people received information on a given product from official sources in a top-down manner, social discovery enables users to access reviews, instructions, and tips from each other. Social discovery also plays a central role in dating and event apps, which have a tangible impact on people’s lives. As technology improves developers’ ability to match content with user interests, social discovery will continue to grow as a means of information sharing.

UnRavel App Provides a Fun Way to Meet and Date

UnRavel App
Image: iTunes

With over two decades in the tech, marketing, management, and sales fields, Gary Schofield has been at the helm of several startups and large companies, including Digital Chocolate, Mobile Money Ventures, and Amobee Media Systems, which he sold for $321 million. Currently, Gary Schofield is the CEO of tech startup UnRavel, a company he founded.

UnRavel is a social media app designed in part to address the millennial generation’s desire for connection within increasingly busy and tech-filled lives. Current popular apps for dating or meeting people are either too time-consuming or too disconnected, and UnRavel provides an alternative that’s fun and casual but adds a layer of depth. UnRavel provides a game-like platform on which participants use trivia questions about each other. This makes it easier to get to know friends better and quickly learn interesting facts about people the users might want to meet or date.

Users create a profile with a number of levels that each contain a different photo and a question about themselves. Matched users can see the question and guess the answer. If they get it right, the photo is revealed. When people are engaging with each other’s profiles, they can also chat within the app.

The startup is supported by top venture capital firms Redpoint and Benchmark.