No cash, no problem. Sending cash has just gotten a lot easier. Introducing "Bravo" a new simple and convenient way to tip for service.
"Now you don't have to say, 'sorry I don't have any cash, I can't tip you.' Now you have a solution," said Maria Luna CEO and Co-Founder of Bravo.
Luna, along with COO and co-founder Hector Rodriguez, developed the app over 2 years ago. Their inspiration was to help those who work in the gratuity market.
"There was nothing that allows a person to pay for a service without exchanging personal information besides swiping a card, said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez explains that it's very simple to use.
"Once you set up an account and plug in your bank information you’re good to go," said Rodriguez. "To find someone just search for their username. If they're nearby, they'll appear in the dashboard. Just click on them, plug in the amount, and in seconds the tip is on its way."
Luna and Rodriguez say the app is very secure.
They say it’s the best and most secure way to transfer payments with strangers who are providing a service for you.
Rodriguez and Luna said Bravo is unlike other apps that are more ‘peer-to-peer’, and share your information with the person you’re working a transaction with.
“You create a wallet that is not shared, it's encrypted and tokenized,” said Luna.
Once the transaction is complete, that ‘token’ is destroyed.
They claim other apps don’t work towards tipping and small merchants. Their app looks to fill that niche in the market.
“You share the love, not the information,” added Luna.
Through their data and logistic research, the duo says they have found tremendous success for those who live off of tips.
“We followed 115 of our users and followed how their income changed after using Bravo, and it increased by 30%,” said Luna.
Don’t believe them? Take the word of one of the companies that encourages their employees to use the app.
“Our employees weren’t able to accept all the gratuities that they could because people weren’t carrying cash. Guests were discouraged by valet because they didn’t have cash, and they’d be embarrassed. On the restaurant side people would use their bartenders and staff as an ATM,” said Ryan Rabish, owner of Integrity and Desert Valet Parking.
Rabish said they even market Bravo on their valet tickets, and at all 20 locations where they valet for.
He says every single one of his employees uses the app.
Rabish said it’s easy, convenient, simple, secure and the money goes directly to the employee.
His employees have been using the app since early 2016.
Luna and Rodriguez, who are local entrepreneurs, received support from the ASU community-based entrepreneur program, Venture Devils, for their app. Now, they have more to celebrate as they prepare to present their app to the “Sharks” on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” Sunday night.
Will their app be the bait needed to reel in those sharks? Find out Sunday night at 9 p.m. on ABC’s Shark Tank.
To learn more about the app head over to trybravo.com
