LikFind your taste.
Find your people.

Discover food.
Play the world.

A gamified food discovery app built on food reviews.

Find your next favorite dish. Turn honest reviews into earned expertise—and everyday meals into a food journey worth sharing.

See Lik in actionThe investor thesis

In development. Explore the product below.

Home with Billboard; running development app with fictional sample data

Inside the actual app. Screens throughout this page show the running development app with fictional sample data. Tap a screen to open the complete capture.

A great meal is
just the beginning.

A Lik is a review. Your experience becomes more than a memory. It shapes your taste, helps someone else choose and gives great restaurants a way to earn recognition.

  1. DiscoverFind food worth trying.
  2. ReviewShare your honest experience.
  3. EarnBuild your taste expertise.
  4. ShareHelp your community choose.
  5. ReturnKeep the adventure going.

Find your next
great bite.

01 · Discover

“Where should we eat?”
“What should I order?”
Start with the food—and the people who know it.

Explore restaurants and specific dishes through food ratings, dish and restaurant leaderboards, and community reviews. Open the place behind a discovery, then find it on the Map.

Great food, in context.
Reviews and rankings help you understand where a dish or restaurant stands.
A choice that fits you.
Taste Match adds your preferences. Shared Match brings your table into the choice, with permission.
See how reviews earn credibility →
Explore food discovery; running development app with fictional sample dataSalmon and tuna rolls with sesame and fresh greens
Explore · Actual app, fictional sample data
A double smashburger on a wooden tableVenture Quests and Bounties; running development app with fictional sample data
Venture · Actual app, fictional sample data

Give your next meal
a little adventure.

02 · Play

Follow a food trail. Compare a local specialty. Try something you might never have ordered.

Venture brings Quests and Bounties together. Quests give exploration a goal; Bounties invite useful reviews of particular food. Each experience adds another chapter to your Passport.

The adventure happens in the real world, with food, places and people. Arcade adds playful mini-games between your food adventures, with its own records.

Honesty is part of the game. Bounties recognize qualifying reviews regardless of sentiment. Incentives stay disclosed.

Discover the direction for Lik Seasons →

Your experience
earns a voice.

03 · Earn

Passport turns individual meals into something that is yours: taste, specialties, levels, memories and a journey.

Your food and cuisine levels connect to your rank and the credibility of your reviews. Useful, reliable contributions build expertise and earn more influence when the community assesses reviews.

A ramen review has a story behind it. A reviewer’s relevant experience gives you context for their judgment. Lik’s meritocracy of taste makes that expertise visible.

Dish and product Lik Scores are out of 10. Restaurant ratings use five stars. Food quality, your personal Taste Match and your progress each answer a different question.

Explore expertise, rank and review credibility →
Passport taste and progress; running development app with fictional sample dataPassport cuisine specialties; running development app with fictional sample data
Passport · Actual app, fictional sample data

A good find gets
better shared.

Your next favorite place might come from a friend, a neighborhood Guide or someone who knows a cuisine inside out. Your own experience can do the same for someone else.

An inviting neighborhood café and chalkboardAn illustrative scene of three friends sharing ramen, dumplings and sushi at a neighborhood restaurantA warm lantern-lit food street
Food, places and people give the community its character. Illustrative imagery; the shared-table scene is AI-created.

Find your people.

Follow friends, foodies and creators. Explore their discoveries through Home, Trending and LikTV. Choose food for a date, a friend or your table through Shared Taste, with permission.

Build a food world together.

Reviews become useful local knowledge. Guides help others navigate it. Quests and Events give people reasons to explore and gather. Relevant expertise helps the community understand whose judgment carries experience.

From a great first visit
to a familiar face.

For restaurants, discovery is the beginning of a relationship. Lik is built to help people find your food, understand what makes it special and have a reason to return.

Talk about a restaurant pilot →

  1. Be found for what you make.

    Your dishes, menu, place and publishing connect a food discovery to your restaurant. Earn recognition through the food people experience and review.

  2. Join the conversation.

    Useful dish-level reviews reveal what people value. A recognizable business identity lets you publish, respond and build an audience around your food.

  3. Give regulars a reason to return.

    The direction connects Quests, honest-review Bounties, opt-in loyalty and food experiences to an ongoing relationship. Lik for Business is the entry; Restaurant OS adds deeper operational tools.

Trust is shared by diners and restaurants. Official replies keep the reviewer’s voice intact. Disclosed promotion can buy visibility; it cannot buy a better food rating.

A food community
that gets more useful.

The investment thesis: turn everyday food decisions into a growing body of dish knowledge and earned reviewer expertise. Quests give people a reason to explore. Passport gives their contributions a lasting identity.

Why switch?
Start with the dish.

Picture this: you have a well-rated restaurant and saved food videos, but still do not know what to order—or whose taste to trust. A restaurant-wide score and an appealing clip leave the dish itself, your preferences and the reviewer’s experience to figure out.

Lik’s first use case is choosing between nearby ramen dishes: compare dish-level ratings, see a reviewer’s relevant food experience and use Taste Match to find a bowl that fits you. The pilot must test whether that context helps people make a better food decision.

Every useful review
adds context.

The potential advantage is the history built together: which foods people enjoy, what reviewers know, and how diners and restaurants connect. If useful contributions improve discovery, that local knowledge becomes more valuable as the community grows. Quests and Passport are designed to keep the contribution loop going.

Recruit first.
Build local depth.

The proposed pilot starts in San Ramon and the Tri-Valley. Its starting cohort would be 25 founding reviewers, 3 local creators and 5 restaurants around a small set of dishes. These are planning targets, not enrolled participants or partner commitments.

Reviewers: personally invite local food enthusiasts through founder outreach and neighborhood food groups. Start with prototype walkthroughs; once the live pilot begins, ask each reviewer for two honest dish reviews and a return visit. Recognize useful contributions regardless of sentiment.

Creators and restaurants: invite creators to build focused local Guides. Meet restaurant owners directly to check menu details, choose a dish for discovery and discuss an opt-in invitation for diners. Record interest before describing anyone as a partner.

Before wider invitations: fund the hosted pilot, establish useful coverage of those dishes and test a focused Quest with the founding cohort. Give newcomers recommendations they can act on from their first visit.

What exists.
What comes next.

Verified product evidence: the running development app can demonstrate food discovery, reviews, Quests and Passport. The screenshots on this page use fictional data.

No usage yet. Beta participation, repeat contributions, user feedback and restaurant interest have not been established as customer evidence.

First, recruit the founding cohort, observe prototype walkthroughs, record user feedback and confirm restaurant interest. Next, fund hosting and start the live pilot. Report cohort size, week-one return, repeat contributions by week four, Quest completion and restaurant willingness to pay. Use those results to decide whether to expand.

One paid offer.
Then repeat locally.

The first proposed paying customer is an independent local restaurant. It would purchase a four-week discovery and return-visit campaign: one featured dish, a disclosed Quest and placement, and a report of participation and opt-in visits. This is the first commercial test, once the campaign and reporting can be delivered.

Test whether diners return, whether the restaurant will renew and whether revenue covers delivery costs. Keep the core diner experience free. Optional six-month Season Passes and food-brand campaigns are later opportunities, after the local loop is proven. Promotion cannot buy a better food rating.

A successful community would provide a playbook for the next nearby neighborhood: recruit reviewers, publish local Guides, establish dish coverage and onboard restaurants. Expansion depends on repeat participation, renewing merchants and sustainable acquisition and delivery costs. Making restaurant setup and reporting repeatable is the path beyond founder-led local operations.

Meet Michael
Dandridge.

Michael is building Lik as a first-time founder. His background includes infantry service in the United States Marine Corps and executive security work at Crisis24.

He draws on his Marine Corps experience in his approach to leadership. Executive security work has put him around founders. He is bringing that perspective to the work of building Lik.

Michael’s background on LinkedIn →

This is the product and business thesis and a proposed pilot, not a report of traction. Recommendation quality, review reliability, retention, merchant demand and economics remain to be demonstrated. Pricing and partner commitments are not announced.

Discuss the pilot and investment milestones →

What we can
show today.

The running iOS app provides a concrete product to demonstrate: Home, food discovery, Quests and Passport. The captures on this page use fictional local data. They demonstrate the interface; measured adoption, retention and restaurant demand are the next evidence to establish. Release availability and commercial workflows need their own validation.

Explore the full feature guide →

There’s a whole food world behind it.

The full feature guide, six-month Seasons and the wider vision.

The app, food rankings and player progress

What each feature is

Choose better.
Choose together.
Build something lasting.

Food discovery is fragmented across maps, reviews, social feeds, delivery services and restaurant apps. Lik brings a person’s preferences and relationships into the decision, then gives the experience somewhere to accumulate.

Home

“What are my people eating?”

Home is a social food feed. Browse posts, reviews and food experiences from the people and places you follow, alongside nearby and recommended discoveries.

Explore

“What should I eat?”

Explore is food search and map-based discovery. Find restaurants, dishes and personalized Picks by location and taste. Nearby or popular food is useful when it fits you.

Trending

“What’s happening in food?”

Trending is a swipeable short-video and photo feed. Scroll through food clips and photos from creators, diners and restaurants, then open the dish, place or product behind a post.

LikTV

“What should I watch?”

LikTV is a long-form video platform for food. Browse creator channels, shows, episodes, recipes and playlists. Food stories connect to the actual dishes, restaurants and products they feature.

Your table + Shared Match

“What will we both enjoy?”

Your table is your list of food relationships; Shared Match is a shared taste-compatibility view. Switch the discovery lens between You, Both of you and the other person across food discovery and Shelf products. Shared Match also supports a table of two to four people, using authorized taste access.

Passport

“What am I building?”

Passport is your personal food profile, history and collection book. Taste, Journey and Achievements bring together favorite dishes, places visited, cuisines explored, stamps and progress that travel with you.

Shelf

“What should I try at home?”

Shelf is a discovery catalog for packaged food and drinks. Browse snacks, beverages and grocery products through taste, reviews and brand relationships. Shared Match helps you choose for someone you care about.

Venture

“What’s my next adventure?”

Venture is the mission board for Quests and Bounties. Find food challenges, accept a mission and track ongoing adventures and progress in one place.

Leaderboard

“Where do I stand?”

Leaderboard is Lik’s standings dashboard, with separate boards for people, dishes, restaurants and Arcade. Compare earned progress and expertise with the community, or browse food rankings. Global, friends and local views, time periods and category filters make the comparison meaningful. Arcade records stay on their own boards.

Dish + restaurant rankings

“Where does this food rank?”

Dish and restaurant rankings are ordered lists based on qualified community reviews. The goal is to give every dish and restaurant in Lik a clear position as review evidence accumulates. Compare food by cuisine, category and location, and follow movement in the standings. Food quality is separate from player XP, personal Taste Match and contextual recommendation order.

Lik’s illustrated food Passport

You’re building a food identity, one experience at a time.

The meal is a moment. Its place in your taste, history and relationships can last.

The real-world food game

The world is the board.
Food is the adventure.

Venture is a mission board for finding and tracking food challenges. Quests turn discovery into challenges. Bounties connect honest reviews to progress. XP, ranks and Passport collections give each experience a place in a longer journey.

Quests

Choose your next mission.

Quests are food challenges with a goal and completion rules. Complete a ramen trail, explore a regional cuisine, finish a taco crawl or build a neighborhood collection. Food discovery becomes a challenge with a destination.

Bounties

Taste it. Review it. Earn progress.

Bounties are assignments to review a specific dish or product. Take one on, try the food and share an honest review. Valid reviews can earn progress regardless of sentiment; incentives remain disclosed. What matters is real experience and useful judgment.

Progression + Arcade

Build your player identity.

Progress that stays with you: XP, cuisine and regional progress, ranks, achievements and Passport collections. Arcade is a collection of short, skill-based mini-games. Play for records, tickets and leaderboard positions between food adventures.

See the Leaderboard and compare earned progress, expertise and food rankings.

Discover → Accept a challenge → Experience → Verify → Earn XP → Collect → Share → Return

XP, reviewing judgment, Lik Coins, Brand Points and money remain separate. The game and reward economy must earn their place through useful participation and retention.

Explore Lik Seasons

Seasons, passes and restaurant communities

Lik Seasons.
A shared food adventure.

The planned six-month Lik Season gives the food world a shared theme: new Quests, local experiences, Passport collections and reasons to gather. A Night Market season could take a different shape in every city, connecting a global food community through local culture.

Make the season your own.

A useful free core keeps discovery, reviews and ordinary participation open. Optional user Season Passes are designed around expression, collecting and experiences: seasonal Passport covers, stamps, profile treatments and special food adventures. Your culinary history gives those collectibles meaning.

Build your restaurant’s next season.

The proposed Restaurant Season Pass gives businesses a defined period of growth and community tools: Quest campaigns, audience insights, loyalty passes and private events. Restaurants fund customer incentives separately from the pass, connecting discovery to reasons to visit again.

One purchase. Six months. Your choice.

The proposed model is a one-time purchase for a six-month season, with no automatic renewal. Each new season has to earn the next purchase. Dates, prices and included benefits will be confirmed before sale.

Restaurant-issued Loyalty Passes are a planned way to join a brand’s community, with opt-in regulars circles, private tastings and invitation-only experiences. Each restaurant sets participation and access; benefits are confirmed by its program.

A pass can buy expression, experiences and useful tools. It cannot buy review authority, better Lik Scores, stronger Taste Match or organic rank. Earned food history stays part of your identity beyond a season.

Taste, Food and Relationship Graphs

The asset underneath

Taste. Food. Relationships.
Three graphs that compound.

Lik’s defensibility thesis is an understanding of preference that carries across restaurants, individual dishes, creators, packaged products, loyalty and commerce.

Taste Graph

What will this person enjoy? Flavors, texture, preparation, spice, budget, novelty and repeated behavior build a richer picture than favorite cuisines alone.

Food Graph

What is this dish, product or place? Connect food attributes with restaurants, brands, menus, content and experiences.

Relationship Graph

Who matters to this person? Friends, brand follows, visits, memberships and rewards give discovery a social and commercial context.

Different evidence answers different questions. Experience records what someone has tried. Expertise asks whose judgment matters for a cuisine or region. Context asks what makes sense now. Social Taste connects overlapping preferences.

The long-term intelligence pipeline: Behavior → Consumer Memory → Semantic Representation → Retrieval → Contextual Ranking → Prediction.

Lik Score

Community food quality informed by qualified experience. A numeric score out of 10.

Taste Match

Personal compatibility: how well a dish or product fits someone’s preferences.

Recommendation rank

Contextual relevance: whether it makes sense to choose this food right now. This personalized order is separate from public dish and restaurant rankings.

These are distinct signals. Commercial spending cannot purchase expertise, better public scores or changes to Taste Match.

Wallet, loyalty and food-brand campaigns

Wallet + Brand Points

One place for your
food relationships.

The goal is to give diners a shared interface for restaurant loyalty without requiring another app for every brand. Participating brands can create Lik-native programs with their own rules, balances and obligations.

Brand Shops

Brand Shops are brand-specific loyalty and reward catalogs. Discover programs, join brands and claim rewards. Each brand controls its earning rules, tiers, eligible locations and reward catalog.

Wallet

Wallet is your digital food-loyalty wallet. See Lik Coins, separate Brand Points, memberships and access. Different brands’ balances never merge; loyalty points are distinct from money.

My Rewards

My Rewards is your collection of claimed rewards. Keep what you already own, with its issuer, rules, expiry and redemption state. Claiming a reward and using it are separate steps.

Infrastructure beneath the experience

A loyalty platform needs more than a points counter.

The development architecture includes versioned programs, separate brand accounts, immutable ledgers, point expiry, owned rewards, redemption sessions, settlement and reversals. Idempotency protects against duplicate earning or redemption on retries.

An owned reward stays Ready until an authorized employee or supported integration confirms fulfillment. Real partner programs and production adapters still need commercial and production validation.

Brand media + sponsored discovery

From a launch moment
to a lasting relationship.

Billboard is an advertising showcase for food-brand campaigns. It works alongside sponsored discovery, Brand Shops, creator content and Quests. The opportunity is advertising informed by food affinity and connected to an actual food destination.

Restaurant & franchise Billboard

A brand destination, beyond the ad.

Premium campaigns for qualified large-scale food brands can feature menu drops, limited-time items, collaborations and major Quests. A campaign can connect brand identity, featured food, menus and nearby locations.

Shelf Billboard

A distinct home for packaged-food brands.

Shelf separates snack, beverage, grocery and packaged-product campaigns from restaurant campaigns. Development includes merchant drafts, creative upload, review, approval, scheduling and aggregate delivery statistics.

Sponsored Shelf discovery

Product placement with clear disclosure.

Native discovery units connect to an exact product and stay visibly distinct from community food content. An advertisement does not create ratings or pretend to be review activity.

Personalization + control

Relevance should respect the diner.

Brand follows, priorities, mutes, alerts and exposure preferences shape the direction of Billboard controls. Taste-based campaign relevance is a commercial opportunity that still needs real demand and economics to prove it.

Advertising can buy disclosed visibility. It cannot change Taste Match, purchase better public ratings or override organic food quality.

LikCon, LikTV and the wider food stage

From neighborhood favorites
to a world food stage.

The longer-term ambition is a culinary circuit people can follow and gather around. Restaurants discovered on Lik could earn a path from local qualifiers to regional competitions and seasonal championships, representing their communities on a larger stage.

LikCon. LikTV. A food world together.

LikCon is envisioned as a gathering for tastings, workshops, food communities and championship events. LikTV could follow the competitors and connect a broadcast to the real food behind it: watch a challenge, visit a restaurant, join a Quest and collect the experience in Passport.

Competition advancement would be earned through performance. Trained, cuisine-relevant Likers could help judge; culinary expertise, fan popularity, game XP and spending would remain distinct.

Let great food open doors.

The ambition extends beyond trophies: recognition and growth support for excellent restaurants. As funding and operating partnerships develop, future awards could support expansion, second locations or relocation through a dedicated real-estate arm.

These are longer-term ambitions. No convention dates, funded prize pools, property awards or guaranteed business outcomes are announced.

Find your taste.
Find your people.

Help people discover food they love. Make their experiences useful to others. Help restaurants reach the people who appreciate what they make.

Talk to the founder

Pilot and investment conversations · founder@lik.app