Among the thousands of start-ups found at Lisbon’s Web Summit, the Basirly app was one that stood out – this was partly due to its potential and innovative idea, and partly due to its outlandish concept.
I sat down with Ayman Itani, the Digital Strategist at Basirly, to tell me more.
Launched in Lebanon, Basirly is a fortune telling app that offers palm reading and love counselling amongst many other services.
So how does it exactly work?
“The app basically connects users with certified fortune tellers all around the world. You choose your own fortune teller, send them information such as a picture or a voice recording, and they send a voice recording back.” Explained Ayman. “They are completely vetted so when you receive a fortune telling, you rate the Seer. If their performance goes down, they’re removed from the app.”
Seems simple enough. But how have the app developers found fusing such an ancient trade with modern technology?
“This Middle Eastern culture is one that has not been touched by technology. It’s a very old trade where the reading aspect remains the same, but we have created a platform where it’s available for all.”
Basirly is currently very popular in the Arab world, where the app saw 200,000 users in the first six months. Recently launched in English, Ayman promises that the app will be making its presence known in the UK and Europe.
“There is lots of room for growth. There is much more depth in the market as well as horizontal growth” he says.
Lots of potential on the fortune telling cards for Blasirly then. But finally, I had to ask: what about all those who are not fully convinced by the concept of fortune telling?
Of course, Ayman told me, without hesitation, that there are no such people. Whilst cynics like me might say we are sceptical aloud, everyone is curious.
“A lot of people say publicly they are sceptical but use the app discreetly. We see these people using it more and more from the comfort of their own home, they don’t have to leave the house to find a psychic reader.”
Download Basirly from the iTunes store and Google Play now.