OrenPeli,whowroteanddirectedtheenormouslysuccessfulfilmParanormalActivity,islaunchinganewiOSandAndroidappdesignedtohelpuserscreate,find,andjoinlocalevents.Spot‘slaunchmightbedoublysurprising—notonlyisPelilaunchinganapp,butitseemslikeanoddideatocomefromsomeonebestknownforhorrormovies(healsoproducedtheParanormalActivitysequelsandtheInsidiousfilms)egripvt30w.However,Pelitoldmethatbeforemovingintomovies,heactuallystartedhiscareerasadeveloperofanimationsoftwareandvideogames.Soinsomeways,he’ssimplyreturningtohisoldcareer.TheappalsoaddressesaproblemPelisaidhewasfacingafterfindinghimselfsingleagainandfeelingthatstandardone-on-onecoffeedateswerestartingtofeel“alittlemonotonous.”Whatif,instead,therewasanappthathelpedpeopleconnectaroundsharedactivitiesandinterests?Therehaveplentyofstartupssittingtheintersectionofsocial,localandmobile,enoughthattheindustryspawneditsownobnoxiousbuzzword,butPeliishopingSpotcanriseabovetherestbymakingitassimpleaspossibletojointheseeventsyoubeauty.TheSpotappallowspeopletocreateeventsinfourcategories:Hobbies,sports,communityeventsandsinglesevents.Youcansearchforeventsbykeyword,orjustbringupamapshowingwhat’snearby.Eventscanbepublicorprivate,they’reshareableviasocialmediaandparticipantscanchatwitheachotherthroughtheapp.“Spot’stechnologymeansIcancreateeventsforjustafewpeopleorlargeevents,”Pelisaid.“It’saneasywaytosay,‘Hey,Iwanttogohikingthisafternoon,doesanyonewanttocomewithme?&39;”Whenaskedaboutsafety,PelinotedthatuserscreateaSpotaccountbyconnectingtoFacebook,Googleoremail,andtheycanalsoearnaverifieduserstickerbyverifyingtheirphonenumberoverSMS.Inaddition,eventorganizerscanbanusersfromtheireventsandreportinappropriatebehavior.Still,itseemslikeSpotistakingafairlyhands-offapproachtotheissue.“Ithinkthatwithalittlebitofcommonsense,wecanhaveaveryniceandpositivecommunity,”Pelisaid.“Wewon’tallowanythingunpleasant.Ifanyone’sharassinganyone,we’lltakecareofthat[bywarningorbanningusers].”Spotisavailableglobally,butPelisaidtheinitialfocusisonbuildingacommunityinLosAngeles.Theappisfree.Eventually,PelisaidSpotcouldmakemoneythroughadvertisingandbyfeaturingdealsfromlocalbusinessesManagedCloud..AsforwhetherPeli’stimeinHollywoodhasaffectedthewayhe’sapproachinghisnewstartup,hesaiditwasreallytheotherwayaround:“WhenIgotintofilmwithParanormalActivity,myexperienceasavideogameprogrammermademecomfortablewithallthetechnologicalaspectsofit.Idon’tknowthattheHollywoodexperiencehadasimilareffect.”https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/02/oren-peli-launches-spot/