No matter how you get your news, sifting through information about political issues and candidates can easily become overwhelming. That’s especially the case ahead of big elections. Platformative founder Matt D'Avirro wanted to help change that, so he used Bubble to build the no-nonsense candidate comparison app he’d been imagining for ages. Matt shared his vision for Platformative and his hopes of making it easier to be an informed voter. He plans to continue growing his Bubble app across Canada and hopes to offer the platform in United States elections in the future.
Tell us about your app and what it does.
Platformative is a web app for comparing candidates in an election. Politics has become so divided and negative, especially on the internet. Platformative allows voters to learn more about their candidates in a way that is direct, unbiased, concise, and policy-focused. My hope is that Platformative can help educate voters, reduce partisanship, and remind people that it isn’t “us versus them”; it’s just “us.”
How does your app work?
When you visit Platformative, you’ll be able to find the election riding or district of your choice, then click to learn where your candidates stand on important issues and compare them. Candidates are always displayed side-by-side and in a randomized order to ensure there is no placement bias.
If you’re a candidate, submitting your profile (or “platform”) is easy. Just click the "I'm a Candidate" button, sign up using a verification code provided, fill out your candidate profile, and hit submit. Then your platform will appear beside your fellow candidates.
Tell us a little about your background and how you discovered no-code tools like Bubble.
During the day, I work in marketing operations for a SaaS company. So I have some technical background, but I am by NO MEANS a developer. I’ve had this idea for over 4 years, but I hemmed and hawed over how I could get enough funds together to hire a developer to build it.
One day, an Instagram ad for Bubble caught my eye, and since it was the middle of a pandemic with no social life to distract me, I dove into learning and building. (So give your digital marketing person a raise, because that was one well-targeted ad.)
Why did you build your app on Bubble?
Bubble was exactly what I was looking for. It was fairly simple to build every feature I wanted in my app. And whenever I hit a roadblock, everyone in the forums was extremely friendly and helpful. Plus, it was nice to be able to build “for free” because I spent ~18 months working on it in my spare time.
What have been your milestones or successes so far?
Platformative was officially launched on April 2, 2022. For our initial run, I am focusing on the Ontario Provincial election taking place on June 2, 2022. Thirteen candidates have already submitted their platforms to the app, and we’re averaging over 100 unique users a day.
What are your future plans for your app?
I plan to continue adding elections, starting within Canada (Ontario Municipal elections and Quebec Provincial elections by the end of 2022) and aiming to be in the US market in time for the 2024 election cycle.
I also plan to add scalability features like identity verification, as well as a subscription model.
Learn more about Platformative: Twitter | Facebook | Email
About Bubble
Bubble is a leader in the no-code movement. Bubble offers a powerful point-and-click web editor and cloud hosting platform that allows users to build fully customizable web applications and workflows, ranging from simple prototypes to complex marketplaces, SaaS products, and more. Over 500,000 users are currently building and launching businesses on Bubble – many have gone on to participate in top accelerator programs, such as Y Combinator, and even raise $365M in venture funding. Bubble is more than just a product. We are a strong community of builders and entrepreneurs that are united by the belief that everyone should be able to create technology.