Site helps customers take review process out of tech purchases

Most shoppers have been there—you want to purchase a product so you take to the Internet to read rating after rating of various brands, models or systems. In the end, it’s hard to decide if you’ve really chosen the best product to suite your needs. Des Moines resident Josiah Thomas hopes to change all that…

RecoEngine allows customers to purchase technology without sifting through endless product reviews. 

Most shoppers have been there—you want to purchase a product so you take to the Internet to read rating after rating of various brands, models or systems. In the end, it’s hard to decide if you’ve really chosen the best product to suite your needs.

Des Moines resident Josiah Thomas hopes to change all that through his company, RecoEngine, which officially launched Tuesday.  

“My colleagues and I intrinsically love technology,” Thomas, the startup’s co-founder and CEO, told Silicon Prairie News. “Most people don’t. They love what technology allows them to do. They see technology as a tool, and our team sees it as their mission to help them find the right one.”

Thomas and co-founder Derek Arnold have bootstrapped the company thus far and currently monetize their product through an agreement with PriceGrabber. Thomas first began developing his idea for RecoEngine in 2009 after his love for computers made him the go-to tech consultant for family members and friends. 

“As time went on, my love of these machines got out,” Thomas (right) said. “A few years later, I eventually became ‘the computer guy,’ and after many years of being asked, ‘Which laptop, desktop, HDTV or smartphone should I buy?’ the idea for RecoEngine hit me.

“If technology companies could somehow compete for your business that would be the best of both worlds. Someone needed to curate those technology recommendations.”

Users simply select the product they wish to purchase—laptop, tablet or desktop computer—along with some specifics about their useage and receive a number of recommendations based on those responses.

Thomas says that a mobile version of the site currently is in the works, but that, by and large, RecoEngine’s focus will remain on simplifying the purchasing process for customers. 

“We have some service-oriented offerings in the queue, but mainly we want to create a simple product that enables people to get the technology they need, which will allow them to get back to being productive,” Thomas said.

 

Credits: Image from RecoEngine.com. Josiah Thomas photo from Twitter. 

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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