New Recommendation App – Circle of Trust – To Launch Next Month

A new recommendation app called ‘Circle of Trust’ is set to launch next month. The founders describe it as a female-led word-of-mouth platform. On the app, users can make connections with their friends, families and other users, who then can give recommendations for local businesses. The idea is that you get recommendations for services from sources you trust, instead of influencers, random people online, or comparisons websites. 

The app is the brainchild of two Manchester entrepreneurs, Tracy Johnson and Susanna Lawson, both co-founders of Circle of Trust. Tracy Johnson told the publication, Prolific North:

“The idea for the Circle of Trust actually started on a piece of paper over five years ago. I was on the hunt for a reliable childminder and it hit me – there was no easy way to find someone trusted and recommended by the people I know. I was thinking about all the friends, contacts and networks I had made through the years and how we are all connected.”

Johnson went on to explain how everyone has recommendations they could give, there is just nowhere to put those ideas and suggestions down in one easy space for your network of friends. Johnson and Lawson believe that the app will revolutionise the way recommendations work, and make a big difference to small and medium size businesses. Smaller companies can’t compete on the SEO and advertising front, but real and legitimate local recommendations can make a big plus to their business. 

Circle of Trust is set to launch next month, and has a landing page for early sign-ups for those interested. The startup won a spot in NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator program, which helps incubate nascent companies and ideas. We’ve seen how apps like Nextdoor can become a place of recommendation for local users. And in this way, become places of social discovery, where you meet new people, and ones you can potentially trust. An app like Circle of Trust has the potential to do so on a wider scale, connecting people with business, but also with one another.