About Us
From our home base in Vernon, we have 300 - 450 options for lunch, within a 20 minute drive. Search engines help us find them, their websites tells us what they offer, maps let us see the parking situation, and reviews help us decide if we want to give them a try. But we all know the first few results are sponsored / paid ads, and they might be great, but we want to see who else is out there too. Page one becomes pages two becomes an endless scroll of option comparison resulting in a peanut butter and jelly while standing over the sink staring out into the yard feeling overwhelmed and shut down.
All I wanted was lunch, and yet somehow I felt transported back to college and preparing for my thesis.
The amount of information available to us is a wonderful thing, but 76% of consumers feel overwhelmed by too many choices and the end result is often making no choice at all / doing what they always do. The financial effect of indecision on small businesses, is catastrophic, but the solution is surprisingly simple.
Each Discovery Wheel holds all the options behind the scenes, and releases one qualified result at a time in a fully randomized manner. Instead of comparing pages of options through a search engine, you look at one result and simply decide yes, or no to that option. Each card links to a website (when available) and the map directions so you can still check the important stuff without falling into research information overload.
Discovery wheels exist for a wide variety of categories but you don’t even have to know what you want. Just spin the main wheel for a suggestion of what you “should” do. For example, you’re feeling some kind of way so you spin the wheel and get the result “you should go see a comedy show.” That actually sounds like so much fun! So you click “Let’s Go” and spin again to get a result of a comedy show in CT in the next few months. You’ve never heard of them but you’re free that night so choose “Let’s Go” again and discovery wheels pop up to help you round out your fun in that region with restaurants, coffee shops, and drink venues. No mental load, minimal effort, you’ve now got dinner and a comedy show booked into your calendar for a night three weeks from now and you go back to exploring to see what other fun you can find.
Businesses pay nothing to be included in the Discovery Wheels. This means the visitor gets a completely unbiased randomized result from “all” (we are human, not robots, and this system is built by hand so it’s always growing) the options available, not just the ones with big marketing budgets.
We believe that the concept of one small thing at a time is also a great way to learn about the big stuff, so you’ll also find “You Should Learn (something)” sprinkled throughout the decision engine. These wheels provide single chunks of information with direct connections to our partners to help you make the BIG decisions in a low stress and educated way. Things like insurance, finances, car and home purchases for example. Our partnerships with these companies funds the support of Main Street America, your mental well-being in a tool to combat decision fatigue, and arms you with the information you need, at your pace to be an informed consumer when the BIG stuff comes around.
It’s easy to get caught up in the infinite scroll but discovery wheels help you break that cycle so you can scroll less and explore more. Instead of searching just spin, decide, and go. It’s your life, we think you should live it, not scroll past it.
FAQ’s
-
Destination wheel listings are free. The goal is to have every possible option listed so you can have a true adventure every time. To add a photo or coupon is just a one time fee of $10.
-
Send us an email with your business name, website, full hours, and hours. If you meet the criteria, and we don’t already have you listed and you meet the criteria then we will get you added as soon as possible.
-
Sorry, we aren’t a pay more get more advertiser. When a wheel is spun, every single result has exactly the same chance of being selected, so you can never pay more to be seen more.
-
We use a rough definition of having five or less locations total. Please remember that this is not an exact science and while our intentions are great, we do make mistakes?
-
Well that’s not a completely correct statement. As the discovery wheels evolve we will be adding chains and franchises, to their own wheels. This allows people to still get the benefit of having them included without being a direct competition for a small business.
-
The business was inspired by our soul dog, April Mae, who despite terrible abuse as a puppy was determined to live life to the fullest, no matter how much it scared her. She taught us to love exploring, and to never say no to an adventure, so it’s one small way we honor her legacy.
-
Please let us know and we will update it ASAP. We gather information from multiple sources and sometimes we miss stuff, so just send us an email, and know we appreciate you. There is also a “report a problem” link at the bottom of the site.
-
The Discovery Wheels are a great decision free way to explore, but make sure to check websites or call ahead to confirm they are open, see if you need reservations or tickets, and to confirm any important details that might affect your visit.