Let`s get acquainted 👋

You’re reading the blog of NiceAdvice. Here, we share project news, discuss the challenges we face, and publish materials and interesting stories related to our project. In this post, I want to tell you two stories that inspired me to create this app.

The Idea

When I lived in Minsk, the tap water quality was awful. Constant limescale buildup and cleaning kettles became a nuisance, and the water smelled so bad that drinking it was scary. A water filter solved the problem. Through trial and error, I found a working combination of filters, and everything was fine. Moving to Wroclaw, I didn't want to change my habits, so once settled, I decided to tackle the issue. I chose a similar filter system, installed it, and... success! The limescale disappeared, and the water tasted acceptable. I was happy, but after just a month and a half, the water quality with the filter became as bad as before. No one at the plumbing store knew anything about it, and they just pointed me to the place where goods are displayed. After evaluating the cost of a full replacement, I realized it would be about the same as getting a "proven" set from Minsk. Around the same time, I remembered a friend who used to sell plumbing products. With difficulty, I found his contact and asked (without much hope for an answer) how I could solve the problem cheaply.

So, the package arrived in Poland, but not in Wroclaw — it was in Lodz, so I needed to pick it up from there. The cost of the filters was about 360zl, tickets to Lodz and back — another 100zl. Returning to Wroclaw, I saw a new message from my friend saying I only needed to replace one filter from the set (35zl) every month and a half. 🤯 Obviously, I tried it, and it really worked. In short, I never installed the filters from Minsk; they are still lying somewhere in a box, waiting for their moment.

A photo taken during a trip to Łódź

Summary: I wasted $100, a day on a trip to an industrial zone of another city, 10-12 hours on research, and a whole lot of nerves solving this problem. At that moment, it became clear to me that I would gladly have pay someone with a 10-15% of the wasted money (if I got the answer to my question right away, without spending money, time, and nerves on it). That's how the idea to create an app, which helps find someone who knows the answer to your question (and ready to answer for a small fee) was born. Like many ideas, it seemed brilliant at first, but over time, the inconveniences began to fade, and I doubted — does anyone really need this?

The Last Straw

Six months later, we moved to another apartment. It had a Grohe filtration system of a different design. The filters for it were quite expensive, the contact with my friend was lost, and as usual, no one in the plumbing store knew anything. After some research, a couple of hours later, I figured out what type of mount I needed, and in the photos in the landlord's documents, I could make out the article number of the suitable part. So, 320zl spent, 5 days waiting for the package, the filter installed and... no effect. Deciding it probably wouldn't get any better, I gave up on it. About half a year passed, a minor breakdown occurred in the apartment, and the landlord mistakenly called a Grohe representative instead of a plumber. Nonetheless, the specialist inspected the faucet, and I decided to ask about the filter and limescale. It turned out I had bought the wrong model 🤦‍♂️. The technician recommended the correct model, and installing it solved the problem.

Grohe faucet with built-in filter system

Summary: I spent a lot of time searching for information, found incorrect information, wasted 320zl, and experienced discomfort for half a year. All of this could have been avoided if there was a place where I could get advice. I decided to ask friends and colleagues how often they encounter such problems, and it turned out quite often, even without problems with the language barrier and the period of adaptation in a new country. People need recommendations when buying a car, legal advice, choosing a gift for their husband, assembling a computer, buying a bike, and so on. Surely you've been in a similar situation too. Wouldn't it be great to have the opportunity to get inexpensive and professional advice on any question almost anywhere? This inspired me to start working on the app and try to make life a little nicer and easier for myself and others.

The Future

We hope to release the alpha version by the end of 2023. Our team consists of two people: Andrey - our AQA and artist with a legal background; and me, Sergei, handling everything else. I work on the app (coding) alone in my free time (gotta work the job), so things are moving slower than I'd like. We are probably a startup 🤔 (at least by the criterion of making decisions under high uncertainty), where we ourselves are the investors.

From left to right: Andrey (AQA/artist) and Sergei

If you think our idea is cool and want to support us, tell your friends, colleagues, and "that-one-friend-who-always-knows-everything" about us. If you've already used our service and liked it, share it on social media (and we might post your review on our homepage). And if you didn’t like it - also share it, but better us directly so we can fix the issues 😉.

NiceAdvice is one of the most ambitious ideas I've worked on in my life, and it's incredibly exciting! Thank you for your attention, and stay with us!