You’re in Rome, craving for the "real" Italy—not the one you see on the postcards. But how do you find it? Krishna and Pia Shivdasani have the answer. Their app, NowYouKnow (NYK), skips the anonymous reviews of strangers and taps into the one thing that matters: the trusted recommendations of your friends. It’s travel, redefined by the people you know the best.
Growing up in a family where travel was a way of life, the duo have a deep understanding of the global travel trends, which eventually led to the founding of the app. Their travels across more than 30 countries were never guided by anonymous online ratings or tour guides, but by the vetted word of trusted family relatives or friends.
“Our friends’ experiences and recommendations are scattered across WhatsApp threads, Instagram bookmarks and disorganised Google Sheets, but NYK brings your friends’ suggestions under one platform,” says the siblings.
With AI reshaping the internet and paid reviews botching the algorithms, authenticity is the new luxury. This app cuts through the digital clutter and ensures that the reviews you read aren’t just content – they’re authentic experiences from people you actually trust.
“Most travel apps help you find places. NowYouKnow helps you trust them,” said Krishna Shivdasani.
“We’re built around real recommendations from people you actually know or choose to follow, not anonymous reviews, sponsored posts or AI-generated content. It turns the existing way of people planning travel, texting friends, into something organised, personal, and actually usable,” he said.
When asked what’s behind the name, Krishna explains that it comes from a common exchange: when one person says, “Oh, I didn’t know that,” and the other replies, “Well, NowYouKnow."
Although the app was launched in 2023, it went live to the public just last year. Many users find it valuable and continue to expand their social circles by inviting friends.
"I don’t trust random reviews anymore - I feel like everything is completely sponsored. What works for me is seeing [a place] where my friends actually went and genuinely experienced, good or bad. NowYouKnow feels closer to how we’ve always planned trips, through people we trust," said Anjali Mirchandani, USA.
Abhishek Advani, based in the UK, says that since joining the app, he has already built a shortlist of recommendations from friends with similar tastes and lifestyles.
Gabriela Sein from France said most of her travel plans used to happen on WhatsApp groups. "Now those recommendations finally live in one place on NowYouKnow instead of getting lost in chats and notes," adds Gabriela.
Pia Shivdasani explains that NowYouKnow was created to solve a key problem: Today, discovering reliable tips on where to stay, eat and drink is fragmented, noisy and fake, while trust remains with people you personally know.
“The app simply brings back a very natural way of sharing and finding places through genuine experiences, personal taste, and recommendations that actually help elevate travel plans," she says.