Meet Nick Amirkhani | Cravy App Owner & Music Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nick Amirkhani and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I pursued a creative career because my father is an entrepreneur, who started his own tech recruiting company, and so is my older brother, who has made a career for himself in producing music in the hip-hop industry.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business is a new social app called Cravy (iOS). It is an app created for foodies, by a foodie, in a city full of amazing food (Toronto). The idea came about when I realized I was always creating lists of restaurants in my notes app on my iPhone to keep track of the places I liked to eat at, for date nights, or for personal use, etc.. and realized life would be much simpler if I could also see others’ lists on their phones when planning to share a meal out in the town, AND discover new foods when I’m hungry. The goal was to solve the age-old question of ‘Where should we eat tonight?’ with a user-friendly, new app that shows you where to eat, and where your friends like to eat – and that’s exactly what Cravy does.

Cravy has been an amazing journey so far, as it feels full circle for me. I originally went to UofT for computer science, with the hopes of creating an app one day, only to eventually flunk out and switch majors altogether after only one year. I didn’t fit in, I wasn’t math-y enough, or smart enough, and I realized I cared more about design and creative fields than coding and computer science in reality. So years later, to have an app I created all on my own has been very fulfilling, and a long process of trial and error, endless YouTube tutorials (sometimes even in different languages), and more.

The process was not easy, as it probably took me about over 500 attempts before the app was fully functional and running, but it was made easier with the help of the Flutterflow software, their support team, my pre-existing knowledge of code from school, chatGPT, and more. One major lesson I learned along the way is that we have a never-ending plethora of knowledge on the internet, whether it’s in the form of forums, YouTube tutorials, chatGPT, etc… and if you are dedicated enough to your vision… you can create anything you want, literally anything… kind of like a superpower. The funny thing is, if you were to ask me to create this app 5 years ago, I probably wouldn’t have been able to. The advancements alone in AI-based assistance and no-code software has increased exponentially over the past 3-4 years, enabling me to create Cravy in a seamless fashion that would have otherwise took me multiple years more in my opinion. I didn’t even have to code! (barely)

If anyone takes away anything from my story, I want it to be that I made this app, which is now approved and live on the App store, without a lick of coding OR having to do any math. IF that doesn’t inspire you to follow your dreams, I don’t know what will!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
AH what a perfect question!! How about I share some of my favourite restaurants in the city of Toronto, based on my account on Cravy…

for tacos/Mexican – EL REY
for French cuisine – LA SELECT BISTRO
for BBQ – SMOQUE N’ BONES
for Brunch – SCHOOL
for Greek – MESSINI
for Persian – BANU, or DARBAR if you’re willing to drive

and to see the rest… you’ll have to make an account and follow @cravynick!!! (shameless plug)

Other than food though…. definitely visit the Toronto Island in the summer- it’s an overlooked and underrated gem for tourists and locals alike, full of large grass fields for picnics, beaches (clothing and clothing-optional), paths for biking, cottages to explore, and a fun and charming amusement park called Centreville. It’s one of my favourite spots to hang in the city and IMO it has the best view of the skyline as well… definitely needs more attention and hype IMO.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to my girlfriend Laleh Behzadian, who inspired me to continue following my dreams when I felt like a failure – and for providing me with the positive feedback that fuelled me to keep pursuing my ideas.

Website: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/cravy/id6483368830

Other: https://open.spotify.com/track/6yGTDdx0TfEiTGPnzdta9Z?si=e97da61f78e8431a

– listen to Rob Comet on Spotify!! That’s my alter ego. 🙂

Image Credits
Laleh Behzadian