In the fall of 2011 two people came into our lives who created profound changes to our little family. The Fall of 2011 is when I found out I was pregnant with Phoebe and when Steve’s son Erin came to live with us.

The year before their arrival had been a struggle. I had lost my mom and the girls their grandmother. Ella’s cat had died suddenly. Steve and I were struggling to make ends meet. The last thing we thought would have healed us was more people in the house and another child to care for.

Well, I think sometimes life and people give you just what you need.

Erin came onto the scene like a gentle soul. He hadn’t really lived with his dad, so this was an opportunity for them both to connect in ways they had never been able to before. What I loved watching was the relationship Erin developed with his sisters. He spent hours reading to Chloe and exhausting games of tickle monster with Ella. He taught me how to make hash browns and the fine art of beer consumption as well as brought our coffee enjoyment up to a whole new level with various experiments in finding the perfect way to brew the perfect cup.

Erin was only going to stay a little while before he was to depart and travel abroad for a year. With a few turns of events however, he found himself working for a start-up in the South Beach area of San Francisco in the same office space where Instagram started. He was working on a secret App for the iPhone.

Over the beginning several weeks of him working for this company I slowly pried what it was out of him. I immediately knew he had a hit on his hands, but you know how start-ups can go. They can soar, or they can tank.

Erin continued to live with us, drive the girls to school in the morning, buy beer, enjoy my cooking, bond with his dad, entertain his sisters and hold a newborn baby for the first time. Phoebe.

While all this was happening in our home, every day Erin would skate down to South Beach and program for hours working on the various stages of this secret App.

Then one day in the Fall of 2013, it was ready for release.

Need.

Need is an app where you can share cool things you have found (restaurants, shops, doctors, manicurists, etc,etc) or ask for where to go for what you need. It is kinda like Yelp, but much better and with an actual human connection. Your posts go to both your friends and a community page, so you will pretty rapidly get some really good feedback and links to check out.

Here are some examples:

I had a major Pho craving. Steve was out of town and I was stuck in the house with three kids. Posted on Need, found a place, sent Erin there and BOOM! Pho party.

Here is a share I did recently. Phoebe was getting great adjustments at Latch and So Chiropractic, so I decided to spread the word about pediatric Chiropractic adjustments and their benefits:

Last week, if you read this blog regularly you will recall, I needed a contractor. I posted on Need and within about 10 minutes had two really solid leads. One of the contractors is actually coming to see me in a few days to bid out the job. I certainly feel better using someone that has done good work for someone I know rather that trusting possibly staged Yelp reviews.

So what am I saying here? Why am I getting all mushy and sentimental just to tell you about an app? Well, nowadays we don’t use the Yellow Pages, life moves really fast and how the hell are you going to find out where to get good Pho on a Friday night? Post on Facebook? Yeah right. That’s for cute kid photos and spying on what my friends are up to. My point is that connection to real people is what you need and that is what this app does. It connects you to real people for real advice so you can find what you are looking for and have a Pho party with your family.

Erin, we area really happy that you came to San Francisco and we are really happy you helped to build this app.

xoxo your Family

GO DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR YOUR IPHONE!  IT’S FREE! FRIEND REQUEST ME- JENNIFER LATCH – I HAVE LOTS OF GOOD ADVICE FOR YOU (at least I think I do.) You can download it here.

Need was co-founded by Justin Grosch and Blake Francis. The app is already getting great reviews by of course this blog, but also the New York Times blog and paper which said it was better than Twitter’s new app Jelly.

I was sponsored by Need to bring this post to you guys and tell you about the app. All my opinions are obviously my own.

In case you missed the link to download and try Need for yourself, here it is: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/need/id530733204?mt=8. Don’t forget to friend request me!

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Jennifer Latch