Taste

Taste, operating as thetasteapp.com, is a New York-based company founded in 2018 by Justin Messina and John Juan Lin. The platform functions as a personalized recommendation engine, initially focusing on movies and TV shows, with plans to expand into other categories like books, music, games, and restaurants. It addresses the issue of content overload across numerous streaming services by consolidating recommendations into a single application.

The core of Taste's service is an AI-powered algorithm that provides users with a personalized "Match %" score for titles, indicating the likelihood they will enjoy something. This system is designed to learn a user's preferences as they rate more content, with recommendations sourced from a community of users with similar tastes. A key feature allows users to connect with a partner to find content they would both enjoy watching. The platform distinguishes itself by aiming for gender-neutrality and avoiding commercial bias in its recommendations.

The company generates revenue through multiple streams, including premium subscriptions, advertising, and B2B sales. In 2022, the platform reportedly generated over $60,000 in transactional volume through a 7% commission structure. Taste has successfully raised capital through crowdfunding, securing over $1.1 million from more than 800 investors to fund its expansion, particularly the development of its smart TV applications.

Keywords: movie recommendation, TV show suggestions, streaming guide, personalized recommendations, content discovery, AI algorithm, entertainment platform, crowdfunding, subscription service, digital media, what to watch, movie match, TV guide app, recommendation engine, Justin Messina, John Juan Lin, Taste Labs Inc., content aggregator, streaming overload, collaborative filtering