Showing App-titude

Jal Irani ’15 balances his teaching load and his newest startup, Flave.

Millennials are frequently called the side hustle generation, and Jal Irani is no exception.

Irani has developed 11 iOS applications over the last seven years, several addressing issues faced by young adults: receiving information on COVID-19 safety while on campus, monitoring ride-share pricing and, most recently, finding hot, local eateries.

That’s no surprise, since as an adjunct instructor in Johns Hopkins University’s Carey School of Business and a lecturer in TU’s Fisher College of Science & Mathematics, he spends a lot of time with the 18- to 24-year-old demographic.

“My students have given me unique perspectives when approaching difficult problems. They are among the most creative minds in the entire TU ecosystem,” he says.

Irani’s latest venture is Flave, a mobile app that incentivizes eating at local restaurants through gamification and personalized friend recommendations.

He and co-founder Derek Battle took Flave through TU’s StarTUp Accelerator in 2020, receiving an equity-free stipend and mentorship opportunities. They returned the favor this year, serving as mentors for the 2021 class.

Recently Technical.ly named Irani one of its RealLIST Engineers 2021, a list of 21 pioneering engineers in the Baltimore area.

“It’s a massive honor,” Irani says. “Having a positive impact on the community is the core thesis of my company, so being recognized for this is an affirmation that our team is pushing in the right direction.”