Wisely aims to leverage purchasing data

Wisely is looking for a few good consumers to help test out the Beta version of its new software that puts people reviews where their wallets are.

The Ann Arbor-based start-up takes data accumulated from purchases and uses that to show the popularity of a retail business. The idea is that fake reviews (both positive and negative) are posted all the time online on websites like Yelp. Wisely reveals the popularity of businesses and the items they sell by how often they are purchased creating a collection of reviews that are much harder to fake.

"We always thought purchasing data was interesting but it has never been democratized," says Mike Vichich, co-founder & CEO of Wisely. "Every other piece of information has been put under a microscope."

The 4-month-old start-up and its core team of five people take transaction data from consumers, which provides the basic ingredient for its secret software sauce. "We call it the first credible search engine for the physical world powered by transaction data," Vichich says. "Think credit card swipes."

Wisely is launching its public beta this week. It is looking for consumers to sign up to test out the software in Ann Arbor and New York City. For information on the beta test, click here. Vichich hopes to have 10,000 users in the Ann Arbor area by the end of the year. That would enable Wisely and his team to build out a merchant services program to help businesses maximize their sales.

"It's a better way for consumers and merchants to connect and establish relationships," Vichich says.

Source: Mike Vichich, co-founder & CEO of Wisely
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.