Our Beginnings

We started building Ample in 2017 because we believed in a future where all bodies feel welcomed and safe, and we think technology can help.

Co-founders Alissa and Gus, lifelong best friends, teamed up to make an app that they both needed. As a fat person and a trans person, both wanted a way to find doctors that have an inclusive attitude towards their non-conforming bodies. They aren’t alone in that desire; when people believe they will be stigmatized by their doctors, they avoid seeking health care, which can lead to late or missed medical diagnoses. Then they started thinking bigger— What about finding a movie theater with larger-sized seating, or a store that sells clothes with trans bodies in mind? What about those in disabled bodies who need information about access to a building? What about bodies at the intersections of fat, trans, and disabled? Having this information could be the difference between going and not going.

Our Vision

Ample is similar in function to other popular review sites, however, it’s the first app that rates businesses specifically on their accessibility and inclusiveness towards marginalized bodies. You can search for businesses to discover what others are saying and then rate and review establishments, both positively and negatively, on the job they’re doing. Reviews can be filtered based on the perspective you’re interested in, or we’ll show you the businesses that are shining in all categories. We use both a star rating and a tags system within our reviews to display targeted, detailed information about each establishment so that you know what to expect before going. The body-positive community is growing every day, and here at Ample, we think think we can help.

The Future

We launched our app in April, 2018. Since then, we have been hard at work to respond to community feedback, expand our reach, and develop new features. The Ample Team is growing to include diverse talents and perspectives. Let us know what features are important to you! Make sure to keep an eye on our blog for new feature rollout, transparency about what's going on at Ample, and conversations about accessibility.

Open Source

Ample is an open source project. We’ve been developing this app in the open from day one because we think the best way to build an inclusive and socially-just community is to encourage collaboration and transparency. If you’d like to watch our progress or get involved, check us out on Github.