An innovative mobile application developed by architect Mo Dawod has revolutionized how patrons select outdoor dining and drinking venues by predicting which establishments will be bathed in sunshine at any given hour.
The application, named Sunseekr, emerged from a simple personal frustration Dawod experienced in London during April of last year. While seeking an iced coffee on a sunny afternoon, the 34-year-old architect realized no existing tool could identify which cafes would be in shade versus sunlight.
That evening, Dawod created a prototype using publicly available architectural data, including building heights and footprints, to generate shadow simulations for pubs, restaurants, and cafes across the city. The solution proved far more valuable than he initially anticipated.
"I decided to share it with the community to see if anyone was also struggling like me and would be interested," Dawod explained. "People went crazy. It went so viral on Reddit that night."
The overwhelming response prompted Dawod to develop a full mobile application. Within four days of its official launch, Sunseekr reached the number one position in the United Kingdom's lifestyle category. The rapid success led the Egyptian-born architect to leave his traditional architecture career and focus exclusively on the application.
"It was so surreal that all this happened from me just wanting to have an iced coffee," Dawod noted.
The platform now serves more than 250,000 users and has expanded beyond the United Kingdom to include Germany and Spain. Last summer, Dawod secured a sponsorship agreement with Aperol, which utilized the mapping technology to create a specialized version showing optimal locations for enjoying their signature spritz cocktails in sunshine.
The application employs an intuitive interface featuring moon emojis for shaded locations and sun symbols for sunlit areas. Users can receive notifications when their preferred venues receive direct sunlight, view operating hours, and access community reviews and comments.
Recognizing the seasonal nature of outdoor dining, Dawod invested the winter months in substantially upgrading the platform. The enhanced version includes detailed mapping of outdoor garden areas and hour-by-hour sunlight predictions. Establishments can now purchase premium listings for £350 annually, allowing them to upload photographs, map their outdoor spaces, and gain prominent placement on the explore page.
"When I built this app it was more of a hack for the problem I had. Now I am trying to take it to the next level. I have rebuilt the whole app for summer 2026," Dawod stated.
The company has launched a community-driven initiative requesting user assistance in mapping additional venues, acknowledging the logistical challenges of documenting every pub and restaurant across multiple countries without extensive manpower.
For Dawod, the journey from frustrated coffee-seeker to successful entrepreneur represents an unexpected but welcome transformation. "I never thought I would be running such a platform," he reflected. "I am so happy that I managed to put this together."
The application demonstrates how personal inconveniences, when addressed with technical expertise and shared publicly, can evolve into solutions serving hundreds of thousands of users seeking to maximize their enjoyment of outdoor spaces during favorable weather conditions.