San Jose, CA- There was a time when it was easy to spot your conservative neighbor simply by looking at her gas guzzling SUV in the driveway or his “Don’t Tread on Me” flag flown year ‘round. But as this endangered species know as a Republican becomes scarcer and does everything in their power to blend in, citizens from states like California, Washington, Vermont, and New York are finding it hard to identify these elusive creatures. Enter AppTex Labs of San Jose. 

Co-founders Birch Enstock and Steve Hugger came up with an app while they were roommates at Stanford University studying computer science and business administration respectively. “We were just sitting around the student union and a story came on the news about sex offenders moving into neighborhoods and having to introduce themselves to everyone in their subdivision. Bam! A lightbulb came on. I remember thinking how embarrassing it would be to invite a closet republican over for drinks or a cookout and then the next thing you know you’re in an argument about supply-side economics or abortion.” Enstock said. Hugger remembers, “We were scarfing down a large pizza with tofu, kale and artichokes when Birch said ‘what if all Republicans had to register and identify themselves?’ We were so baked!”

The first iteration of the App was called Map My Conservative but that name seemed too long and cumbersome for the entrepreneurs.  Trumped, Rigged, and Whack-a-Conservative were all taken, so the pair settled on Watchdog! CFO Hugger said, “Birch came up with the Watchdog part but I came up with the exclamation point. I think it looks so lit!” The app uses Google and Facebook cookies to search phrases like ‘defund Planned Parenthood’, ‘at church last Sunday’, ‘pay your own way’, and ‘you need to get a job’. It crunches the numbers using an algorithm that identifies conservative republicans and posts them on the Watchdog! app.

Watchdog! is available for Android, IOS, and iPad. Apptex Labs originally offered the app for free. “We felt this information was too important to charge people for it”, Enstock said. Hugger interrupted, “Yeah but then we realized, hey even democrats need to get paid ya know? Someone has to pay for the big guys Sticky Icky Kush.”