When Vince Wadhwani moved to D.C. from San Francisco in 2001, he constantly complained to his girlfriend (now his wife) about the dearth of non-chain store options. Finally, she had enough and told him he had to either stop complaining or do something about it.

So he came up with BuyIndie.net. Founded in 2004, the site originally included listings and user-generated reviews for independent businesses in the D.C. area, as well as in five other major cities. This week, Wadhwani launched its newest global version, with a new rating structure and multimedia content such as podcast interviews with store owners and independent music downloads.

More than 300 institutions from D.C. are listed on the site, and the page only allows advertising from independent owners, which Wadhwani defines as having five branches or less in the area. Wadhwani said the site plays an important role in trying to even the playing field for independent businesses, which in Washington are constrained by high real estate rates and a lack of government incentives.

Wadhwani said many people shy away from independent stores because they are risk-averse and looking for something convenient or comfortable.

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“Every time you walk into a store, you’re casting a vote,” Wadhwani said, adding that multiple visits to a chain store in D.C. might mean another will soon develop somewhere such as Cleveland. He has found through the project that D.C. has a lot to offer in areas such as yoga studios and boutique clothing stores, but it lacks other independent options such as grocery stores.

“I think that what he’s doing is an immense help for the independent business community,” said Jackie Flanagan, owner of the clothing boutique Nana on U Street in D.C. “It’s not like there’s been this amazing output of customers since we were listed, but the ‘buy indie’ movement is growing, and more people are just asking me about it in general, which I attribute to people like Vince.”

BuyIndie has been a boon to Wadhwani’s own career as well. After teaching himself how to build BuyIndie.net, the former Apple employee now makes his living as an independent Web programmer.

melissa.frederick@dcexaminer.com