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Matcha: Pods
p/matcha-podsTech for small groups that make BIG impact.
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Melissa Moody

Matcha: Pods - Tech for small groups that make big impact

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Create and manage any small group in a fast, fun way - with Pods. Matcha's integrated tech makes it easy to set up, schedule, message async, and meet LIVE! with the people you want to meet with. First pod's free > Unlock unlimited pods with Matcha Pro.

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Melissa Moody
Maker
📌
👋 Hi, I’m Melissa. Ex-Google, 17 year marketer, and 4x Startup Founder. You might have heard of Matcha (www.matcha.so) as a tech platform that enables 1:1 matching programs for any community or group. [If you haven't heard of us, I'm not offended 😆] TODAY, My awesome team released our first product for individuals (like YOU!) that makes it easy and FUN to create small, invite-only, recurring group meetings - without all the juggling and struggling. Introducing: Matcha PODS 👥 Gather your favorite peers for a monthly check-in to unlock, inspire, and vent 💡 Set up biweekly customer feedback sessions for your new product 📖 Create a digital book club without juggling calendars and video platforms 👩‍🎓 Gather with fellow students from a course you took, to keep up your learning 🎯 Assemble a few folks working on a shared goal, to stay accountable with quarterly checkins It's silly easy and the first pod is free for everyone. 🆓 - Pick a focus for your pod. - Invite up to 5 other people. - Set a timeline and cadence that works for your group. - Use Matcha's integrated scheduling, async messaging, and live video chat - Give high fives all around Learn more and get started at: https://matcha.so/products/pods Want more? Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company... YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/... ...and here on Product Hunt.
Melissa Moody
Maker
@a_zelenkov Thank you - would love to hear more from you when you try it out!
Max Savonin
@melissa_moody Matcha Pods sounds like a great way to facilitate recurring meetings for small, focused groups. The focus on ease of use and integrating scheduling, messaging, and video chat into one platform is appealing. Here are some questions to consider: - Will there be a way for users to discover relevant pods based on their interests, or is it primarily focused on existing connections? - What are the limitations for free pods compared to paid plans? - Will Matcha Pods support larger groups in the future, or is it strictly for smaller, intimate gatherings? Potential for Collaboration: As a developer, I'm interested in the technical aspects of Matcha Pods. Here are some ways I might be able to contribute: - Adding integrations with popular productivity or communication tools could enhance the user experience. - Developing features to manage larger pods, like assigning roles or creating sub-groups, could be beneficial. - Building an algorithm to suggest relevant pods to users based on their interests or activities could increase platform engagement. Overall, Matcha Pods seems like a valuable tool for anyone who wants to streamline recurring small group meetings. Further development and user feedback could solidify its position in the market.
Emily
Love the way this allows like-minded people to meet remotely and keep each other accountable to a specific topic! 🚀 congrats on the launch!
Melissa Moody
Maker
@_emily_daykin Or people of different minds to gather and uplevel each other! Thanks for the kind words, Emily
William Joseph Parker
Congrats on the launch, Melissa! Matcha PODS sound like a game-changer for group dynamics. 🚀 Can’t wait to see how this will help in fostering community connections! Upvoted!
Melissa Moody
Maker
@williamjosephparker A few communities are doing this: Giving Matcha Pro (for unlimited pods) to their leaders - who then are empowered to create multiple small, focused groups within the community for heightened engagement!
Kyrylo Silin
Hey Melissa, Your concept for Matcha Pods sounds really interesting! Could you share more about the features that make it "silly easy" to use? I'm wondering if there are any plans to integrate with existing calendar systems for even smoother scheduling. Congrats on the launch!
Melissa Moody
Maker
@kyrylosilin Sill yeasy: - It takes less than 1 minute to start a Pod - the pod admin and anyone they invite can integrate Google and outlook calendars (multiple calendars, too) - and then overlay your calendars to find times that work for everyone - video UI is integrated, so you don't have to add another zoom, meet, link to your invites - all messaging and scheduling and learning about people's profiles is integrated into the experience Right now, our calendar integration is across all Google and Outlook calendars - and we let you see/schedule across them all (a la Calendly) - but we're also planning to enable the ability to port in existing Calendly schedules soon as well.
Two Heads
Congrats on the launch Melissa! So, how would this work next to your Whatsapp group? And what does a Pod has that I can't manage within my Whatsapp group? It looks exciting!
Melissa Moody
Maker
@twoheads WhatsApp groups are super useful for rapid, ongoing communication but they're not: - easy to focus on a given goal/outcome (everything you need in one place) - timebound (I don't want a "forever" group for everything) - secure (I'm always surprised at the things shared in such big, open chat groups) Keep that Whatsapp group going for rapid communication but use a Pod if: - You have a tangible reason/outcome to meet with a few folks in a focused way (e.g. accountability work) - You want to keep a group small and focused (e.g. everyone participates) - Your discussion is timebound (e.g. Let's just meet 4 times, once a month) They're not a 1:1 replacement - but the group scheduling and integrated video chats make it a real different experience as well!
Two Heads
@melissa_moody ah that makes sense Melissa, thanks a lot for your explanation! I’ll definitely give Matcha a try! 👍😁
Ema Elisi
Great to see Matcha launching Pods! This is such a practical solution for managing small groups without the usual chaos. The features like async messaging and integrated scheduling sound super helpful! I'm especially excited about the potential for monthly check-ins—having that regular connection can really boost accountability. Kudos to you, @melissa_moody, and the team for bringing this to life! Looking forward to giving it a try and seeing the impact it can make. 🚀
Melissa Moody
Maker
@ema_elisi It's super easy to spin up and get started - so please let us know what you think. Really excited to hear how you use it! (Tell your friends!)
charles　shiro
Love the concept of Matcha PODS, Melissa! It seems like a game-changer for anyone looking to streamline group meetings. 🆓 The invite-only feature makes it feel exclusive yet accessible! Excited to see how it evolves; maybe we’ll see that freemium model in action soon? Can't wait to try it for my next book club! 📖
Melissa Moody
Maker
@charles_ The first pod is free already - so get started any time! ;)
Tristan
If everything's so "integrated" then why does it feel like just another app with shiny promises but basically the same features as before tech overload much maybe focus on simplicity instead users don't need more complications they need usable tools or it ends up being useless, also what's with the live meet ups people want async because they don’t have time for live guessing that wasn’t considered deeply huh
Melissa Moody
Maker
@archintdesign Sorry it doesn't appeal to you. To be very clear: we are building for people who truly value live meetups for the deeper networking value and focused nature of what they provide. Our ICP is someone building a network, not an audience. Building quality relationships, not quantity. (They can go to LinkedIn if they want quantity and audience.) It might be a niche proposition, and although we do provide async messaging - yes the focus is on few, focused, meetings. Our conscious choice as a company was to leave pods small (<6) because when you get over that point, people say they'll go to something... but don't (e.g. LinkedIn Live webinars). And engagement starts high... but then drops off (e.g. Slack groups). With Matcha pods, the idea is... fewer folks, but more engaged. And timebound, so they're not existing until the internet falls apart. Our team does ongoing, deep customer research and has built an incredibly focused and thoughtful initial product (yes, we're just a small startup, still too!) and if it's not for you: that's ok! Sounds like you have enough other tools at your disposal. It's an awesome, tech-enabled, abundant world we live in.
dashuai
Congratulations, Melissa! 🎉 Matcha PODS sounds like a game-changer for community engagement. The ease of scheduling and live meetings will definitely boost participation. Excited to see how it evolves on PH!
Melissa Moody
Maker
@ezshine Yes - no one needs to juggle and struggle as much as we do with group scheduling. It's a breeze with Pods - please try it out and let us know your feedback!
Toshit Garg
Congrats on launch of Matcha.Pods.....
Melissa Moody
Maker
@toshit_garg Appreciate it!
Shafeek V P
nice
Anthony Alyce
So another tech startup thinks they can make our lives "fun and easy" but will it really work better than the dozen other apps we already juggle, sure it might sound good on paper but we all know the reality's gonna be different
Melissa Moody
Maker
You don't have to use it then. Thanks for leaving your note! Personally, I'm tired of the ads and algorithm-driven professional "networking" on LinkedIn and we're working to create a human-centric space for people who value relationship building through small groups and community first. You're right @ecofootfounder : We might not succeed. But we're putting our everything into it and startups have to start somewhere. We'll continue to build with hard work, thoughtful product work, and our own personal time and energy. I write this response for the other Makers here on PH who are trying to stay focused on what could be, not just the potential of failure. Have fun building, folks... I can't wait to see what you create!
Ashrita Kumar
This will allow like-minded people to connect so easily and on-the-go! Love the idea. Congratulations on the launch!
Alex
Wow, this sounds like a game changer, Melissa! The idea of using Pods to streamline group interactions is spot on—especially in a world where juggling calendars feels like an extreme sport. 🚀 Plus, who doesn't love the idea of a digital book club without the headaches of coordinating everyone’s schedules? I can totally see entrepreneurs using this for product feedback sessions too. The async messaging feature alone is a lifesaver! Can't wait to test out my first pod for free. Here's to unlocking some serious potential and having some fun while at it! 🌟 P.S. Excited to see how Matcha Pro ramps things up even further! Keep it up, team! #PODs #ProductivityMakers
Chris Wilkeza
Congratuation the launch.