Founder of Grouper here. This is definitely something we've talked about, but haven't decided to build - so I'm excited to see this hypothesis tested :)
As somewhat of a domain expert :p I think the biggest forces working for and against this are, FOR: the group attractiveness effect. AGAINST: the logistics of meeting up are hard, and with every additional person the difficulty increases exponentially. Then again, with everyone already out, it could be a lot easier.
Best of luck!
@wxmn Hey Michael, great to hear your perspective! As we were building Squad, we thought a lot about how people currently go out and meet people. What we've tried to create here is something that mimics what you're looking for when you head out with your friends, minus the pressure and fear of rejection that comes from having to cold-approach. Ultimately, people go out to meet other people, and we want to give them tools to be able to do that wherever they are!
@adamliebman@wxmn "What we've tried to create here is something that mimics what you're looking for when you head out with your friends"
But is this 5 or 10 times as good as the way it works already without an app (without critical mass)? I worry about product approaches that try to mirror real life...we've run into some challenges with @gethorizonapp on that front. Yes, everyone on the planet will host a friend, friend of a friend, or member of a trusted community they belong to if they aren't busy and have a couch/room...same as everyone that goes out is interested in meeting new people. But is there really a urgent problem with the way hosting people, or meeting other friend groups, works organically in the real world? What's going to convince them to use an app to do the same thing they are already doing?
That said, I see the bigger picture and I do think there is an opportunity. The challenge is going to be winning over key influencers within their friend groups, and convincing them to make all their friends use some new app. Sure, I could spend my social capital with my close friends to get them to use this...but the fact of the matter is I (and others) only have so much energy to spend "selling" their friends app X is worth installing/using. Best of luck.
@drewmeyers Fair point. I do think this is 5 to 10 times better than going to a crowded, dark, expensive bar, and hoping you meet someone great. Our users love that they can see those types of people simply by going on the app, and then decide to go anywhere they want after a match is made!
@wxmn agreed, the logistics around getting people together is still probably the biggest pain point to tackle in the social-consumer world, even when just coordinating with people you know. We're working on it over @savvy_ai, but we're curious whether there is enough demand/intrigue for meeting new groups or if #nonewfriends is still a thing. Interested to see how this plays out, both from a dating and platonic standpoint.
Congrats on the launch @adamliebman and team! Small piece of feedback: asking for that many permissions upfront and excluding non-FB users is a risky move. Take-only-what-you-need is the best approach IMHO. Best of luck!
@wxmn Michael, I totally agree with you. In my experience at @FriendsTonight - the situation has to be perfect to get groups to meet. That being said @adamliebman, if you're able to hit the right groups of people at the right time, I believe the idea can work 100%. I would love to see this idea succeed.
Shameless plug but I'm organizing a "Social Tech" happy hour for all people working in the "friend meeting" space- would love you have you both.
http://www.meetup.com/STSMDNYC/e...
*anyone working in this space is welcome to join!
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I'm very curious to see what will happen with this. I think the support of a group makes it a lot more fun to use, and I think it also creates a more comfortable environment for the user. No more worries about being judged by your friends, since they're using it with you. A question though; how does the multi-user experience work? Since your dealing with multiple people, are they all able to see the same things on their own devices or does just one person "take the lead"? Thanks & good luck!
@joostmq thanks for commenting! everyone has their own experience on Squad, so everyone gets to see the same squads, and if at least one person on each side shows interest, everyone from both squads goes into a match chat. From there, squad members can participate in the group chat or decide to let their friends take the lead, as an individual you can be as involved as you want!
@mrjasongrad No swipe limits, Jason! In addition to being group interactions instead of one-on-one, I'd say the big difference is that Squad isn't explicitly romantic, and it gives you the confidence and support system of your friends to help everyone in both squads create organic connections.
I've used Grouper a few times months ago. This reminds me of it but far more spontaneous and not anonymous. Although it's clearly targeted toward the single crowd, this could still be fun with a group of friends even if you're taken. h/t @anthonyha from his TC write-up.
@rrhoover Thanks for the hunt, Ryan! You nailed it! We like what Grouper does, but we think it's important to be able to talk to people before you meet IRL. I'll be around all day to answer questions, and would love to hear what everyone thinks!
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Kind of an interesting twist on the tinder model! Could see this being fun with friends on a night out!
@littlejazzhands great question, and the short answer is YES! Like Bumble, we want to make sure we build an experience on the iphone that people love, and then we'll start working on Android.
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