Finding someone who shares your active passions, such as hiking, biking, and running, can be a real challenge. Existing friends and family aren't necessarily into the same sports as you, and making new friends at the gym or rock pool can be a little awkward. Same goes for trying your luck in random groups on Facebook or WhatsApp. Step forward Liveiness is a Spanish startup building community apps to share a passion for sports.
The freemium app, which was on display at 4YFN during the MWC trade show this week, allows users to set up a profile and find others interested in the same activities.
It has a chat feature and the ability for users to set up events that other users can sign up to and attend. It also features a feed of (non-user) organized events aimed at learning and improving in a variety of sports, such as running clubs, street yoga, and calisthenics sessions. These may include paid events, giving startups an avenue to earn commissions. It also plans to monetize through a premium version of the app with additional features for subscribers.
Helping users connect with qualified sports coaches is also one of the app's design goals.
Founder and CEO Marco Savino is passionate about finding people to hike with, and says other meetup apps (including Meetup, a long-time player in the space) He said he came up with the idea because he was not impressed and felt there was a gap in the app. Specialized for sporty types. “The main idea of this app is that people can make plans together,” he told us. “For example, tomorrow you want to go to the beach and go for a run. Then you can publish your plans and let people participate.”
The app was soft-launched about a year ago, but received a major update last summer. “We started last August to improve the app and get all the feedback,” Savino said. “Our users, mainly here in Spain, are around 2,300 in total. In the last three months, people have really started using the app to make plans, create events, etc. Did.”
The age range of users ranges from young people to middle-aged and elderly people. Sports interests are also diverse, and users can tag one or more interests, but he suggests running is currently the most popular.
“We just tried to make the app as simple as possible so people can understand it and understand how to use it,” he added. “When you go to look at all the plans, you see people talking and having meetings, so it's really nice to see people understanding the app and starting to use it.”
As mainstream social networks feel increasingly broken as relationship tools, these niche social networks create more welcoming, community-oriented spaces focused on common interests. There may be an opportunity to quietly step up and build traction. Fitness tracking app Strava is certainly becoming more active on the social networking front.
Throwing insults in online culture wars is not a fun pastime for most people. Why not just ignore the noise and anger from X et al. Why not try a small network that might actually help expand your social circle?