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☆ New dating apps and social-networking startups are gaining steam. Read pitch decks 6 used to raise millions of dollars.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-15 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New social-networking and dating startups are coming onto the scene. Here are the pitch decks six startups used while raising Series A and seed rounds. Founders of these startups are tackling problems like loneliness, dating app fatigue, and general dissatisfaction with the current social-media incumbents. Meet 7 VC investors eyeing new social startupsBI spoke with several social-media and dating app founders about how they are raising capital — including the pitch decks they used to raise millions of dollars. Read the pitch decks that helped 6 social-networking and dating startups fundraise millions of dollars:Note: Pitch decks are sorted by investment stage and size of round.

Persons: —, Isabella Epstein's, Tiffany, Daybreak Ventures Rex Woodbury, Catalyst, Mervana Parekh, It's, Marlon Nichols Organizations: Service, IRL, Big Tech, Daybreak Ventures, Business, Tinder, Acrew, Mac Venture

☆ Instagram and TikTok are chasing after 'close friends' as the social web goes private
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewThere's a new app that promises to connect you with your closest friends — only this time, it's coming from TikTok. The app, dubbed Whee, pitches itself as a platform to "keep you connected with your close friends through life's spontaneous moments." Whee's arrival on the charts — it's 27th among social-networking apps in Apple's App Store, outranking Skype and Signal — comes as Instagram is also leaning into features for close friends. After spending years leaning into influencer content, to the chagrin of some users, the big social platforms are betting big on close friends. But as the platforms prioritized creator-made content, like on Instagram reels, everyday users' content seemed to take a back seat.

Persons: —, Snapchat, They're, Mervana Parekh, Nathan Sharp, influencers, Adam Mosseri, YouTubers Colin, Samir, Mosseri Organizations: Service, Android Police, Business, Skype, Acrew, Retro Locations: TikTok

☆ A new crop of startups wants to help solve loneliness among millennials and Gen Z. Here's how they're connecting strangers and making money.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Lauren Johnson | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Plus, the pandemic and the shift to working from home have made millennials and Gen Z lonelier than ever, thanks in part to doomscrolling. "I believe the conventional 'make friends' apps too closely mimic the dating model, which can feel awkward and high-pressure for making friends," he said. The group hosts "reading parties" at bars and event spaces with the goal of helping people connect through reading. Dinner With Friends, a group that throws dinner parties, has worked on sponsored events with brands like Bumble and Geneva. Dinner With Friends founder Anita Michaud said brands typically either sponsor entire dinners or provide products — like canned cocktails — for the dinner parties.

Persons: —, they've, Danial Hashemi, Sydney, Z, millennials, Cliff Lerner, Lisa Oreshkina, Saneblidze, Tom Worchester, Andreessen Horowitz, Victor Pontis, Luma, Liz Chick, Gen, Mira Hobbs, ReCreate's Chick, Anita Michaud, Peter Boyce II, Boyce, Maitree Mervana Parekh, Marlon Nichols, they're, it's, Ben Bradbury Organizations: Service, Business, Sydney Bradley, Big Tech, Tech, Timeleft, Reading, Facebook, VC, Wine, Bumble, New, Acrew, MaC Venture, Reading Rhythms Locations: New York City, Los Angeles, New York, Brooklyn, Squarespace, Lisbon, Amsterdam, London, San Francisco, Geneva

☆ Snapchat avoided 'AI' and leaned into real experiences in its annual pitch to brands
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Dan Whateley | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

During the Snap-owned app's pitch to brands at its NewFronts presentation on Wednesday in New York, the company emphasized the value of real-world experiences, or IRL, over social-media scrolling. Sharing became contrived, and social media as a whole began feeling like an inauthentic version of our lives rather than a source of genuine connection." It's plastered ads on competitive social media platforms and billboards with its "Less Social Media. Related storiesSnapchat executives mentioned AI just once during the NewFronts presentation, saying the company had used AI models to build augmented-reality lenses. Snap is not the only social platform addressing lonelinessSnapchat's war against social media taps into a broader trend.

Persons: —, Colleen DeCourcy, Cipriani, DeCourcy, TikTok, Dan Whateley, NewFront, Meta's, Mervana Parekh, Snapchat, Patrick Harris, Piper Sandler Organizations: Service, Facebook, Meta, Business, NFL, NBA, NBC, Entertainment, Media, Snap's, Acrew, Big Tech Locations: New York, Manhattan, Americas

☆ Why 7 prominent VCs are investing millions in new social startups like Diem, Lex, and 222
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Mervana Parekh is a principal at Acrew and has invested in social startups like Diem, Afterparty, and Anything World. Best Nights VC. Nichols is a founding managing partner at MaC, which recently invested in social startups like Spill and Swsh. Boyce has backed a slew of new social startups, including Diem, Lex, Koodos Labs, and Swsh, alongside associate Rhian Horton. In 2024, Best Nights is looking to invest in companies that facilitate travel experiences after hearing people say their best nights have happened during trips or vacations, said de Silva.

Persons: —, Connie Chan, Mervana Parekh, Peter Boyce II, Marlon Nichols, Catalyst, Web3, Peter, Diem, Afterparty, Lorrain de Silva, Andrew Kahn, Miley Cyrus, Lorde, Kahn, Aaron Matusow, Dan Kruchkow, Nichols, Elizabeth Weil, Kevin Weil, John Smothers, Boyce, Lex, Rhian Horton, Lorrain, Silva, BestNights, Aaron Leithäuser, Gen Z, Peter Boyce, de Silva, Acrew Organizations: Service, Business, Acrew, Stellation, MaC Venture, VCs, Stanford University, Startup, Pudgy Penguins, Crush Ventures, VC, Crush, MaC Venture Capital, MaC, Catalyst, Koodos Labs, Big Tech Locations: 1kx, San Francisco , New York, Lisbon, Acrew, San Francisco, Berlin, Los Angeles and New York, Los Angeles, New York, Rythm

☆ Why a Huge Coal Power Plant in Bangladesh Keeps Running Out of Coal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Somini Sengupta | Julfikar Ali Manik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

One of the world’s newest, most contested coal-burning power plants began operation in December. The troubles facing the Maitree power plant are a glimpse into the risks that other new coal plants around the world could face in coming years, for a variety of reasons. Maitree shut down temporarily because of a shortage of foreign currency to import coal from Indonesia. That happened because the value of the Bangladeshi taka shrank, while commodity prices, including coal, rose sharply. Other coal plants elsewhere are at risk of sitting idle in coming years because coal could soon lose its appeal as the cheapest source of electricity.

Persons: Maitree, taka Locations: Indonesia

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