Meet like-minded people
Hey guys, some time ago I had an idea for a platform where people like us, passionate about something, can organize events and meet like-minded people.
The idea was for the events not to be like the traditional lectures or talks, but more like going out with a small group of people (up to 12) to your favourite cafe or pizza place and just babble about what have you been through, about your experiences, struggles, victories, etc.
The problem is that I've built the MVP without clearly validate the idea. I've just asked friends, which of course said that the idea is awesome. And now it's live, but just live.
So do you think you don't have enough like-minded people to go out with and talk about things you love? If yes, how you've tried to find some? Have you actually tried? Have you used any similar platforms and are they good enough to solve the problem?
Here is a link to the app if you are curious - babblewith.me
Thank you in advance!
So, if this were me, I would physically start my own babble/meetup. Figure out what it takes to get a group of people together. Then see how your product can help that flourish.
For the Indie Hacker meetups I host, I much prefer just meeting and talking with people these days (over talks/speakers).
I'd use this, especially with the barrier to entry killing meetup these days. I kind of expressed interest in something like this in an earlier thread (or really just about the ease of meeting likeminded people), so I definitely see the need for this. https://www.indiehackers.com/post/ask-ih-how-to-meet-other-indie-hackers-first-time-founders-new-to-the-bay-area-0b2a85d890
Looking at your site, one thing I'd do is replace the usage of the word "meetups" with something else. Because the first thing I think of when I read that is that it's associated with Meetup the company somehow. Then my mind instantly drifts to, "do I have to login to Meetup as well? is this some kind of intermediate price point between something and Meetup?", etc . I don't know, call them babbups or babble & greets or something.
Which leads me to my next question - what distinguishes this from something like meetup? If it's something like perhaps events are created based on user's interactions first (whether in the IH forum, twitter, or where ever), then that could be cool :)
i would not sign up without first seeing some groups first
Valuable feedback! Thanks!
That sounds like an interesting project. It reminds me of a startup, The Cru, that I heard about on a podcast a while ago that you might find interesting: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/the-pitch/94ho6v
I feel like there's definitely a demand for social groups like that, but the real difficulty is getting enough people on a platform to make it worthwhile to have meetups. It might make sense to focus locally now so you can work on recruiting people to come to the gatherings.
Yeah, actually what I wanted is to start locally, that's why I've made only local restaurants and cafes available for meetup locations, but getting any people on the platform is really hard. I've tried with paid ads, paid marketing is not really suitable for this kind of projects. Do you have any advices on getting initial customers? Thank you a lot!
Yeah, I can imagine paid ads would cost a ton for something like this. I imagine it'll be quite manual in the beginning, like organizing a meetup yourself on it and try to get people registered for it on your platform. You could also find people who are already running meetup groups in your area and offer them access to your platform for free to try it out and give you feedback on it.
Maybe some other form of marketing would be useful, like creating an email list and sending a weekly email with all the events going on that week in your area with an offer to sign up and organize your platform in it.
I wonder if this would be useful for people who do language exchanges where people get together and communicate in a language they're trying to learn. I believe most of those groups tend to meet in cafés or similar locations, so it might be a good niche to target initially.
Thank you!
meetup.com
Yup, meetup is one of biggest players, but do you find the events there cohesive enough? Most of the events from meetup that I've attended, have been more like a presentation with a Q&A at the end, rather than a friendly and an informal going out. What do you think?
I like the enthusiasm. But please make sure that the business model works in whichever location you choose.
In few countries or location there can be lesser to least adoption leading cash burns.
Preach it @moniak40!!! That's been exactly my experience with websites like meetup as well, in addition to mingling feeling a bit forced while everyone tries to figure out the right groups of people for them to spend time with.
Great job launching babble 💯
I think preaching is not enough when the line dividing the idea of babble and prominent players working on similar ideas is very thin.
If you ask my opinion then I would say that you have to offer something else to make this unique. I mean there are plenty of groups in meetup itself in which there are no promotional activities and presentations if you search their website.
Love the concept - I've been thinking of working on something similar 😊
I think there is a need to build authentic social connections with people, and that's why Google just entered this space with - https://shoelace.nyc/.
If there is a possibility that the meetup is informal, the social connections are not somewhat forced, then I believe I would love using babble. However, there is not so much difference with it and meetup.com