Lunchclub, a 15-person start-up that makes professional introductions, recently raised $24.2 million at a valuation of $100 million in a round led by Coatue and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Users are recognizing the company’s value post-COVID-19. Zoom and DocuSign were available even before COVID-19, while Lunchclub has had to change direction in an altogether different way.
Lunchclub’s usage increases ten-fold post-coronavirus pandemic
It was established in 2017 when a friend invited Patrick Burns to this start-up, whose software introduces people to one another virtually. Back then, it encouraged people to meet in person, in San Francisco, New York, and other cities. From March 2020, it went virtual helping people make introductions over email, it sent links for talking on Google Meet.
Their Co-founder and CEO Vlad Novakovski stated that now there are tens of thousands of meetings happening each week, which is ten times more than before COVID-19.
How it works
Want to publish your own articles on DistilINFO Publications?
Send us an email, we will get in touch with you.
Once you enter your name, email address, and location, the system will ask you to select a few objectives, such as meeting new people, investing, or starting a company. Once you pick your interests, the system follows-up with better recommendations. You can also add an image and link it to your Linkedin or Twitter profiles. The Lunchclub also requires you to write a brief bio which it can use to introduce you to new people it matches over the email. Once your identity is confirmed, you can start meeting different people each week.
The 15-person startup builds matches using artificial intelligence models. Novakovski says that as the service grows, the quality of matches improves.
Lunchclub confirm the quality of relevant matches with its user testimonials
Several users have told stories of their surprisingly relevant matches. Anastasia Golovashkina, a social media director in Boston met a Lunchclub match in person during the pandemic. She and the Lunchclub user are living in San Diego, with both having experience in politics. The woman also met up with Golovashkina when she visited Boston.
Bjame Christiansen, co-founder of mobile database start-up Realm, which was acquired by MongoDB last year also met an investor through Lunchclub. After initial discussions, he realized that the investor had once lived in Christiansen’s apartment building.
