☕ Meet me there
AI Summary
Dating apps are losing users to IRL meetup services like Dinner Table Club, TimeLeft, and Thursday, which organize in-person singles events across major cities. Meanwhile, Meetup.com — the original IRL social platform founded in 2002 — is attempting a comeback under new owner Bending Spoons, which raised organizer fees from $24 to $45/month and paywalled features, yet saw 20% growth in new app registrations last year.
Key Facts
Author Takes
IRL dating event apps as a business
Investors are wary that shindig-organizing apps can't scale to match the $6.2B swiping app industry because in-person logistics are harder to hand off to users.
Meetup.com's fee increases under Bending Spoons
Bending Spoons' turnaround strategy of raising fees and paywalling features may be alienating Meetup's longtime loyal user base even as new registrations grow.
Contrarian Angle
Restaurants as Dating Infrastructure
Dinner Table Club charges singles $75–$100 to dine with strangers at local restaurants, with restaurants willingly hosting because the events drive foot traffic on slow nights — creating a no-cost venue model.
Uses restaurant slow nights as free event venues, aligning commercial incentives without a venue cost structure.
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