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I know people keep trying (unsuccessfully) to make startups that help you "find friends", but it would be nice if one of these actually took off. I currently l

I know people keep trying (unsuccessfully) to make startups that help you "find friends", but it would be nice if one of these actually took off. I currently live in an area where I find it somewhat difficult to make new friends, and I'm not entirely sure why that's the case. Generally speaking, the people where I live are more interested in football/beer than technology/startups, but I actually don't think that is the reason for my difficulty — I am good friends with some football fanatics, and there are some technically-minded people who I can't stand. (And I certainly don't mean to imply that there's anything wrong with football and beer — I merely point out that these are not interests of mine!) Honestly, I can't quite figure out what causes me to mesh well with some people and not others. I get along great with my girlfriend and my sister, and I can talk to them for hours even though neither is interested in science or technology. And I don't think it's morals/values either — I'm friends with people whose political views are completely opposed to my own. If someone can figure out what actually causes people to "click" with one another, then I think a startup for making friends might actually be successful.

baron816 11y ago
I think/hope my start up, Krewe (https://www.gokrewe.com https://www.gokrewe.com), has found the right formula. I believe the key elements are access and comfort. Krewe places people into a group with five of their peers, making it comfortable to hang out at first. You don't have to single anyone out, it works kind of how things worked in your youth. And everyone lives within a half mile radius, so it's really convenient to meet up often. As you say, having lots of stuff in common isn't usually the defining factor in what makes people "click." I think most people can get along with pretty much anyone, so long as they spend enough time together. When you're in school, that's built in since you have to show up to class everyday. Krewe makes it possible to hang out with your group everyday since everyone's within walking distance and can get together for a quick beer or whatever.
- ChartsNGraffs 11y ago
  Cool idea. Just signed up!
- tgb 11y ago
  Good idea. I signed up for fun. No one else in my group yet though. Too bad the network effect is so hard to overcome.
  - baron816 11y ago
    Yep. It's still very new.
  - dagaro 11y ago
    I agree
- stonecraftwolf 11y ago
  I thought this was a cool idea, and so I just signed up, but I was so alarmed by the process that I made an HN account to address this here. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but you drop people into randomly assigned groups of people who live within a certain distance without giving the user a chance to screen that group for people they already may know and need to avoid? This is such an obvious potential problem that it didn't occur to me that your service wouldn't account for it. In my case it's at least not a dangerous situation, although I'm betting the other person in my new group is really not going to be pleased to get this particular notification email. But I imagine overlap will be a problem, particularly when your userbase is still small. I have to ask--are there any women working at your company? Anyone over 25? This may seem like a nuisance question to you, but for many women I know (and for myself), the inability to screen potential groups is an immediate dealbreaker. It's a safety issue at it's most extreme, but it's also just common sense. For many women this is an absolute dealbreaker in a way men might not understand.
  - baron816 11y ago
    Thank you for very much for your feedback. I really appreciate it. Yes, Krewe does drop you into a group as soon as you sign up and you don't get to see who's in it. Keep in mind that we never give ANYONE your location or email address. You also have the choice to leave the group right away and join a new group and you have the ability to vote people out of a group. But I strongly believe the platform simply won't work if people are able to pick and choose who they want to be in a group with. It's not hard to imagine that men will only want to be in a group with attractive women. If people can choose, then they'll only choose "the best." I believe that the issues you raised apply to essentially anything in life. Every time you go to the grocery story, you run the risk of bumping into someone you don't like. If you go on Tinder, you can come across your ex. If you join a recreational kickball league, you could be put on a team with your arch nemesis. Krewe doesn't make you interact with anyone, it just give you the opportunity to do so. You should always meet up with new people in a safe, public space. With that said, I will be making some small changes that I hope will help address your concerns.
    - stegosaurus 11y ago
- auggierose 11y ago
  People have highly evolved mechanisms to decide who they want to be friends with. I doubt that any kind of software as simplistic as dropping people into random groups will work. Yes, people will make a choice if you allow them to, and remember, their primary choice is wether or not to use Krewe.
  - baron816 11y ago
    I know that not everyone is going to will be able to get along with who they're placed with initially. But I think that's fine for a couple reasons: 1) I didn't like some of my best friends at first, but the more I spent time with them, the more we influenced each other and the more we were able to get along. I'm sure that's the case with a lot of people, and that situation will happen with Krewe. 2) A group of friends is a situation where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Even if you don't like any particular person very much, you can still really enjoy being with the group. You get to help build a culture and a communal identity. 3) Krewe doesn't end when you're matched with your group. You eventually get to expand your and make dozens of friends in your neighborhood. So even if you don't like they people you're with at all, and if you stick with it, you'll get to meet people you will like. 4) People get to have multiple friends. One of the great thing about Krewe is that hanging out with your group takes almost no effort. As long as you don't totally detest them, you should find it enjoyable to go out and do stuff with them. I don't think anyone can design some sort of algorithm that will match you to someone who will inevitably be your best friend. You have to actually meet someone and get to know them before you can determine if you want to hang out with them.
taigeair 11y ago
I had an idea which was related to this. My idea wasn't to make new friends, but rather to figure out how you can be relevant to people you already know and grow that into deeper, better friendships. Honestly, I don't know how I can help my friends sometimes and feel they don't know what I'm struggling with, working on, etc. Marketing page: http://www.littlequest.me http://www.littlequest.me I had to put the app on hold because my friend dropped out on the project. It was in beta for a bit. Never officially launched. Still I hope to re-write it from scratch later this year.

baron816 11y ago

I think/hope my start up, Krewe (https://www.gokrewe.com https://www.gokrewe.com), has found the right formula. I believe the key elements are access and comfort. Krewe places people into a group with five of their peers, making it comfortable to hang out at first. You don't have to single anyone out, it works kind of how things worked in your youth. And everyone lives within a half mile radius, so it's really convenient to meet up often. As you say, having lots of stuff in common isn't usually the defining factor in what makes people "click." I think most people can get along with pretty much anyone, so long as they spend enough time together. When you're in school, that's built in since you have to show up to class everyday. Krewe makes it possible to hang out with your group everyday since everyone's within walking distance and can get together for a quick beer or whatever.

ChartsNGraffs 11y ago
Cool idea. Just signed up!
tgb 11y ago
Good idea. I signed up for fun. No one else in my group yet though. Too bad the network effect is so hard to overcome.
- baron816 11y ago
  Yep. It's still very new.
- dagaro 11y ago
  I agree
stonecraftwolf 11y ago
I thought this was a cool idea, and so I just signed up, but I was so alarmed by the process that I made an HN account to address this here. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but you drop people into randomly assigned groups of people who live within a certain distance without giving the user a chance to screen that group for people they already may know and need to avoid? This is such an obvious potential problem that it didn't occur to me that your service wouldn't account for it. In my case it's at least not a dangerous situation, although I'm betting the other person in my new group is really not going to be pleased to get this particular notification email. But I imagine overlap will be a problem, particularly when your userbase is still small. I have to ask--are there any women working at your company? Anyone over 25? This may seem like a nuisance question to you, but for many women I know (and for myself), the inability to screen potential groups is an immediate dealbreaker. It's a safety issue at it's most extreme, but it's also just common sense. For many women this is an absolute dealbreaker in a way men might not understand.
- baron816 11y ago
  Thank you for very much for your feedback. I really appreciate it. Yes, Krewe does drop you into a group as soon as you sign up and you don't get to see who's in it. Keep in mind that we never give ANYONE your location or email address. You also have the choice to leave the group right away and join a new group and you have the ability to vote people out of a group. But I strongly believe the platform simply won't work if people are able to pick and choose who they want to be in a group with. It's not hard to imagine that men will only want to be in a group with attractive women. If people can choose, then they'll only choose "the best." I believe that the issues you raised apply to essentially anything in life. Every time you go to the grocery story, you run the risk of bumping into someone you don't like. If you go on Tinder, you can come across your ex. If you join a recreational kickball league, you could be put on a team with your arch nemesis. Krewe doesn't make you interact with anyone, it just give you the opportunity to do so. You should always meet up with new people in a safe, public space. With that said, I will be making some small changes that I hope will help address your concerns.
  - stegosaurus 11y ago
auggierose 11y ago
People have highly evolved mechanisms to decide who they want to be friends with. I doubt that any kind of software as simplistic as dropping people into random groups will work. Yes, people will make a choice if you allow them to, and remember, their primary choice is wether or not to use Krewe.
- baron816 11y ago
  I know that not everyone is going to will be able to get along with who they're placed with initially. But I think that's fine for a couple reasons: 1) I didn't like some of my best friends at first, but the more I spent time with them, the more we influenced each other and the more we were able to get along. I'm sure that's the case with a lot of people, and that situation will happen with Krewe. 2) A group of friends is a situation where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Even if you don't like any particular person very much, you can still really enjoy being with the group. You get to help build a culture and a communal identity. 3) Krewe doesn't end when you're matched with your group. You eventually get to expand your and make dozens of friends in your neighborhood. So even if you don't like they people you're with at all, and if you stick with it, you'll get to meet people you will like. 4) People get to have multiple friends. One of the great thing about Krewe is that hanging out with your group takes almost no effort. As long as you don't totally detest them, you should find it enjoyable to go out and do stuff with them. I don't think anyone can design some sort of algorithm that will match you to someone who will inevitably be your best friend. You have to actually meet someone and get to know them before you can determine if you want to hang out with them.

taigeair 11y ago

I had an idea which was related to this. My idea wasn't to make new friends, but rather to figure out how you can be relevant to people you already know and grow that into deeper, better friendships. Honestly, I don't know how I can help my friends sometimes and feel they don't know what I'm struggling with, working on, etc. Marketing page: http://www.littlequest.me http://www.littlequest.me I had to put the app on hold because my friend dropped out on the project. It was in beta for a bit. Never officially launched. Still I hope to re-write it from scratch later this year.