Vilnius-based firm Joiner, which connects people through real-life group events, has raised €500,000 in an angel round to expand into mid-sized European cities, as Vestbee was told.
- Established in 2023 by Eduard Titov and Jūratė Plungytė, Joiner is a social platform that helps people form real-life connections through shared activities and events. The free-to-use app has been downloaded over 40,000 times across the Baltics and Poland and currently sees around 1,500 daily active users.
- Users can discover and join hundreds of events, ranging from sports and fitness groups to board games, tech meetups, and social outings, while also hosting and managing their own events directly in the app.
- Since launch, more than 11,000 shared activities have taken place on the platform. With built-in group chat and event management features, Joiner facilitates meaningful interactions and community building.
"Dating apps are transactional. Joiner is transformational. We’re not selling events, we’re creating moments. We create space to meet a new friend, to try something new, to have the kind of spontaneous night out that makes you feel you belong here. We’re building something much more valuable than another social feed,” co-founder and CMO of Joiner, Juratė Plungyte, commented in a press release.
- Joiner plans to use the €500,000 in fresh funding to strengthen its platform and fuel growth. The company will enhance app stability and user experience, particularly in chat and event creation features, while testing new monetization models such as subscriptions and in-app ticket sales.
- The funding will also support hosts and organizers by providing better tools to create and manage events, helping them potentially earn from their activities. Additionally, Joiner will use the investment to prepare for its expansion into mid-sized European cities, beginning with Prague, Lisbon, and Málaga in 2026.
