There’s a new social app geared towards women launching just in time for International Women’s Day.
GirlCrew is officially debuting its social media platform app in Canada that helps women make new friends and connect with like-minded women.
The app, also called GirlCrew, is available on Android, iOS, and desktops. Women can connect and chat with other individuals by joining the group for their city, such as Toronto or Vancouver, where they can see what events are happening in the area, read posts and comments from other users, and even write posts and create events themselves. There are also topic groups like Travel, Careers, Entrepreneurs, Fashion & Beauty, Fitness, etc., where users can share knowledge and advice on everything from finding a new job to good restaurants for first dates.
“There are countless apps available to find a date, but what about new friends?” starts the company’s Mar. 8 press release. “Harnessing the soaring demand for friendship and community, GirlCrew has tapped into a market; facilitating friendship in person, even in an ever-digitized era. First dating moved online, now friend making is going online.”
The idea began when co-founder Elva Carri wanted to go out dancing but none of her friends were available. She reached out for platonic friends on dating app Tinder and after receiving more than 100 enthusiastic replies, she created a “Tinder Crew” that eventually turned into GirlCrew. Carri teamed up with her two other co-founders, Pamela Newenham and Aine Mulloy, to launch an app that would specialize in female friendship.
The app’s three co-founders say they want the app to facilitate in-person friendships and encourage women to partake in group activities like brunch, hikes, nights out, and even start businesses together.
“We believe real friendships happen in person, however sometimes you need a nudge and an extra channel in order to meet these new like-minded people,” Pamela Newenham, co-CEO of GirlCrew, says in the release. “So many people have either moved to a new city, or have found themselves at a different life stage to their friends, either because their friends are getting married, settling down, etc. As a result, they need new friends, but making friends as an adult can be hard.”
GirlCrew raised almost $1 million in funding from notables including LinkedIn chief executive officer Jeff Weiner, Wrigley CMO Orla Mitchell, and Reddit director of data science Joe Gallagher.