Andy Dunn, the visionary founder of the online fashion retailer Bonobos, has shifted gears from selling clothing to tackling a new and exciting challenge: helping individuals forge connections and make friends. His latest venture, Pie, is a revolutionary social application designed to facilitate real-life interactions among users. With an impressive $11.5 million Series A funding round, Dunn aims to enhance social experiences by employing event organizers to host engaging gatherings.
Despite being available only in San Francisco and Chicago, Pie has quickly gained traction, boasting over 130,000 monthly active users. This rapid growth has presented a unique challenge: as attendance at events rises, the crowded nature of these gatherings makes it increasingly difficult for attendees to connect meaningfully. Dunn aptly summarizes this dilemma by noting, “This is the beauty of building a startup. A solution creates a problem.”
With hundreds of participants at each event, the question arises: how can guests identify potential friends amid a sea of strangers? The challenge of fostering genuine connections in bustling environments is a significant hurdle that Pie aims to overcome. To address this issue, Dunn and his team explored innovative solutions to facilitate meaningful interactions at their events.
A breakthrough emerged through the collaboration of two event organizers on Pie, who were already developing a tool named Sparked Connections. This AI-powered quiz aims to predict compatibility among attendees based on their personalities. Recognizing the potential of this tool, Pie acqui-hired its creators, Samir Mahafzah and Sam Stubbs, integrating the quiz into select events branded as “Sparked by Pie.”
At events such as Pie's popular “Coffee with Strangers,” attendees are invited to complete a brief personality assessment. This quiz presents a series of prompts that respondents rate on a scale of 1 to 5, covering diverse topics such as personal values, beliefs, and even potential toxic traits. Questions may include: “Are you willing to sacrifice stability to pursue a passion?” or “Do you believe in astrology?”
Following the completion of the quiz, an algorithm evaluates the responses to group participants into clusters of six individuals, identified as those most likely to connect. These groups are then introduced to each other through a dedicated group chat on the Pie app, allowing them to break the ice before the event. Dunn emphasizes the importance of this approach, stating, “We’re starting to power it through ChatGPT. And then when we get feedback loops of who connects with who, and who invites people to stuff, we’ll start to see, well, why do people hit it off?”
As Pie continues to evolve, Dunn is optimistic about utilizing AI technology to refine the process of making connections. By analyzing patterns and feedback from users, Pie aims to tackle the complex art of social interaction, transforming the way individuals meet and build friendships in crowded settings. With its innovative approach, Pie stands poised to revolutionize the social landscape, proving that even in a digital age, genuine connections can thrive.
