I’m building a social app for meeting people in cities need honest advice on execution

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on an app focused on helping people meet others in their city through small group activities (like dinners, sports, coworking, etc.).

The core insight I’ve found from talking to people is this:

Most people don’t lack friends they just don’t have people available at the same time they want to do something.

So instead of positioning this as “make new friends,” the idea is more:

“What do I do right now, and who can I do it with?”

Now I’m stuck between two approaches and would love honest feedback:

Option A (Open Marketplace):

Let anyone create activities, and users can browse/join anything happening nearby.

Pros:

- Scales faster

- More variety

Cons:

- Risk of empty events

- Harder to control quality

- Cold start problem seems brutal

Option B (Structured / Curated Approach):

Start with a few repeatable events in one area

- Morning: run club

- Evening: badminton

- Night: dinner

Same time, same format, every day — almost like “social routines”

Pros:

- Easier to build habit

- Higher chance events actually have people

- Better first experience

Cons:

- Slower expansion

- Less variety early

My intuition says Option B is the better way to start, but I’m worried it might limit growth or feel too constrained.

If you’ve built or studied marketplace/social products:

- Which approach would you take early on?

- Is controlled supply better than open supply at the start?

- What are the biggest failure modes I should watch for?

Would really appreciate blunt, honest feedback.

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Independent-Ant-7230•3 months ago•1

I’d go with B early on. Cold start kills most marketplace/social apps, and empty events are a terrible first experience. Controlled supply then consistent experience then repeat users. Once you have density, you can open it up. Biggest risk isn’t growth being slow, it’s people showing up once, seeing no one, and never coming back.

Anonymous•3 months ago•1

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