At The Pool
Beautiful profiles and intelligent interest-mapping.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
N/A | Angel | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
At The Pool was positioned as a social network designed to bridge the gap between online interactions and offline, real-world connections. Founded in September 2011 by Alex Capecelatro, the platform aimed to connect individuals with shared interests who were geographically close to one another.
The concept was born from Capecelatro's own experiences with loneliness and the difficulty of meeting like-minded people after relocating. With a background in technology and design, including a role at Fisker Automotive and running his own graphic design firm, Capecelatro focused on creating a comfortable and visually appealing user experience to encourage interaction.
The business operated as a social discovery platform, combining features found on sites like Meetup and Match.com. Its core function was to facilitate connections through an "interest graph," grouping users into "pools" based on their hobbies and activities. The service utilized proximity and daily email recommendations to suggest potential real-life meetups. The platform was initially web-based, with plans to expand into native mobile applications for iOS and Android to support on-the-go connectivity.
The startup's goal was to move beyond the binary friend/not-friend model of other social networks and create a more nuanced platform that reflected the varied ways people connect in the real world. It targeted users who were looking to expand their social circles and engage in activities with new people in their local area. Information on its revenue model is not readily available, and the service appears to be defunct as of the last available reports from the early 2010s.
Keywords: social discovery, interest graph, offline connection, real-world networking, Alex Capecelatro, social meetup, location-based social, community building, hyper-local, activity partners, friendship app, social platform, peer-to-peer connection, online to offline, interest-based networking, local events, social meetups, neighbor discovery, community platform, social activity