Yesterday my phone reminded me that I was parked in a street cleaning spot, and saved me an $80 parking ticket. Later that day, I ordered Indian food for dinner and it was at my doorstep in 30 minutes. After dinner, I purchased a batch of new masks and they’ll probably arrive tomorrow. Technology is making some parts of life very easy.
But not everything. Technology isn’t making it easier for me to get off my 🍑 and go on a hike. It’s not making it easier to go on creative quarantine dates. Technology isn’t making it easier to do the hard, meaningful things — what many call “living your best life.” This was true before COVID, and it’s even more real now that motivation is in short supply.
You know what does make it easier to live your best life? Planner friends. Those trusted friends who text us and say, “hey — you wanna go on this hike? It’s open, just bring a mask and I’ve got the whole day planned out.” We trust them, they plan everything, and they text us what to do.
At The Nudge, we make a digital version of this planner friend and we believe it’s the future of consumer lifestyle.
We started in cities, where subscribers to The Nudge would be texted date ideas, hike plans, ways to get out of the city, and so on. Over 40% of San Francisco’s female millennials joined The Nudge, and we amassed over 100k subscribers across our programs as we expanded to Austin, New York City, Seattle and other lifestyle verticals.
When COVID hit, we helped our members watch Italian foreign films over Cacio e pepe takeout, figure out their at-home workout situation, and support local businesses who desperately needed help.
Today, we’re excited to announce that we’ve raised $2M from Lightspeed Venture Partners and NextView Ventures to expand across the country, and to other parts of your lifestyle.
“Imagine how great your life would be if you had a full-time planner friend helping you go on more creative dates and be more active in supporting the causes you care about,” said Jana Messerschmidt, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. “We love the way The Nudge uses technology in such a positive way when we need it most.”
Recently we launched a camping program to help people get some fresh air during COVID, a healthy(ish) cooking program to help people revamp their cooking routines, and The Ally Nudge — a program to help you do the work as an ally to the Black community. Within weeks, The Ally Nudge drew subscribers from over 1,700 cities in all 50 states.
We’re excited about the future. What if you had a planner friend for every part of your life that matters most? What if it constantly became more useful: Booking things for you, coordinating friend groups, and expanding beyond text to other mediums? And what if you *actually* trusted it because it didn’t take a cent from outsiders or sell your personal info to other parties?
These are the questions that excite us, and we can’t wait to discover the answers.
-John Peterson and Sarah Peterson
Siblings and Cofounders of The Nudge
