people worldwide experience loneliness.
The WHO describes loneliness and social isolation as widespread problems with serious consequences for health and society.
WHO Commission on Social Connection · 2025 ↗
Work with usVision & impact
Technology helps us meet.Roundup helps us keep showing up.
Technology has made it easier to find people. Roundup explores what helps a promising connection survive busy weeks, new cities and ordinary life, one invitation at a time.
The product begins after the introduction, with the next shared moment.
Where we are today
Roundup is a research-informed first prototype. We are testing whether easier, more considerate planning can help intended gatherings happen and happen again. We are not claiming a social outcome in advance.
01 · Why this matters
The wider problem is real. Our claim stays narrow.
Social disconnection deserves serious attention. Roundup focuses on one practical moment inside that larger problem: helping people who already want to meet reach the next gathering.
Migration · OECD
Moving countries can weaken access to dependable support.
Source and context
Across OECD data, foreign-born respondents were 1.7 times more likely than native-born respondents to report having nobody to count on in times of need.
OECD Social Connections & Loneliness · 2025 ↗International students
Isolation and limited support are recurring risks.
Source and context
A 2026 scoping review found evidence of higher loneliness or lower social support among international students across several included studies.
BMC Public Health · 23-study review · 2026 ↗Friendship maintenance
Friendships are sensitive to less contact and fewer shared activities.
Source and context
An 18-month longitudinal study following students through a life transition found friendship closeness was sensitive to decreases in contact and shared activities.
Roberts & Dunbar · 2011 ↗
02 · From connection to continuity
Meeting is only the beginning.
Friendship develops through contact and shared time. Roundup is interested in the practical bridge between "we should" and the second, third and fourth plan.
Connection becomes relationship through what happens next.
03 · Where the evidence ends
The question is clear. The answer is not.
What research supports
- Social connection matters.
- Friendships need contact and shared activity.
- Life transitions can make continuity harder.
What Roundup must test
- Whether coordination is a meaningful bottleneck.
- Whether this product reduces that friction.
- Whether easier planning leads to more completed gatherings.
04 · The first prototype
Make "we should" easier to turn into "we did."
Roundup keeps the invitation, group decisions, logistics and relevant preferences in one flow. Anyone can start the plan, and no one has to carry every detail alone.
Design hypothesisNot yet an outcome
Preference-aware planningFriday dinner · 6 people
A clearer group pictureFriday works best. Keep it relaxed, easy to reach and comfortable for different budgets.
05 · The research plan
Test the behaviour before the social outcome.
The first pilot should measure what the product directly touches. Questions about belonging, relationship quality or loneliness need separate, careful research over time.
Questions we want to answer
- 01
Does reducing coordination friction make an intended gathering more likely to happen?
- 02
Does private preference sharing improve comfort and perceived plan fit?
- 03
Does Roundup reduce the effort carried by the person who starts the plan?
- 04
Does an easier next invitation help a group gather again?
What we can observe first
- 1
Invitation created
- 2
Guest opened
- 3
Guest responded
- 4
Plan finalised
- 5
Gathering happened
- 6
Group gathered again
06 · A bounded theory of change
Gather first. Study the longer-term effect honestly.
01Intend
02Coordinate
03Gather
04Repeat
05Relate
06Study impact
Prototype outcomesCoordination, completion and repeat gathering.
Longer-term researchCloseness, belonging, social support and loneliness.
Build the evidence with us
Help us find out what works.
We are looking for research and university collaborators, community partners, pilot hosts, product allies and aligned early investors.
Start a conversation