Excuses to Connect

34: Venn - The App to Make Friends with Jesper Algaard

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Jesper Algaard is the Founder and CEO of the Venn app. Venn is Norwegian for “friend” and it’s an app designed to help people make friends. This is done by matching people based on similar interests and personalities, as well creating activities to move the online conversations to in-person interactions. In this episode, Jesper shares his inspiration behind creating this app, curious facts about human connection, and stories about how connection comes about in different stages of our lives.

Highlights & Takeaways
  • When Jesper was in his 30s, he realized that his social life was changing quite a bit: friends who he used to regularly hang out with became less available because they got married. Venn came out of the idea of utilizing technology to help people be more social with the right people.
  • Norway is a “very non-flirty population” as compared to people in Spain and Italy. Norwegians won’t sit next to each other if they don’t have to, and people prefer being at a distance.
  • 50% of their users are people who are actually in a relationship - they may have a family, kids, and friends, but they still want more.
  • How he had a surprising friendship with an 80-year-old man by connecting over world politics and economics.
  • How he also had a several hour conversation with a Japanese TV celebrity without expecting it
  • “If you have a friend who you haven’t talked to in a long time, I would say pick up the phone and have a chat because good friends are probably one of the most things we can have. Friends rock!”
    • Resources Mentioned
    • Contact Jesper: LinkedIn
    • Venn: Website | App Store | Google Play

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      Excuses to ConnectBy Richard Lee-Thai