Pie, the social app founded by former Bonobos chief Andy Dunn, rolled out a “Community Homes” feature aimed at turning transient event gatherings into lasting digital spaces where users can keep in touch.
Community Homes give groups a permanent spot
The new tool lets organizers set up dedicated pages that act as a home base for any kind of group, from running clubs to casual craft circles. Each home includes its own feed, admin controls, a shareable link and built‑in event planning tools.
Unlike earlier versions that centered on single meet‑ups, the update encourages members to post anything from a spontaneous “hang out and craft together” invitation to a suggestion to watch the latest “Love Island” reunion. The company says anyone in the group can add events, which should make networking feel more organic.
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Pie’s rollout comes as younger adults seek more face‑to‑face interaction after years of screen‑heavy socializing. By giving digital groups a place to linger, the app hopes to bridge the gap between online coordination and offline connection.
From events focus to ongoing relationships
Earlier this year, Pie altered its activity feed to highlight which friends were attending an event, rather than just listing the events themselves. The change reportedly pushed average session length from two minutes to ten minutes.
A “favorites” addition lets users showcase interests on public profiles, further nudging the platform toward a social‑network feel. The company plans to launch group chats soon, adding another layer for casual conversation.
Investors behind the startup include Forerunner, Lightspeed, Accel and Twitter co‑founder Ev Williams. The app now counts roughly 300,000 users, with strongest adoption in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
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“Run clubs, art markets, watch parties– all these things that we’re hearing about in terms of the cultural movement towards being together again,” Dunn told TechCrunch. “And I felt like if we build software for those social clubs, we can create an environment and an ecosystem where people can start to run into other people and belong to communities and start to have deeper connections,” he added, dubbing Pie a sort of “Reddit for IRL.”
Co‑founder and CMO Nadya Okamoto, who started the Zoomies run club in New York, said, “I would say [Pie is] more like the original promise of Facebook and Reddit — if it wasn’t anonymous and toxic,” she said of the social forums site. “Rather than leading with events, which is what so many other great platforms do, I think events are more of a product of having a great community‑building ecosystem on the app.”
While the feature is currently available nationwide, adoption still skews toward larger cities where social clubs already have a foothold.
