The winner of a recent TC Radio Pitch-Off contest, Stitch is a social network designed for those over 50 years old. Headquartered in Australia, the site is designed to help members find friends, romantic companionship, or just new activities to try.
Marcie Rogo, cofounder of Stitch, explained that “many older adults have lots of things they want to do, but nobody to do them with. Stitch meets this need with a unique and vibrant social network with the ability to meet other like-minded people through member-driven group activities, travel, and one-on-one companionship”.
This means that unlike dating sites, many Stitch members host group events like wine tastings or trivia nights. There are now 20,000 active members, and over 50 actives Stitch communities.
While available for free, Stitch also has a $60/year premium tier which gives members features like unlimited profile views, boosted profile positions, and member-to-member phone calls. The company said about 10 percent of signups end up converting to premium users.
Interestingly, the company has a phone-based customer service platform, where users can pick up the phone and talk to a real human being. While this sounds like a small detail, its a huge differentiator for an older crowd who feels more comfortable communicating via voice.
Part of 500 Startup’s 9th batch, the site is a spinout of a startup called Tapestry, a tablet solution to help seniors stay connected in retirement communities. Stitch raised a $1M seed round in August, and is planning a Series A for early 2016.