IRL - Do More Together
IRL - Do More Together is a company.
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Financial History
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Leadership Team
Key people at IRL - Do More Together.
IRL - Do More Together is a company.
Key people at IRL - Do More Together.
Key people at IRL - Do More Together.
IRL (In Real Life) was a social platform combining event discovery, social calendaring, and group messaging to connect users around shared real-world or virtual experiences, with the tagline "Do More Together."[1][2][4] It served students, young adults, and communities seeking authentic interactions, solving the isolation of traditional social media by driving users to attend events and spend "Time Together" offline or online.[1][2] The app pivoted from in-person events during COVID-19 to online ones like livestreams and Zoom parties, achieving unicorn status with over $370 million raised and 400% growth, but shut down on June 27 (year unspecified in sources, likely 2024 or 2025).[2][4][6][7]
Founded in 2018 by Abraham Shafi, IRL started as a tool for discovering real-world events to foster in-person connections.[4][6] Shafi, the CEO and co-founder, built it with a mission to counter social media isolation by prioritizing human interaction around events.[1][2][4] Early traction came post-launch in June (likely 2020), with 10x daily active user growth and 300 million "Time Together" hours; a COVID pivot to virtual events sustained momentum, leading to rapid funding and features like college networks (launched with 100 North American schools) and Groups.[1][2][4]
IRL rode the post-COVID wave craving authentic, in-person connections amid remote-work fatigue and social media burnout, timing its pivot perfectly as lockdowns eased.[2][4] Market forces like hybrid events, creator economies, and campus organizing favored it, influencing ecosystems via college expansions (1M+ users) and funds to revive city cultures.[1][2] It challenged passive scrolling giants by emphasizing "real human interaction," validating event-based social as a niche before competitors solidified.[4]
IRL's shutdown marks the end of a bold experiment in event-driven social, despite $370M funding, unicorn valuation ($1.17B), and massive growth—highlighting execution risks in competitive social spaces.[2][6][7] What's next is unclear as operations ceased June 27, but trends like AI-enhanced event matching or Web3 communities could revive similar models. Its legacy underscores the challenge of sustaining "Time Together" amid Big Tech dominance, tying back to its core promise: platforms must truly get users offline to endure.[1][7]
