Nicola Gunby, co -founder of Cliqa.
Nicola Gunby
Nicola Gunby, a 30-year-old entrepreneur, longed for a friend’s community when she moved to London after a pandemia, but she was shocked when she was isolated in one of the largest cities in the world.
Gunby, co -founder of the CLIQ Social and Community, comes from Nottingham in the UK and settled in London with his partner Jason Iliffe 2021 after his stay in Australia.
Gunby and Iliffe expected to be embedded in the city social scene but soon determined that people were a fight.
“How can you be in the city of millions of people, but fight to find a true relationship?” Said Gunby. “It felt really impossible.”
Nicola Gunby and her husband Jason Illife faced Cliq together.
Nicola Gunby
Gunby tried everything. She attended network events for women’s founders, but considered them too corporate. She even turned to apps like Bumble BFF, which she discovered was a “super transaction”, while the Facebook groups were “so outdated”.
Gunby and IIIFFE soon realized that the question was far greater than themselves and began to think about the idea of a social network platform that gathered people in real life.
After making some plans, they hired an application for a barbone application application and trials at universities.
Cliq, founded in February 2023, was described as an antidote for the stereotypical platforms of social media. Users can join communities focused on their interests and hobbies that can range from running, reading, pilates and groups based on faith.
The purpose of the community is to organize events so that users can meet and ignite friendships personally.
“It’s easy to make it easier to get to know people in an authentic way … and teach people to lower the phone, which is very difficult in this day and age when the time of our screen is so high and we are so dependent on our phones,” “Gunby said.
From his launch, Cliq collected £ 528,900 ($ 646,000) in financing and built a base of 100,000 users around the world, and American, Australia and Bali in the main markets outside the UK
Loneliness is a global question
Creating a Cliq comes while people are looking for ties in the midst of what is described as “An epidemic of loneliness. “
Gallup’s global survey of lonelinesswho collected data in 2023, he showed that one of five people interviewed around the world felt lonely “many days.” The same demographic group of people are more likely to say that they felt anger or physical pain.
American surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s 2023. The report of “Our Loneliness and Insulation Epidemia” pointed out that loneliness is becoming a growing issue in generations and that it is a great risk of physical health that contributes to things such as dementia, stroke or even premature death.
“It’s a 100% global question,” Gunby explained. “Pandemi made us a lot more introverted as people … I think a lot of people scared a bit of a gathering.
“That is now coming out of the work, and people want it in real life,” she added.
The issue of loneliness is also worsened by technology and social media, according to Gunby.
“We feel so connected through our phones that we can see what our friends or influencers do all the time, but many of these people we don’t really see, so we feel like we are connected on the surface level, but when we look deeper down, actually we actually actually We didn’t, “she said.
“The crisis of loneliness goes up and worse, and so many people are looking for a relationship, but none of the apps do nothing to solve it.”
American surgeon, General Vivek Murthy, recently said “Oprah Podcast” that one solution to loneliness is no longer focusing on himself, but paying attention to the world outside us by investing in three things: relationships, service and community.
“When we focus on connecting with something bigger than ourselves, it’s actually when we find joy,” Oprah Winfrey said in January an episode of his podcast.
‘Real social network’
Gunby said that the reason for Cliq is acting that his communities act about common interest and purpose. She described the difference between social networks and social media applications.
The social network application is less in consumption of content, and more about connecting with friends, Gunby said, citing the old Facebook days as an example of it.
“The younger generation and we talk to many of them … They never experienced what a true social network is,” she said. “Every single platform has been social media since then, so, for example, Instagram, Tictak. We just sat down. We move. We’re addicted to our phones.”
“We don’t really hang out with anyone, and that takes that face to face to face,” she added.
Cliq worked with Gymshark to put on walking event.
Wedge
Cliq, she said, is the middle between the “beautiful, social media” and making it easier to meet people.
“That’s why we wanted to create a hybrid model: you connect with people online before you connect off the net,” she said.
She noted that social events can often be difficult for more introverted figures and can be awkwardly launching a conversation with a random person when you have nothing in common. With Cliq, activity is a common interest, she added.
“So you go to a racing club as a social, maybe you are really shy and you don’t want to open up, but you could talk about running. You’re going to a book club. Maybe I don’t want to talk about yourself, but you’re talking about the book,” Gunby said.
“If you had a common interest with someone or did that activity, or it is a focus in the community about something, which you have to open up with.”
