Lithuanian startup secures over half a million in funding for international expansion

Vilnius-based startup Joiner App, a socialization platform designed to combat loneliness, has experienced a remarkable 10-fold growth in its user base, expanding from 1,000 to over 12,000 users within a month. Recently, the company raised over half a million euros from Lithuanian angel investors and marketing advisors from Ogilvy Vilnius. Co-founded by Eduard Titov and Jūratė Plungytė, a former Uber CMO for Lithuania, the app plans to use the funds to expand into Poland and the USA. The app, inspired by Titov’s quarantine experience, aims to help people find activities and company worldwide. With a team featuring a former head of monetization and UX design at Tinder, and endorsements from psychologists and influencers, Joiner App is set to address the loneliness epidemic by fostering genuine social connections.

Two months ago, “Joiner App,” a Lithuanian startup that created a socialization platform, officially launched in Lithuania. The user base has grown from 1,000 to more than 12,000, and the team is now gearing up for international expansion.

The idea for the app came to founder Eduard Titov while he was traveling during the quarantine. When travel restrictions began, he felt truly alone in a foreign country. This inspired him to create a tool to help people find activities and company anywhere in the world, and before long, the idea became a reality.

“It’s no secret that one in five people in the world feel lonely, and research shows that this greatly impacts both psychological and physical health. In Lithuania, loneliness is at epidemic levels. It affects not only older people but also young men and women. We want to change this,” comments co-founder and former Uber CMO for Lithuania, Jūratė Plungytė, who initially supported Titov’s project.

The startup’s founders attribute much of their success to their team, which includes a former head of monetization and UX design at Tinder and a former head of marketing at Uber. Marketing efforts are also supported by one of the most famous influencers in Lithuania.

The startup’s major investors are angels from Lithuania, with marketing advisors and co-investors from Ogilvy Vilnius.

According to co-founder Jūratė Plungytė, having raised half a million in the Lithuanian capital, the startup plans to expand to new markets soon.

“We are going to enter countries where statistics show the highest number of people who feel lonely. We believe that loneliness is the main problem our app successfully addresses,” she says.

Her words are supported by the stories of the app’s users and endorsements from psychologists. The most active group of users are immigrants, who are particularly concerned about socializing in a new country.

“Your app helped me fight depression in the winter,” says Anastasija, 29, who came to Lithuania from Ukraine.

According to the founders, there are many such stories, and for good reason—it is increasingly difficult to build real connections nowadays when social networks and dating apps encourage us to spend time online, creating the illusion of communication.

“As people become more aware, dating apps are becoming less relevant. People are no longer trying to compensate for loneliness and emptiness,” says Plungytė. “This is also reflected in the statistics—fewer and fewer young women are using them. We believe that in the future, dating apps will become obsolete. We are happy to provide an alternative: a platform that enables genuine connections, encourages lively interactions with people, and makes them happier.”

Yaroslav Zubko from California, who led Tinder’s product design and monetization, believes the romance dating app industry will not grow as fast in the future. He has chosen to develop his career with the startup Joiner App.

“When the startup started gaining momentum, I wanted to ensure that the same quality product, which helps people socialize easily, would be available in the US,” says Zubko.

He believes that the excessive use of technology and virtual communication harms people and their sociality. If our goal is to meet someone with similar values for communication, friendship, and romantic relationships, it’s better to do it face-to-face.

“The Joiner App already has many users, it’s growing fast, and people are recommending it to each other—there’s a real snowball effect. There is huge potential for launching such a product in the US. It is an app that is easy to use; you don’t have to do much to find like-minded people and build your own circle anywhere in the world. There is a great need for this product, and I think investors understand that too. I’m happy to be part of its creation,” he says.

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