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TechCrunch @TechCrunchHow these founders, while in YC, pivoted from a shopping app to build Candle, a consumer app that helps couples and friends grow closer.
612030.8K
Candle✓
@trycandleapp
Candle helps couples and friends grow closer daily in just 5 minutes. Backed by @ycombinator (YC F24)
69 Following1K Followers454 Posts
How these founders, while in YC, pivoted from a shopping app to build Candle, a consumer app that helps couples and friends grow closer.963551.5K- CandleRT @alex_ruber: On Nov 15, we’re bringing the top 180 consumer founders/builders in the world to the YC office to build the next generation of great consumer apps. 1st place: a YC interview, plus an iPhone 18 Pro for every team member 2nd place: a MacBook Neo for every team member 3rd place: an Apple Watch for every team member If you’re obsessed with consumer, this is for you! Applications close Nov 13, so apply today belowCapy @capydotaiWe're bringing 180 builders to the YC office on Nov 15 to build the next great consumer mobile apps. The winning team gets a YC interview + thousands of $ in prizes. The Consumer Mobile Hackathon Presented by Capy, @tryrevyl, @convex and @trycandleapp. Apply by Nov 13 👇0303
- CandleRT @capydotai: We're bringing 180 builders to the YC office on Nov 15 to build the next great consumer mobile apps. The winning team gets a YC interview + thousands of $ in prizes. The Consumer Mobile Hackathon Presented by Capy, @tryrevyl, @convex and @trycandleapp. Apply by Nov 13 👇02303
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: candle's mission is to end loneliness. a quick update, with a full time team of just 4, we've now grown to: - 1.5m+ users - $3.1m in annualized revenue - $1.8m in arr we need someone to scale our ugc creator program and paid social. we're hiring a growth lead ($130k–$180k + equity, in person in sf): in your application, include a link to your creator account on tiktok/ig, an account you've helped grow/coach, or a portfolio of growth programs you've led for consumer apps thank you this is day 426 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more04010
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 424 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more, it's been a while :) we've been heads down building a ton of new features, and we're super excited to finally start sharing them more over the next week, we'll be launching 4 new features and doing a deep dive on each one. first up: thumbkiss we redesigned one of your favorite features from the ground up. now with live dragging, a full screen surface area, better heartbeat haptics, and a smoother real time experience so you can thumbkiss your partner from 1000+ miles away see if you can get to 100% overlap :) pair with someone td0205
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 403 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more made on candle :) thank you to business insider for writing a story about us! if you're curious about our journey, check it out pair with someone td0101.6K
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 402 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more made on candle :) pair with someone td and as always lmk if you have any feedback0101.6K
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 401 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :) we’ve now crossed over $250k in revenue in the last 28 days, surpassing $3m + annualized rev while staying freemium one of the hardest parts is balancing a fantastic free experience while also giving people a strong enough incentive to upgrade. ill give my take on this in a later tweet for anyone thinking of moving off a hard paywall. really proud of the team and everything we’ve learned building this so far. we also have some awesome new features coming soon around memories that we’re really excited about, stay tuned :) pair with someone td and as always lmk if you have any feedbackAlex Ruber @alex_ruberwe’ve now made over $200k in the last month with no weeklies while staying freemium depending on ur goal, scale your creator team and build 3 format lists, one for views, one for installs, and one for trial starts. we keep a library of the top 5–10 generally formats for each, update it monthly, and focus on iterating those. ~90% of all vids are iteration-based and 10% is completely new / experimentation based this is day 386 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more. pair with someone td and as always lmk if you have any feedback0204.6K
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 400 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :) another fun format that’s been working pretty well for us recently with a solid install -> start trial conversion, 200k views, 1:10 like to view ratio so hook is: “pov you decided to check the time but you have your gf’s status, distance, and wallpaper on your lockscreen” starts with someone super excited from a side angle reaction shot checking their phone, then transitions into a super quick tutorial showing how to add the distance + time together/countdown widget to your lockscreen show the value prop of y + how to do/setup y thing pair with someone td0103.1K
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: shoutout @faionur for organizing! We had a great time at usv :) this is day 399 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help couples and friends connect morefai nur @faionurwe have the most fun in nyc 🫶 incredible demo night at @usv yesterday huge shout out to everyone who demoed: @tylerangert @kitakinluyi @theesabina @ndrewpignanelli @alex_ruber & @parthematics @liamjmcgregor @jaredhecht @arin_pantja & @olivewithatie @y_earu and thank you to everyone who showed up and packed the room!0101.4K
we have the most fun in nyc 🫶 incredible demo night at @usv yesterday huge shout out to everyone who demoed: @tylerangert @kitakinluyi @theesabina @ndrewpignanelli @alex_ruber & @parthematics @liamjmcgregor @jaredhecht @arin_pantja & @olivewithatie @y_earu and thank you to everyone who showed up and packed the room!
7712024.8K- CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 398 of building @trycandleapp , a game to help friends and couples connect more really excited to finally launch check ins today :) one of the most requested and long awaited features for candle, now built directly into our daily challenge flow it’s a super lightweight, low pressure way to check in with your partner/friend once a month one of the challenges here was figuring out how to provide people with a simple communication framework while still feeling lightweight, some reasons why we think this matters long term: - small unresolved feelings don’t silently build into resentment over time, this is a huge reason people end up drifting apart/leaving - relationships generally get stronger when people feel safe revisiting hard moments instead of avoiding them - regular reflection helps people better understand how the other person thinks and experiences the relationship download the latest update today, and as always we’d love any feedback pair with someone td0201K
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 395 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :) another mini milestone today, we just hit 20k live users on the app :) can you handle this load @parthematics. pause pair with someone tdAlex Ruber @alex_ruberday 165 of building candle, the duolingo for relationships today we hit another mini milestone, 10k+ users live on the app! next goal is 1m live users shoutout again to @Amplitude_HQ for the real time graph download the latest update below👇0202.9K
day 165 of building candle, the duolingo for relationships today we hit another mini milestone, 10k+ users live on the app! next goal is 1m live users shoutout again to @Amplitude_HQ for the real time graph download the latest update below👇
81435.8K- CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 393 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :) new format for the long distance niche, again, try to capture that hyper specific pain point that couples/friends face when doing long distance. (in any niche you are building for, talk to your users to help uncover those pain points, the way you do this is by asking them, "tell me about the last time you experienced y problem, and really hear the details in their story) first part is trying to capture the feeling you get after ending a really engaging/fun call with someone. laptop shows the brightness at first, then goes dark after closing it to emphasize the emotion. hook is: “how it feels after the call ends” about 3-4 seconds transition to the value prop (maybe 2-3 seconds) with a really simple shot of someone holding the phone with a cute/fun message or doodle on the homescreen drawing widget. we’ve noticed that having a shot of someone holding the phone is generally better than a screen recording. was lookin into this and generally hand held phone shots have higher identification and helps people visualize that they already own it/use it which could lead to better conversion for thi id keep audio minimal with no words to reduce distractions pair with someone td0101.2K
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: come check it out if you’re in nyc!fai nur @faionurcalling all NYC builders! Status is hosting an AI Demo Night with @usv on May 12 featuring demos from some of NYC’s best creative minds: @ndrewpignanelli @theesabina @tylerangert @liamjmcgregor @jaredhecht @y_earu @parthematics & @alex_ruber @kitakinluyi @arin_pantja0101K
- calling all NYC builders! Status is hosting an AI Demo Night with @usv on May 12 featuring demos from some of NYC’s best creative minds: @ndrewpignanelli @theesabina @tylerangert @liamjmcgregor @jaredhecht @y_earu @parthematics & @alex_ruber @kitakinluyi @arin_pantja
17916832.6K - 🎉Alex Ruber @alex_ruberday 391 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :) today we hit 100k daus quick tip for any consumer founders, don’t measure just “any active event” or “any event” for ur dau/wau/maus, define what "active" means early on u can create a single, custom event on amplitude that represents core value in your app. for us, a “candle active event” means answering a question, playing a game, saving a drawing, generating a date idea, etc. this helps keep your metrics honest, filters out bots a bit more (although not perfect), and gives you a return event for your retention graphs pair with someone td000431
- day 391 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :) today we hit 100k daus quick tip for any consumer founders, don’t measure just “any active event” or “any event” for ur dau/wau/maus, define what "active" means early on u can create a single, custom event on amplitude that represents core value in your app. for us, a “candle active event” means answering a question, playing a game, saving a drawing, generating a date idea, etc. this helps keep your metrics honest, filters out bots a bit more (although not perfect), and gives you a return event for your retention graphs pair with someone td
120382.1K - CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 390 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :) this week we’re making some really fun updates to our date ideas and activities feature. goal is to make it way easier to find small, unique things to do with a friend or partner, whether you’re long distance, nearby, or just trying to make a random day feel a little more special stay tuned pair with someone td0101K
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 389 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :) at candle, each person has a list with the 3 most important things to get done that day + extra tasks ordered by priority. before we used the notes app, but @parthematics built a super simple open source tool for us to stay organized, unfinished tasks roll over automatically each day and you can access what you need to get done quicker try it here: install: brew install --cask encore-ai-labs/gsd/gsd we’d love any feedback :) pair with someone td0202.3K
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: day 388 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :) these next 2 weeks we'll be fixing a bunch of bugs and giving our landing page a refresh (which is not the best rn) some really fun updates coming soon too. stay tuned :) pair with someone td and let us know if you have any feedback0101.5K
- CandleRT @alex_ruber: we’ve now made over $200k in the last month with no weeklies while staying freemium depending on ur goal, scale your creator team and build 3 format lists, one for views, one for installs, and one for trial starts. we keep a library of the top 5–10 generally formats for each, update it monthly, and focus on iterating those. ~90% of all vids are iteration-based and 10% is completely new / experimentation based this is day 386 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more. pair with someone td and as always lmk if you have any feedback04015.4K
