Founding against loneliness: “groupya” as a digital platform for real interaction

It all started with a conversation over cool drinks at a party. Lukas Thiée was looking for someone to kitesurf with, Johannes van Deest was simply looking for new contacts. After completing his Master's degree at Leuphana and the departure of many fellow students, his clique had shrunk considerably. It quickly became clear how difficult it is to make new social connections as a young person - especially in a post-pandemic reality. Their realization: a digital tool is needed to facilitate real meetings - instead of just creating more screen time.

The idea of a matching app for spontaneous leisure activities was born. What was still missing was technical know-how. Through a joint Leuphana project, Johannes met Eric Schneider, a business IT specialist with experience, structure and an affinity for start-ups. Together they developed the idea further: a platform that brings people together through shared interests and counteracts social isolation. The name also changed: “takepart” became “groupya”.

The way it works is deliberately kept simple: Anyone who wants to go jogging, play board games, go hiking or visit a museum with others can create activities or take part in existing ones - initially anonymously to keep the inhibition threshold low. The app shows who is interested - and enables real meetings without much effort. This creates a social network that goes beyond timelines and like buttons.

“groupya” is designed as a multi-sided platform: In addition to individuals, associations, non-profit organizations or commercial providers can also post events. The aim is to build “communities of practice” - local networks that focus on exchange, participation and joie de vivre.

“The desire to meet up is huge,” says Johannes. "But most platforms start far too late. We help to ensure that the very first step is taken." Particularly important: with “groupya”, no one has to justify looking for company. The app creates a safe space in which this is completely natural.

As with many founding teams, the start was improvised. “In the beginning, we held a lot of things together with adhesive tape,” recalls Johannes. The drag-and-drop system with which the app was initially built was soon overwhelmed - a complete technological reboot followed.

The app is now being reprogrammed from scratch: robust, data-secure and scalable. The public launch is planned for fall 2025. It will start with a pilot region around Lüneburg - before “groupya” is rolled out nationwide.

A key milestone was participation in the “Leuphana start-up idea of the year” competition. The application with a four-page idea sketch forced the team to sharpen their vision, define target groups and put the business model to the test.

“Looking back, that was one of the most important steps,” says Johannes. “It was a creative pressure - but also a crash course in entrepreneurial thinking.”

In the end, “groupya” was not only nominated for the shortlist, but also awarded the prize - donated by the Rainer Adank Foundation with the support of NBank. In addition to 3,000 euros in prize money, which will go directly towards founding and marketing, the exchange at the Lünale business gala was particularly valuable: initial cooperation talks were initiated there.

Today, the three founders work with a clear division of roles: Johannes is responsible for business development and strategy, Lukas is in charge of data analysis and business management, while Eric contributes his tech expertise.

The team is currently looking for targeted reinforcement in the areas of design, communication and community building - ideally with a female co-founder to make the team more diverse.

With the Lower Saxony start-up grant awarded to the team, “groupya” now has additional resources to turn its vision into reality: an app that makes social proximity tangible again - on the streets, in parks and cafés. Not in the timeline, but in real life.