A relationship advice app with Renate Nyborg, Founder & CEO, Meeno

Renate Nyborg has been building consumer-focused apps for as long as the App Store has existed. She’s held senior leadership roles at Apple and Headspace. She was the CEO of Tinder, the world’s most popular dating app, at the height of the pandemic. It was during this critical time that Renate saw up close the importance of human connection and the profound negative impacts of loneliness, especially among men and younger people. This experience ultimately inspired her to create Meeno, an app that uses AI to offer personalized advice for any relationship issue – with friends, family, coworkers, roommates, dating, and more. Renate shares her journey in founding Meeno, explaining how she’s developed and tested the app and gathered critical user feedback along the way. She highlights Meeno’s unique approach to delivering bite-sized, expert-validated advice that empowers users to build confidence, communicate better, and improve their relationships. Finally, Renate discusses the challenges of launching an AI startup in the current landscape, emphasizing the importance of staying focused on customer needs and happiness, user experience, and solving genuine problems rather than getting swept up in the AI hype machine.

“We're in an unprecedented time of exciting technology. I think it's easy to get distracted by the magic of what we can do with things. At the end of the day, it's all about making people happy and helping solve problems for them. And definitely, AI can be a big part of that, but we spend just as much of our time on marketing, building the iOS app, and using web technologies. And these are still all tools. So be really, really, really focused on your users, on talking to them regularly. Because things are evolving so quickly now, you need to be more humble than ever about putting things in front of people and letting them rip it apart.”

Renate NyborgFounder & CEO, Meeno

Why relationships are the best predictor of a healthy and happy life – and the significant impact loneliness can have on both our mental and physical health (it’s equal to smoking 15 cigarettes a day!)
What sets Meeno apart from dating apps like Tinder and other online sources of relationship advice, like Reddit and ChatGPT
How Meeno embraces a "positive churn" business model, where successful relationship outcomes lead to user disengagement but generate positive word-of-mouth
How Meeno has unexpectedly engaged a significant male audience, who often are less likely to seek therapy but are open to using technology for advice and personal insight

The role AI can play in helping people open up, build better relationships, and foster meaningful IRL connections
The importance of privacy and ethical guardrails in AI, especially when handling sensitive personal data in relationship advice
The challenges and opportunities presented by rapidly advancing AI technology in the consumer space
Advice for startup founders on focusing on user needs and experiences, avoiding the pitfalls of the AI hype cycle, and staying true to solving real-world problems (hint: the old rules still apply!)

BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP ADVICE APP YOU CAN ACTUALLY TRUST, WITH RENATE NYBORG, FOUNDER & CEO, MEENO

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