A growing cadre of startup founders, including Brynn Putnam and Tristan Walker, are focusing on creating businesses that foster in-person connections. Putnam, who previously sold her connected-fitness company Mirror to Lululemon for $500 million, has launched Board, a touchscreen game table designed for groups to play together physically around the device. Meanwhile, Walker, known for selling Walker & Company Brands to Procter & Gamble, has founded Heirloom Craft to revive fine-craft trade schools, starting with a leatherworking school in San Francisco. Despite their divergent industries, both founders share the mission to counteract the social isolation accentuated by technology.

Increasing awareness of loneliness as a global health issue, highlighted by the World Health Organization's report linking it to 870,000 annual deaths, has further motivated this movement. A survey by Harris Poll sponsored by Marriott Bonvoy revealed that two-thirds of Americans now prefer experiences over material goods, signaling a shift toward prioritizing real-world social interactions. This consumer trend supports entrepreneurs who are betting that meaningful, offline social experiences can carve out a new and impactful market.

Other notable entrepreneurs embracing this trend include Andy Dunn and Audrey Gelman. Dunn’s company Pie has evolved from an event app to a social platform organizing recurring community groups, while Gelman operates the Six Bells Countryside Inn, which hosts immersive murder-mystery dinners fostering group engagement. These founders often draw from personal motivations, with Putnam designing Board to accommodate family play across ages, and Walker aiming to fight AI’s fragmentation of workforce skills by reconnecting people through hands-on craft education.

Though these startups are still small in revenue and scale, with funding rounds ranging from a few million to tens of millions, the commitment of proven founders lends credibility and investor interest. The largest outlier is Adam Neumann’s real estate venture Flow, which targets loneliness through physical spaces and has secured over $450 million in funding. Whether offline social connection will develop into a distinct investment sector remains uncertain, but the involvement of seasoned founders signals a shift toward valuing community-building as a serious business opportunity.