Launch HN: Revel (YC S19) – Community for Women over 50
We're two women in our 30s who decided to work on this problem after seeing how important and how challenging it has been for our mothers.
Lisa's mother raised her as a single parent while working as a public school teacher, and that meant that she didn't have much time to focus on her life outside of parenting. When Lisa left for college, her mother retired, and found herself longing for a community of like-minded women, which wasn’t easy. Alexa's mother is similar in need but different in circumstance: she's a physician with a high-powered career and a robust social life, living in a dense urban area, who nonetheless feels that she doesn't know where to turn for genuine connections with women her age.
In the United States alone, there are 50 million women like our mothers. They are a dramatically underserved demographic. We sometimes hear talk of "elder tech" and "silver tech" but our customer is not "the elderly"—she's in her 50s, 60s, or 70s, statistically healthier than ever before, with some disposable income to spend, and she wants to enjoy life alongside women her own age.
How Revel works is that any woman over 50 can sign up to join as a member for $15 a month. As a member, she can then browse our listings of Revel events being hosted by other members in her neighborhood. All of our events are user-generated and any member can apply to host at any time.
We're operating only in the Bay Area for now, but obviously our plan is to expand geographically as soon as it makes sense. Since we launched in late July, we've had hundreds of women sign up as members, and have had dozens of member-hosted gatherings in living rooms and backyard gardens across the Bay Area. If your mother, aunt, or family friend lives nearby, we'd love to meet her!
We'd love to hear your ideas and feedback and questions, and your own experiences in this area!