A few thoughts/questions that came to mind:
Why would a native speaker join? Are you thinking of adding some kind of reward system, points, or even social credit to keep it engaging for both sides?
One idea could be to match users who are both learning each other’s native languages. That way, they can help one another — kind of like a built-in buddy system, which might also encourage a stronger community feel.
Have you considered adding interest-based tags or conversation topics to help break the ice or keep chats flowing?
How are you thinking about handling bad actors or uncomfortable interactions, especially since it’s video-first?
Congrats on the early traction — 77 emails is a solid start! Would love to see how this evolves. Let us know when the MVP is live, happy to test it out!