* Click here for important information regarding Financial Projections which are not guaranteed.
Problem
Millennials and Gen Z
are in crisis mode
Source - Psychology Today
Millennials and Gen Z will make up 75% of the global workforce by 2030. The issue? An increasingly digital world has left them completely isolated — and it's creating a professional crisis we can't ignore.
While isolation has previously been labeled a personal issue, there are dire consequences to our careers. 75% of Gen Z and HALF of Millennials left a job because of mental health issues, compared to 34% of other generations.
Increased career instability plus loneliness is a vicious cycle. 80% of jobs are filled through personal connections, but nearly 70% of young professionals lack the network they desperately need to progress in their careers and open doors in life.
This generation has desperately tried to find a solution, but what's out there hasn't worked. Here's why:
Solution
If LinkedIn and Meetup had a kid, it would be us
Now more than ever, we need real infrastructure around quality connection.
At Clockout, we recognize that adult friendship and building a professional network are highly interconnected — we lean on our personal circle of friends to open doors in our careers.
Clockout is the first to bring both Linkedin and Meetup into the new age with a single platform. Think college, but IRL — you're making friends with other professionals of the same age in casual settings; and without even trying, you are building your network organically.
Product
Innovation for a market desperate for change
1) Real infrastructure around QUALITY connection
People want to meet more informally to create close connections — at book clubs, brunches, and dinner parties. The issue? These communities have zero quality control on other platforms — leading to high flaking, low retention, hosts refusing to come back, and 1000s of users still left looking for community.
On Clockout, we bring quality to informal interaction. First off, everyone is a professional and you can actually see what they do before meeting up with them so you don't feel like you're in a group chat with a bunch of strangers.
Second, we have a dual-rating system. Not only are all clubs and events rated — all users receive an attendance score for free meetups to mitigate flaking and social anxiety. 90% of RSVPs show up and 80% of hosts come back to host more.
2) Make friends without the awkward BS
Platforms like LinkedIn have many next-gen professionals — but interactions are highly transactional and not conducive to meaningful connection. In fact, 90% of InMail messages are completely ignored.
On the other hand, platforms like BumbleBFF may enable informal interaction, but (1) lack a targeted audience and (2) use date-like interfaces — making people feel "desperate" and uncomfortable.
On Clockout, we make it fun to make friends with quality people. Everyone is a professional, profiles emphasize personality/interests, and you're able to join communities with people you've met on the app. We're also the first to allow group chats with matches!
3) ClassPass for exclusive networks
Users are able to join highly popular social clubs and professional networks at a discounted rate. They receive additional discounts for bundling or joining with a friend! Over 200 organizations host on Clockout.
Traction
#25 on the App Store in
under 4 months
Beating competitors since day 1:
* Click here for important information regarding Financial Projections which are not guaranteed.
Customers
75% of users hear about Clockout through a friend
In a short window, we've created a strong network effect with users and partners alike. Our customers include:
B2C: Gen Z/Millennial professionals (1B+ worldwide) & partner networks (social clubs, professional networks, etc.)
B2B: Corporations, small businesses
—
B2B Opportunity: Corporate Partnerships
Firms have strong pipelines of Gen Z / Millennial professionals and are increasingly looking to invest into employee wellness and development, especially in the face of the "Great Resignation".
Pilot programs to be rolled out at large companies incl. J.P. Morgan starting Spring '23.
Business model
$3M+ ARR by 2023
* Click here for important information regarding Financial Projections which are not guaranteed.
Like the app itself, our business model is multi-faceted. Monetizing our value to all stakeholders enables us to create the ultimate network effect:
4Q 2022 - Revenue-share with partners:
- Membership Rev-Share: Popular social clubs and exclusive networks offer discounted memberships to users and revenue-share proceeds with us (50-50). To incentivize membership conversion, users are given add'l discounts when joining with a friend.
2023 - Paywall users and partners for premium features:
- User Subscriptions: Freemium tiered model up to $30 per person/month to more easily build a personal network
- Host Listing Fees: Up to $20/month for hosts to continue marketing to a targeted base of users (similar to Meetup)
2024 - B2B partnerships:
- Corporations: Discounted premium access at $5 per person/month (generating strong interest from firms incl. JPM)
- Small Businesses: $50 per month to be a recommended venue for Clockout hosts
Market
The largest generation in a frenzy for connection
The market outlook is significant. The broader social networking market includes 1B Gen Z / Millennial professionals globally and is growing 394% year over year, which is reflected in the $60B TAM.Note that the market potential highlighted doesn't reflect the significant business opportunity we have with our partners (networks, firms, small businesses) as we continue to scale.
Given the Gen Z / Millennial demographic grew up during a period of significant technological change, they've been quick to adopt new ways of meeting new people — as long as they work. We've seen this most recently with the explosion of dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge.
No effective solution has come close to satisfying our generation's desire to form quality connections IRL. As the first quality platform, we're confident that we can effectively penetrate this market and satisfy an immense need.
Competition
No real infrastructure to combat Gen Z's largest crisis
Current platforms including Facebook groups, Meetup, BumbleBFF, Upstream & LinkedIn have proven ineffective in helping Gen Z + Millennials create quality connections. In an anonymous survey with 1000s of professionals, 90% said they would prefer Clockout over others due to the following:
Targeted Demographic: Everyone's a Gen Z/Millennial professional (35M nationwide), so users know they're meeting others of the same age and caliber. All content displays highly relevant information about attendees: where they went to school, where they work, and what their interests are — so people can connect intentionally.
Multifaceted Functionality: A one-size-fits-all model doesn't work, and to build community, highly integrated functionality is needed. Users can connect 1:1, create group chats with matches, and find highly relevant things to do all on one platform through our clubs, events & networks - creating more natural interactions.
Quality Control:
Ratings and Reviews: Everything is rated and reviewed so users know what's actually worth their time.
Dual-Rating System: We’re the first to introduce a dual-rating system for meetups, where users are also scored based on attendance. Because informal meetups are often free, there’s not a lot of quality control — users don’t typically know who's coming and usually flake at the last minute. On Clockout, if users don’t cancel their RSVP within 24 hours of the start time, their score will go down — which has been incredibly effective. 75% of meetups on Clockout get completely filled up, and 90% of our users who RSVP to meetups actually show up. Due to the positive experience hosting, 80% of meetup hosts come back and host again.
Approval-Only: As we scale, we plan to migrate towards an approval-only process using LinkedIn data to maintain a targeted user base.
Sleek & Easy-to-Use: Users don't want to feel desperate when trying to meet new people. Clockout's easy-to-use functionality and attractive, sleek interface combined with an exclusive community feel ensures that our users feel good using our product.
Social/Professional Use Cases: Users can "socially" network using Clockout. Unlike the transactional experiences offered on Upstream & LinkedIn, users feel a lot more natural connecting on Clockout — they can interact with one another casually at mixers, brunches, happy hours, book clubs, and other fun events. Think college but in real life — you aren't thinking so much about building your network but as you make friends with smart people around you, it happens naturally.