For Alyx van der Vorm, a Friday night alone sparked the idea for Clyx, a social app designed to make planning hangouts less of a hassle. Five years later, the startup has raised $14 million in Series A funding, led by Blitzscaling Ventures with participation from Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail and ex-F1 driver Nico Rosberg.
Clyx helps users discover events by pulling data from sites like Ticketmaster and TikTok, while also suggesting local spots to try. Users can sync contacts to see what friends are attending, and a built-in compatibility engine recommends people with shared interests at events.
The app also nudges users to connect and introduces Programs, a feature that groups people into recurring events to help acquaintances become lasting friends.
Currently live in Miami and London, Clyx is set to expand to New York this month and São Paulo later this year. With 50,000 active ticket-buying users and 200,000 browsing, van der Vorm hopes to make friendship easier to nurture.
“People do have friends,” she said. “What they lack are friends who are nearby, free at the same time, and up for the same things. We remove the planning tax.”
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Clyx now joins a crowded space with players like Meetup, Posh, Eventbrite, Bumble, and Hinge, but van der Vorm’s vision is to stand out by making social connection feel effortless.
“My dream is to create a world where it’s as easy to go out and spend time with your friends as it is to sit home and scroll,” she said.
