Dating App For Outdoor Enthusiasts Luvbyrd Acquires Social Adventure Platform Yonder
Luvbyrd, a dating app for outdoor enthusiasts, has acquired a social outdoor adventure app called Yonder.
Built by founder Mike Keshian, Luvbyrd is a niche dating product that lets lovers of the outdoors connect over common interests – whether skiing, running, fishing or surfing.
Based in Colorado, the product lets you filter potential matches based on different activities and by skill level.
And the company has now acquired Yonder, an outdoor recreation and adventure platform that helps people find and share outdoor excursions.
Yonder creates this social guide using a mixture of crowd-sourced experiences and image sharing.
In 2015, Yonder raised $2m in funding from Vermont Seed Capital Fund, Monster Worldwide and private angel investors.
Speaking about the acquisition, Luvbyrd founder Mike Keshian said: “Adding Yonder to our portfolio was a no brainer. Yonder is a very natural and welcoming community that continues to grow month over month. We plan to enhance the app with new features and upgrades including Yonder Adventures and Trips, private and group messaging and more meet-ups.
“We are a tech company in the outdoor industry and our job is to enable and inspire the love of the outdoors. Both our platforms provide users a natural way to meet, share and discover new experiences, together.
“As people start to explore the backcountry more and more, we want everyone to share those experiences in order to show how beautiful our world is and how important it is to protect it. Protecting our lands has never been more important than it is today.”
Yonder offers premium packages for brand partnerships through native promotion with features that include “BoomView geo-targeted posts, sponsored content, pinned posts and more.”
The platform has so far established partnerships with Zeal Optics, U.S. Forest Service, and Left Hand Brewery.
To raise awareness about the app, Yonder is partnering with OutdoorFest 2017 in New York City, a 10-day festival that lets “city dwellers participate in outdoor experiences throughout the five boroughs”.
Keshian also revealed that Yonder is looking for funding to help the product grow and increase its traction.
