Candle

Candle helps couples and friends grow closer daily in just 5 minutes. Backed by @ycombinator (YC F24)

[Candle @trycandleapp]

🔥

[TechCrunch @TechCrunch]

How these founders, while in YC, pivoted from a shopping app to build Candle, a consumer app that helps couples and friends grow closer. https://t.co/lu21LzK5yi

[Alex Ruber @alex_ruber]

On Nov 15, we’re bringing the top 180 consumer founders/builders in the world to the YC office to build the next generation of great consumer apps.

1st place: a YC interview, plus an iPhone 18 Pro for every team member
2nd place: a MacBook Neo for every team member
3rd place: an Apple Watch for every team member

If you’re obsessed with consumer, this is for you!

Applications close Nov 13, so apply today below

[Capy @capydotai]

We're bringing 180 builders to the YC office on Nov 15 to build the next great consumer mobile apps.

The winning team gets a YC interview + thousands of $ in prizes.

The Consumer Mobile Hackathon

Presented by Capy, @tryrevyl, @convex and @trycandleapp.

Apply by Nov 13 👇

[Candle @trycandleapp]

#9 in India! :)

[Candle @trycandleapp]

@LandseerEnga @parthematics @alex_ruber why he kindaaa??

[Candle @trycandleapp]

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[Wayne Sutton @waynesutton]

New @Convex Customer Spotlight - @trycandleapp

[Alex Ruber @alex_ruber]

https://t.co/WGHRgRK5F4

candle's mission is to end loneliness.

a quick update, with a full time team of just 4, we've now grown to:

- 1.5m+ users
- $3.1m in annualized revenue
- $1.8m in arr

we need someone to scale our ugc creator program and paid social.
we're hiring a growth lead ($130k–$180k + equity, in person in sf):

in your application, include a link to your creator account on tiktok/ig, an account you've helped grow/coach, or a portfolio of growth programs you've led for consumer apps

thank you

this is day 426 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more

[Candle @trycandleapp]

@alex_ruber https://t.co/4ph3LmDVJw

[Candle @trycandleapp]

@alex_ruber https://t.co/4ph3LmDVJw

[Alex Ruber @alex_ruber]

day 424 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more,

it's been a while :) we've been heads down building a ton of new features, and we're super excited to finally start sharing them more

over the next week, we'll be launching 4 new features and doing a deep dive on each one. first up: thumbkiss

we redesigned one of your favorite features from the ground up. now with live dragging, a full screen surface area, better heartbeat haptics, and a smoother real time experience so you can thumbkiss your partner from 1000+ miles away

see if you can get to 100% overlap :)

pair with someone td

[Alex Ruber @alex_ruber]

day 403 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more made on candle :)

thank you to business insider for writing a story about us! if you're curious about our journey, check it out

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https://t.co/3OUKPIBs31

[Candle @trycandleapp]

@alex_ruber https://t.co/4ph3LmDVJw

[Alex Ruber @alex_ruber]

day 402 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more

made on candle :)

pair with someone td and as always lmk if you have any feedback

[Candle @trycandleapp]

@alex_ruber https://t.co/4ph3LmDVJw

[Alex Ruber @alex_ruber]

day 401 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :)

we’ve now crossed over $250k in revenue in the last 28 days, surpassing $3m + annualized rev while staying freemium

one of the hardest parts is balancing a fantastic free experience while also giving people a strong enough incentive to upgrade. ill give my take on this in a later tweet for anyone thinking of moving off a hard paywall.

really proud of the team and everything we’ve learned building this so far. we also have some awesome new features coming soon around memories that we’re really excited about, stay tuned :)

pair with someone td and as always lmk if you have any feedback

[Candle @trycandleapp]

@alex_ruber https://t.co/4ph3LmDVJw

[Alex Ruber @alex_ruber]

day 400 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help friends and couples connect more :)

another fun format that’s been working pretty well for us recently with a solid install -> start trial conversion, 200k views, 1:10 like to view ratio

so hook is: “pov you decided to check the time but you have your gf’s status, distance, and wallpaper on your lockscreen”

starts with someone super excited from a side angle reaction shot checking their phone, then transitions into a super quick tutorial showing how to add the distance + time together/countdown widget to your lockscreen

show the value prop of y + how to do/setup y thing

pair with someone td

[Candle @trycandleapp]

@alex_ruber https://t.co/4ph3LmDVJw

[Alex Ruber @alex_ruber]

shoutout @faionur for organizing! We had a great time at usv :)

this is day 399 of building @trycandleapp, a game to help couples and friends connect more

[Candle @trycandleapp]

@alex_ruber @faionur https://t.co/4ph3LmDVJw

[Alex Ruber @alex_ruber]

day 398 of building @trycandleapp , a game to help friends and couples connect more

really excited to finally launch check ins today :) one of the most requested and long awaited features for candle, now built directly into our daily challenge flow

it’s a super lightweight, low pressure way to check in with your partner/friend once a month

one of the challenges here was figuring out how to provide people with a simple communication framework while still feeling lightweight, some reasons why we think this matters long term:

- small unresolved feelings don’t silently build into resentment over time, this is a huge reason people end up drifting apart/leaving

- relationships generally get stronger when people feel safe revisiting hard moments instead of avoiding them

- regular reflection helps people better understand how the other person thinks and experiences the relationship

download the latest update today, and as always we’d love any feedback

pair with someone td