# Village Builders presents alyx

Your AI-powered guide to building fulfilling friendships, one step at a time.

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/alyx
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:184877
- Last updated: 2026-07-31T23:54:28Z
- Generated at: 2026-08-01T08:41:09Z

## Quick facts
- Co-founders both repeat entrepreneurs w/ track records in tech & social impact, and global networks
- Experienced product team: CTO/Engineering leader, Harvard/MIT PhD AI scientist, Oura ring designer
- Advisors from IDEO, Amazon, Meta, Intuit, and friendship expert & bestselling author Shasta Nelson
- 35+ in-depth discovery interviews on barriers to real human connection
- Pain points: time overload, forgetting to reach out, social fatigue, fragmented communication tools
- Built and tested 3 product prototypes with 50+ real users, generating insights & guiding roadmap
- Created early traction - 70K views/month through engaging friendship content on social media.

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:145451: 4(a)(6) open (USD)

## Story
alyx will transform the often-overwhelming work of building and maintaining friendships into a well-supported journey, taking you from feeling disconnected or dissatisfied to having the meaningful bonds you crave, one step at a time.👋 Our StoryIn a world that conspires to keep people apart, the need for authentic connection is what brought us together as Village Builders.We've experienced the ache of loneliness first hand — as exhausted parents, as newcomers to new cities and cultures, and simply as human beings trying to navigate a modern world designed for digital disconnection.Why Village Builders? Because we believe that everyone deserves a village — a network of friendships and support systems that makes life richer, healthier, and more resilient.Our mission? To help people build their own, powerful villages, by meeting them where they are - online - and gently nudging them back into the world of real life friendships, connections and mutual support.The world today:The Surgeon General has called loneliness an epidemic. It’s a public health crisis.Tech companies claim they are building solutions. But all of them keep us glued to our screens either through addictive algorithmic feeds or by trying to replace people with AI “companions.”We see a better way forward: Research shows that social integration and close relationships beat diet, exercise, and even quitting smoking as top longevity predictors.People are longing for more fulfilling friendships, with 61% of Americans rating close friendships as vital for a fulfilling life, ranking them above marriage and wealth.That’s why we’re building alyx, an AI-powered, purpose-built and personalized guide that helps you nurture real friendships and stay on top of your social commitments.Market ResearchMillions Struggle with Friendship, Few Tools to HelpOver the past years, demand for digital wellness and connection tools has surged:The U.S. loneliness epidemic affects ~50% of adults (U.S. Surgeon General, 2023). 100M U.S. adults report having zero or only one to two close friends. 50M U.S. adults say they feel lonely despite having many friends.20–30 million people (age 25-55) in the US are likely to try an app like alyx based on current usage trends (millions using friendship apps, tens of millions on wellness apps, friend CRMs etc.)We think we could reach 1–3 million U.S. users and perhaps 5–10 million users globally over a 5 year horizon from product launch.Forward-looking statements are not guaranteed.Existing Tools Miss the MarkDespite a crowded wellness and social app space, most solutions fall short:Social Media. Drives comparison and passive scrolling, often worsening loneliness.Friendship Matching Apps (Bumble BFF, Peanut, Meetup). Help people meet, but not sustain friendships or deepen bonds. Most stop at introductions.AI Companions & Therapy Apps. Simulate relationships or provide therapy-style check-ins, but don’t strengthen real-world human ties or help with follow through.Relationship CRMs (Dex, Monica, Clay). Keep track of contacts but lack support to deal with the emotional barriers — friendship feels like a task list.There is still no category leader designed to support adults in the practice of building and maintaining meaningful friendships.Why alyx is different:Not a chatbot companion—a personalized guide to real human connection.Success = stronger real-world friendships, not more app time.Tackles what actually gets in the way: emotional overwhelm AND practical friction.Grounded in relationship science from experts like alyx advisor Shasta Nelson.The bottom line: alyx helps busy people build and maintain fulfilling friendships without adding another burden to their busy lives.🌟 What is the product? alyx is constantly evolving as we build and test our way into creating a product that will really help people.Our product visionalyx is an AI-powered friendship guide that helps people build stronger, more fulfilling real-life relationships. The same human connections that are vital to our health and wellbeing. Practically:alyx guides you to show up more proactively and intentionally for peopleShifts you from reactive ("Oh no, I haven't reached out in months!") to proactive with gentle reminders and suggestions when it's been too longWorks with you to set and maintain meaningful relationship goals (like regular one-on-one time)Helps you better balance your limited time between work, family, and the relationships you care aboutalyx makes building friendships actually doableGives you one convenient place to see your social world and keep track of it - no more scattered contacts, lost phone histories, or fragmented platformsSee patterns and gaps in your friendships, then get personalized, research-backed suggestions on how to strengthen themBreaks down friendship building and maintenance into small, achievable stepsalyx supports you in taking actionSupportive, well-timed nudges that keep momentum without feeling naggyEliminates coordination chaos—no more endless scheduling back-and-forth or group texts that go nowhere, through smart integrations with your calendar, contacts, and messagesAgentic AI features like "alyx, find 3 friends who might want to go to this art exhibition this weekend and help me schedule it" or “alyx help me find 3 people I could ask to watch my child for a couple of hours”✅ What We’ve Accomplished So FarBuilt and tested 3 working prototypes with 50+ real users, continuously learning about pain points and refining the product.Created a clear product vision and our roadmap towards building it.Built a strong, synergistic team with proven track records in product design, development, AI training, marketing and leadership.Trained alyx AI on science-backed connection frameworks by leading friendship expert Shasta Nelson.Created early traction - 70K views through engaging friendship content on social media.🙌 Join UsDisconnection in a hyper connected world is one of the biggest challenges of our generation. We believe the solution isn’t more scrolling or superficial chatbots — it’s building stronger human bonds and authentic connections.Be part of the movement. Help us launch alyx and help grow a world where everyone has a village.👉 Invest today, and let’s build connection back into our culture.Investor FAQ – Friends & Family RoundWhy are we raising a Friends & Family round now?We’ve secured a trusted lead investor and defined our MVP. Raising $50–100K now allows us to:Complete our alpha build and test with real usersValidate our early market and partnership strategyShow traction to roll into a larger pre-seed raiseThis round is about hitting an inflection point with a lean budget, not just survival.But the real reason is that we want to walk our talk: “it takes a village” applies to building a business too.Why are you a Public Benefit Corporation and not just a C-Corp?A Public Benefit Corporation is about more than profit, it’s about addressing a social (or environmental) problem with a profitable business solution.Practical: A Delaware PBC can raise VC capital just like a C-Corp.Strategic: It signals our commitment to addressing loneliness and supporting people in building strong friendships in real life with integrity - critical in the AI + human relationships space.Protective: It locks in mission alongside profit, preventing drift under potential investor pressure.This structure protects our mission as we scale.What is a SAFE?A SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) lets you invest now and receive shares later, at a discount, when we raise our next round.Minimum investment: $500Valuation cap: $5M (protects you from dilution)Discount: 10% (if we don't hit the valuation cap, you still get cheaper shares than later investors)Return: Only when we exit (sale, IPO, or acquisition)What’s the ROI potential?Conservative (3–5x): A $5K investment could return $15–25K in ~5–10 yearsOptimistic (10–20x): That same $5K could return $50–100K in ~5–10 yearsReality check: Startups are risky — you could lose it all. But unlike many, we’re solving a massive, urgent problem with a mission-driven model.Forward-looking statements are not guaranteed.How will the funds be used?70%: Product development (AI training, design, integrations)30%: User testing, product market fit, partnership building, social mediaFounders are not paying ourselves from this round. Every dollar goes toward the product and traction.What milestones are you targeting?F&F + Pre-Seed Funding:Alpha Release (Early 2026): 500–1,000 testers on waitlist, 3–5 partner pilots.Seed Funding:MVP Release (Mid 2026): 3000 paying subscribers and 3 institutional partnerships. >$350k in revenue. >1 LTV:CAC. 65% gross margin.Scale (by 2030): 1M+ people using alyx. 100k paying subscribers. >$12m in recurring revenue. Measurable impact on improving quality of real-world connections.Forward-looking statements are not guaranteed.What are the risks?Behavior change is hard. People may download but not stick with friendship tools. Sustained engagement is not guaranteed.AI is fast-evolving. Competition is intense, and technology shifts rapidly—requiring us to adapt quickly.User trust is paramount. We must continually prove our safety, privacy, and ethics in a “wild west” AI landscape.Funding dependency. As an early-stage company, we’ll need capital beyond this raise to bring alyx to market.Adoption curve. Subscriptions may grow slower than projected.Partnership reliance. Our growth model includes partnerships with membership groups and wellness platforms. These may take longer to secure.Regulatory uncertainty. New rules or consumer concerns around AI and data privacy could create unexpected compliance costs.Small team risk. We’re a lean founding team. Losing a key member could slow development, fundraising, or traction.Risk of failure. Like any early-stage startup, risk is high. You could lose your investment. But you could also win a lot.What’s the big vision?Give people the tools and support to prioritize and develop meaningful real-life connections.Become the go-to tool for relationship health (like a Fitbit for friendship).Reach 1 million people by 2030 through subscriptions, partnerships and corporate wellness programs.Prove that safe, ethical AI tools can help people build strong nourishing friendships and as a result live longer, healthier, more connected lives.What’s next?Questions? Book a 15 minutes call with SimoneWant updates? Follow us on WeFunder.Spread the word: Please share this fund-raiser with 1 person you think could be excited about contributing to our journey.Reminder: Only invest what you can afford to lose. This is a long-term bet on our team, our mission, and a world where everyone has a villagePERKS🌍 $500 – The ExplorerFirst stop on the journeyInvite to a homemade pizza & poetry night with the founders 🍕📖alyx stickers 🗺️ $1,000 – The ConnectorExpanding the mapEverything from ExplorerCustom village-building gift box: includes Shasta Nelson’s book “Frientimacy”, and and a Limited-edition “Build Your Village” T-shirt🚂 $2,500 – The PathfinderCharting deeper routesEverything from ConnectorPrivate friendship coaching session with Simone (map your relationships + set personalized micro-steps) OR Geek-out hour with Adam (deep dive into AI, product development, or space-tech stories 🚀)⛵ $5,000 – The Bridge BuilderCrossing oceans of connectionEverything from PathfinderInvite to a founder roundtable (virtual) with other Bridge Builders + the alyx team to help shape our product roadmap🛫 $10,000 – The Village BuilderFull expedition into connectionEverything from Bridge BuilderWe’ll help design & facilitate your next gathering (birthday, reunion, dinner, retreat) with practices from our global facilitation toolkit ✨Set by DJ Deadbeatz to close the night 🎶Forward-looking projections are not guaranteed.

## Team
- Simone Torrey (CEO)
- Adam Rose (CTO & CFO)
- Jordan Harrod (AI Strategist)
- Devo – Devon Frohne (Founding Product Designer)
- Mark Day (Head of Marketing)