The Story of $100 Million AI-Powered Social Network, Lunchclub [Free PDF Attached]

Starting a Company is Like Jumping Off a Cliff and Assembling a Plane on the Way Down, said Reid Hoffman - LinkedIn founder

Excited to announce our @lunchclubai Series A today, great story featuring our users by @jordannovet at CNBC: https://t.co/S9pJ5Sig1v

— Vladimir Novakovski (@vnovakovski) September 1, 2020

One of the world's leading popular social media channels, LinkedIn, has made it easy for people to build many professional connections.

However, the quality of contacts made here varies and often doesn't lead to mutually beneficial offline relationships.

This is where the AI-Driven Startup Lunchclub Comes Into Play.

It helps create offline relationships with those having mutual relevance to one another.

The Lunchclub App uses Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning technologies to connect people with common personal goals & relationships.

We Facilitate Casual Conversations That Lead to Not-So-Casual Professional impact. As per Lunchclub's Website.

The App identifies the right person to brainstorm ideas over coffee/lunch or collaborate on a new project.

All you have to tell the App is your background, professional goals, and what you're excited about. Then, the AI-based algorithm analyzes the database to narrow down on new connections every week and book one-on-one meetings with like-minded individuals.

The Story Behind Lunchclub

Lunchclub was founded by Andrew, a young but brilliant entrepreneur, and computer scientist.

Andrew did not attend college due to his parents' dissatisfaction with the university system and their consequent unwillingness to pay for college fee.

Instead, he took a plunge into the business world at age of 15 and launched his company with money he had earned through early investments.

His business acumen was matched only by his relationships with like-minded businessmen and women, which helped him create and launch Lunchclub at age 18.

Lunchclub built its business model on high user engagement and retention.

The platform monetizes by offering users the ability to purchase virtual goods and enhanced features.

Over its short history, Lunchclub has already monetized several different products to generate profit and enhance user experience.

Many other social platforms have floundered over the past few years, and the industry as a whole has been struggling with low retention rates and decreased user numbers.

But, Lunchclub thrived... Thanks to a recent update and new promotional campaign, the platform experienced a 4% Increase in Users Over the Weekend, With Active Users on the Rise.

The success of Lunchclub has surprised many analysts and industry experts, but no one is more surprised than Andrew himself.

Lunchclub hopes to expand internationally and introduce a messenger platform in the future.

What Makes Lunchclub So Different?

Via Giphy

Lunchclub is not any other platform to land your next job offer.

Instead, it provides opportunities for young entrepreneurs to find angel investors and freelancers to meet their potential clients.

The users of Lunchclub are widespread, from Fresh College Graduates to Senior Executives of Top MNCs.

At the time of Sign-up, each user is asked about their interests and professional goals.

The members can choose from goals between "Brainstorm with Peers" or "Explore New Projects."

Lunchclub is accessible through mobile App and web browsers.

How Did Lunchclub Managed Seed Funds?

Lunchclub was launched by Novakovski, Hayley Leibson, and Scott Wu in 2017.

They were able to raise $24.2 million through a Series A funding round, and this round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners — A Global Venture Capital Firm.

The startup has raised $30 million from investors, with top names including Andreessen Horowitz and Coatue Management.

They recently achieved a significant milestone by reaching a $100 million valuation amidst the pandemic.

Tear Down of Lunchlub's Original Pitch Deck

Most of us probably have heard about Lunchclub, an innovative startup now valued at $100 million. But not many people have got access to its original investor presentation.

Fortunately, here, in this blog post, we will be reviewing this presentation by rounding up the top slides included.

The investor presentation by Lunchclub was prepared by its founders for either the second or third round of financing. Its showpiece slide is the problem statement that articulates a powerful story.

Without Further Ado, Let's Scroll Down and Find Out:-

Slide 1: Problem Statement and Opportunity

The slide aims to put forth the problems businesses face and the opportunity for the Lunchclub.

Lunchclub's pitch deck gives numbers to throw weight behind the proclamation that the company has immense potential.

81% of People Prefer In-Person Meetings, and 85% of Jobs Are Filled Through Networking & Connections.

The Key Takeaways section on the right-hand side highlights essential aspects, such as the economy is driven by offline connections & meetings, but offline meetings are still where the Internet was in the 90s.

Download Lunchclub Pitch Deck Template

Slide 2: Solutions Offered By Lunchclub Company

This slide mentions the solution offered by Lunchclub company, and it includes A Reliable Data-Driven System For Mutually Meaningful In-Person Interactions.

The high-grade image that occupies most of the slide space is relevant to the solution, thus making a bold statement.

Download Lunchclub Pitch Deck Template

Slide 3: Why Now?

As the title suggests, this slide rounds up all the principal reasons to state a great need for a product like Lunchclub in the market.

The reasons include offline relations are more important than ever in the future of jobs. Forty-one million Americans work for themselves, and in the first five years after graduation, new college graduates serve twice as many businesses and many other reasons to strengthen the investment case for Lunchclub.

Download Lunchclub Pitch Deck Template

Slide 4: How Lunchclub Company Works?

We are the business end of the pitch deck as Lunchclub explains its company operation.

The slide provides a glimpse of the company's workflow.

The workflow starts with users sharing their goals, then users opt for weekly meetings. Lunchclub introduces them for face-to-face meetings, and finally, collects feedback and trains.

The steps involved in the workflow are explained in this slide to ensure the potential investors understand Lunchclub's working in a simplified manner.

Download Lunchclub Pitch Deck Template

Slide 5: Lunchclub Product

Through this slide, Lunchclub presents an overview of their ground-breaking product.

The product working is illustrated through snapshots, thus making this slide overall engaging.

First, you've to provide your background goals and what you're excited about.

After that, Lunchclub will inquire whether you're interested in meeting a new connection.

Lunchclub's advanced AI will zero down on the right person for a 1:1 meeting.

And, not to forget, you can learn more about the people you can meet on the Lunchclub platform.

The key takeaways in the bottom end of this slide further clear any doubts & queries of the prospective investors.

Download Lunchclub Pitch Deck Template

Slide 6: Vitality and Network Effects

Lunchclub uses this slide to highlight their Number Natural Global Network Effects and Professional Connection Span for Multiple Cities.

What is Number Natural Global Network Effects?

Number Natural Global Network Effects is the number of people who can communicate without additional barriers, such as language. The more natural and less limited company's number is the greater the company's network effects. A valuable global company has a global natural and valuable Number of users. If some company or network has more valuable users than its natural number, its value is growing. If the user count is less valuable than the natural number, the value decreases. The difference between a valuable and a devalued network can be huge.

Network effects are an important concept in business and company valuation. Network effects are a phenomenon where the value of a product or service increases as more people use it. Facebook, eBay, and Uber are examples of companies with many network effects.

Coming to the Professional Connection Span for Multiple Cities. It is upsurging; 19% of the users were invited from another city.

Download Lunchclub Pitch Deck Template

Slide 7: Customer Testimonials: Engagement and Retention

Customers are an organization's lifeblood, and they are the reason for existence, the source of revenue, and the compass heading. So it makes perfect sense for a business to have a dedicated slide in its pitch deck highlighting customer testimonials.

Testimonials from current customers are the most credible and the most persuasive. So third-party reviews can be beneficial, but they don't have to be your only source of testimonials — why not add in some quotes from happy customers to your next pitch deck?

Customer testimonials slide for your pitch deck can be a powerful tool to prove your product works and show investors that you have a good customer base no matter what. It will help you to convince the investor how great your future is. And this is what Lunchclub has done through this slide.

Download Lunchclub Pitch Deck Template

Slide 8: Lunchclub Long Term Vision

The long-term vision of Lunchclub is demonstrated through a bar graph that proclaims that the majority of professional introductions will happen over Lunchclub.

Lunchclub also mentions that its MRR grew 5.4 times in the past 12 months.

The Key Takeaways segment put forth a couple of essential details.