Crcle is the one-stop-shop you need to manage your social life.
Meet Cjay Aksoyoglu and Luke Jose, Co-Founders of Crcle — a social events app helping users spend more quality time with others.
We caught up with Cjay and Luke to learn about what makes Crcle’s value proposition unique, the dynamics of working collaboratively, and their plans for the future. Excerpts from our chat below:
Can you tell us a bit more about Crcle? How did it all start, and what led to the inception of it?
In very simple terms, Crcle is a social events app. It started from scratching our own itch – it’s way too difficult to get together with friends (finding a time when everyone’s free is hard, Facebook events are dead, and group chats are chaotic) and no social platforms offer an event planning solution. The world is shifting online but we think the real world is the place to be. The pandemic proved how important relationships and in-person interactions are to our health and wellbeing, so we set out to make it a whole lot easier to get people together and manage your social life.
“ The world is shifting online but we think the real world is the place to be.”
How does the app work?
You start by highlighting who you are (where you’re based, any dietary requirements), where you like to go (your favourite spots around town), then add your friends to your Crcle and start making plans.
You know the issue of “Where should we go?” – that’s sorted. We have every venue in the app, as well as curated recommendations on the best spots to eat and drink no matter where you are in Australia. You can see where your friends like to go (especially that friend who is always at good restaurants), find a time when they’re free and keep details in one place.
That dinner you’ve been trying to tee up for weeks? Your upcoming birthday? A casual brunch with friends? Plan it in the app, in seconds. Create the event, share a link out to friends or add via contacts to make it easy to get everyone on board. You can also create polls on time and location so everyone can vote, and keep the banter alive in the event chat, importantly, without having to do the doom scroll to find the details again like you would in a normal group chat. It makes planning quick and easy, reduces the back-and-forth of trying to plan something and helps organise anything from a dinner to a big birthday. It’s a game-changer!
“It makes planning quick and easy, reduces the back-and-forth of trying to plan something and helps organise anything from a dinner to a big birthday. It’s a game-changer!”
How would you describe a typical Crcle user?
Anyone who likes hanging out with their friends and family, which is all of us! There’s always an ‘organiser’ of every group (you know the one…) so this will make their life a whole lot easier. On the other hand, for those who just like to be told where to be and when (you also know that one…), it’s great to let other people manage your social calendar and have one place to stay across what you have on.
We’d love to know more about the individual strengths that you two bring to the table. How have you found working together?
I (Luke) spent about 5 years at EY across accounting and transaction strategy whilst also starting an e-commerce side hustle with a friend, which was an incredible foundation that led me to this next chapter. The corporate hustle was real, but the skills and exposure I gained was invaluable. I’m the numbers guy who likes to dream big… but also make sure we have a well-structured plan.
Cjay on the other hand is the yin to my biz yang! She is the creative who’s great with words (she definitely reviewed this) and has had a really interesting career trajectory which made her the perfect chameleon to jump on board. She started out in law before moving on to work in the content team at MECCA, and then became the Food & Drink Editor at Time Out, so she has an incredible background to help bring Crcle to life.
As friends from Melbourne, we’ve experienced the problem of teeing up plans within our own friendship group and were determined to create a solution. Cjay’s definitely the organiser, I’m the one who is told where to be and just shows up. Our existing friendship means working together has been fantastic; the foundation of trust and ability to have fun amongst all the highs and lows is critical as we go along this journey.
We’re also very fortunate to have Tom Walker and Ari Dancziger (big Bain brains) alongside us to make sure we don’t miss a beat and are heading in the right direction! We’re open-minded, easygoing and most importantly aren’t blindly wedded to our ideas, so we’re always bouncing ideas and happy to challenge each other on things in a constructive way which is an important dynamic.
What’s been some major highlights for you over the past year or so?
Seeing an app live on the Apple & Google stores was an incredible moment, however we also know this is only the beginning. The other exciting part is the amazing people we’ve been able to meet. It’s quite surreal being in a room getting advice from established players in the industry and VC space. We’re still very early stage, so I’m sure there will be more highlights to come.
“Seeing an app live on the Apple & Google stores was an incredible moment, however we also know this is only the beginning.”
And what would you say are some of the most front-and-centre challenges for you?
With backgrounds in strategy/finance and marketing, the obvious gap is tech. There were countless conversations on ‘how’ in the early days (i.e. should we have an internal or external tech team?) and we knew we needed great advisors to guide us along. The truth is our tech is not overly complicated – what will make or break us is the quality of the product and offering, so this is where we focused our attention. The main challenge we have right now is growing our user base. Getting people across the product and becoming advocates for Crcle takes time and credibility, which is our biggest challenge right now.
What does success look like for you two? What would you say is your North Star for Crcle?
Not to sound corny or cliché, but success for us really is about making an impact. If someone says we helped them stay in touch with their friends, maintain relationships and have more fun then we have achieved our goal. The North Star for Crcle is to become a healthy habit; for people to use our app as if it’s second nature, as a gateway to connect with others in-person, in the real world.
“ The North Star for Crcle is to become a healthy habit; for people to use our app as if it’s second nature. ”
And what’s next on the cards for Crcle? Any secrets you could let us in on?
It’s all about spreading the word, so please give it a go and make plans with friends! We’re sponsoring lots of events, so if you have a birthday coming up reach out and we’ll spice it up. We have grand plans but true to lawyer form, Cjay won’t let us spill any beans. Hint: overseas expansion, lots of marketing effort and some exciting investors.
Follow our Instagram and LinkedIn to see what’s next!
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To learn more about Crcle, head here.
By Nikita Lamba.
