1/ Allow me to reintroduce ourselves. Our names are Quinn and Jonathon Button. Husband and Wife. When we first met, we set out to do two things: travel the world and make a positive impact. That has not changed! @qbuttonphd

It's amazing to see so many Monkes in one place, coming together to vibe and build cool things. A truly warm and meaningful lunch gathering with the whole crew. @agvbtc, @KimNguyen314, @melxor0x and @hanjaycrypto hosted such a great event and bringing the community together. Reject humanity. Return to monke. @MonkeDAO

Gather here @KhaTruong8 @thicody 🔥 before speech this afternoon @Gaian_hq & @fystack

The IRL connection economy is a $400B market. And companies are racing to own it. In the last 6 months, $800M in capital was deployed on "IRL" bets. @Tinder invested $60M into a new Events feature for connecting matches in-person. They're pivoting to IRL and offering experiences such as speakeasies, raves, and pottery classes. @222place: raised a $10.1M Series A to curate blind social experiences for Gen Z. Personality-matched groups sent to hyperlocal nightlife events. @JagermeisterUSA launched BestNightsVC - the only venture fund in the world dedicated solely to nightlife and IRL connection. 16 portfolio companies across 4 continents. @timeleft: dinner with 5 strangers, every Wednesday. €18M ARR. 6,500 dinners/week across 200 cities. Dion: members-only social app where the first move is buying someone a real drink, redeemed IRL. 10K members, 30K on the waitlist founded by @revekkapal. Pie: Bonobos founder @dunn built an IRL friendship app. $24M raised. 130K MAU. @weroad_official: group trips for 20-30 year olds who don't know each other beforehand. $150M valuation. Matchbox: is an algorithm-powered matching platform for IRL events and has powered over 100,000 connections. founded by @liamjmcgregor (prev @MarriagePact) New dating apps like Known @Celesteamadon, Cerca @MylesCerca, and Ditto @AllenWangzian are aiming to improve connection amongst young people. Billion-dollar companies are paying $$$ for community and events leads: - @AnthropicAI: Marketing Events Manager ($255k) - @tryramp: Community Manager ($223k) - @tryramp: Events & Culture Manager ($181k) - @duolingo: Senior Community Manager ($193k) - @NotionHQ: Community Programs Lead Everyone knows the more time we spend online, the more valuable real-life connection becomes. The question isn't whether IRL wins. It's who facilitates it best.

Founders should always be pitching. Every new person. Every conversation. Every day. Keep pitching. Get 1% better every single day. It's not over until you win. That's how you win in the arena. Tomorrow at @solana day: test your pitch to a bigger crowd and real ecosystem partners. It's still not too late. Get in the arena.