A message from Squad’s Founder and CEO
March 16, 2020
I have been monitoring the COVID-19 developments for the last several weeks, and wanted to share some updates with you. This is a serious pandemic that is having real consequences on our emotional, mental and physical health - and in some cases, our life.
At Squad, we believe that human connection is fundamental to a healthy human experience; it is why we’ve seen growth in user numbers every single day in 2020.
But while we believe in the power of in-person connection, we will always prioritize the health and safety of our members. Effective immediately, we are (a) transitioning in-person meets to virtual meets (via audio) and (b) hosting large Squad events via audio instead of in person. We believe this change will limit the spread of COVID-19, but help us to still forge those meaningful human connections. Here is what you can expect:
Squad Meets
As an update to our initial view, we are transitioning all in-person meets to virtual meets. We have partnered with a reliable video conferencing provider to enable these 3-4 person small groups (or “Squads”) to meet for virtual coffees, lunches, dinner and drinks. These Squads will still be created locally (i.e - NYC with NYC, London with London, etc..) with the hope of continuing these friendships IRL once it is safe to do so. Locations are still activated once there are 100 people with the app within 25 miles of you.
We have designed an experience that makes it fun and enjoyable, and we welcome your feedback as well. User onboarding and Squad Meet preferences will be updated to reflect this change.
Squad Group Events
In line with the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines released on March 15, Squad will temporarily ban all member-hosted events and postpone all in-person Squad-hosted events. We will host certain events online in the meantime. We will provide an update in the coming weeks of when these in-person events will resume.
Being physically isolated is quite lonely, and I empathize with many people feeling scared and concerned about the uncertainties. We are here to make this feel less daunting. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us should you have any feedback or questions via info@withyoursquad.com.
We’re going to get through this together ❤️
Sincerely,
Isa Watson
