Cocoon

We started building Cocoon at the beginning of 2019 and have been quietly testing the app with a small number of early groups. Now, we're excited to share the product more broadly and explain why we're building it. In the blink of an eye, smartphones and social software have transformed almost every aspect of our daily lives. We can now seamlessly stay in contact with everyone we've ever met, or seek out new like-minded connections around any topic or interest. Social networks and online marketplaces have blurred together into incredible destinations for anything we could dream of, on demand. Raising money for a cause, hosting a stranger in our living room, finding a quick gig - these are all now frictionless acts of connection. To find a date (or even our soulmate!) we turn to an app. But by assembling into these massive global networks, we've inadvertently flattened all of our connections into one single crowded layer - and it's become frustratingly difficult to sustain high quality, close relationships with the handful of people we care about most. Despite our new superpowers, we still resort to old school methods like texting and the occasional phone call when we can get the timing right. It's a strange dilemma: the looser the social connection, the stronger our social technology. This paradox is unfortunate - the strength of our closest relationships is possibly the leading predictor of happiness, with an unmatched impact on our overall wellbeing. Sadly, loneliness rates are climbing higher than ever. In Cigna's flagship 2018 study, 54% of people surveyed responded that they feel as if nobody really understands them, and 46% said they feel completely alone. Maintaining tight-knit family bonds used to be a little more straightforward. Decades ago, people typically didn't stray too far from their hometown, with multiple generations living under one roof or at least in close proximity. The family home was a central gathering place, and family members were constant companions: socializing, working, and sharing meals together most of their days. The role of the family unit within our broader social fabric has changed significantly. Now, by the time we reach our early twenties most of us are already at the tail end of the time we'll get to spend in person together with our parents and siblings. Every year, 27.8% of young adults (age 18-34) in the US will move to a new place, and the "nuclear family" household is steadily being replaced by people living alone, with a partner, or with transient roommates. We are increasingly social butterflies, floating between different circles as our interests, careers, and home-bases are in constant flux. Still, for many of us, the bond we share with the family we're born into is sacred and irreplaceable. For others, a small group of people that we meet along the way become our new chosen family . In any case, no matter who you consider to be as close as family, maintaining a tight-knit bond within a hyper-connected world has become a weighty challenge. We think it requires specialized social technology, and that the tools of the past won't carry us into the future. That's why we're building Cocoon. We want to provide people with the foundation they need to actively bring their chosen family closer together. This is more of a human problem than a technology problem, so that's where we started. What does it mean to feel close? What norms and behaviors do tight-knit groups have in common? How do their goals change when they don't live in close quarters? What are the active forces behind strong relationships? A few patterns emerge from the established research in the social sciences. Closeness means being present together. Cultivating a strong group identity, and finding rituals and shared activities that provide a reason to gather. Celebrating each other's wins and sharing in their burdens. Exposure to the texture of each person's day-to-day life. Maintaining a shared awareness of everyone's emotions, activities, and situations - feeling like you truly understand each other. These practices are hard enough to keep up with when you see your family every day. As soon as you live apart, they become especially challenging. An aspirational solution starts to take shape...