Startup Spotlight #163: Blue Fever
Startup Spotlight #163: Blue Fever
Blue Fever is an Emotional Media platform for Gen Z to express their authentic self in a non-toxic community space and then be guided to the support they need for their growing up journey.
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I got the chance to speak with Greta McAnany, co-founder and CEO of Blue Fever, about what she’s working on at her startup, and any advice she has for emerging entrepreneurs.
McAnany is an entrepreneur and empath with media roots who believes innovation should always serve our most human needs - the next frontier is the intersection of technology and our emotions. Through her time in media and tech, she has become a Gen Z expert and focuses her time on building solutions for this generation's mental health and wellness needs.
Right now, she's busy building a new tech category, called emotional media, not social media, through her company Blue Fever - the first toxic-free space for Gen Z to share their most authentic selves and connect with other supportive people. McAnany co-founded BF to create the big sister support she always wanted but never had growing up.
Additional News: Blue Fever, an anonymous social network, acquires Gen Z-founded Trill
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Startup Spotlight: Blue Fever
Problem: Gen Z is suffering from a lack of (off/online) safe community spaces and because of this, they are in a mental health crisis. Toxic social media platforms are the biggest culprit contributing to a generation where 79% report extreme loneliness and 1 in 8 have had a depressive episode.
Market: We are beginning with female-identifying and nonbinary Gen Zers who represent over 1.2 billion globally. With the increasing role of technology in our lives, long-term we believe that everyone will need a place to develop their identity online.
Solution: Gen Z needs a new experience where community and technology create a safe space for the development of their authentic self. From the search bar that gave us topical relevance, to social media that gave us social relevance, there is a need for online spaces that provide emotional relevance and support- we call this: Emotional Media.
Team: Gen Z needs a new experience where community and technology create a safe space for the development of their authentic self. From the search bar that gave us topical relevance, to social media that gave us social relevance, there is a need for online spaces that provide emotional relevance and support- we call this: social media Emotional Media.
Recent Success:
McAnany: Our latest success was acquiring a wellness app created by and for teens (see the announcement in TechCrunch here!). Our beta app has also experienced extreme growth in the last quarter with 300% growth in sign-ups and 400% growth of UGC created in 12 languages. The numbers here are a representation of the team making strong bets backed by data and guided by intuition. But I think our greatest success has been the trust we’ve gained from our users. The engagement has shot up - they are posting thousands of pages a week with their most vulnerable, inner thoughts (everything from celebrations to big struggles and life transitions). They are feeling safe and supported by the app and the community, that’s the biggest win.
Recent Struggle:
McAnany: As a startup, we are always trying to be as lean as possible. Our team has been working in overdrive and wearing multiple hats to make sure we deliver the best experience to our users and show strong numbers for investors. Constantly context switching is intense and I don’t think we always realize how much it takes out of us. We all need to be better about taking more breaks and giving our brains room to breathe- so at a company level we implemented once a month mental health days where we all take off.
Founder Advice:
McAnany: I recently read an article that said that startups run on money but survive on optimism. This hit me pretty hard. 2021 has been a pretty difficult year for me as a founder because I have had to navigate a lot of things I never thought would happen. But constantly I go back to 1) why I believe in my business 2) I ask myself the question “what could go right?” 3) have leaned on the support of my extended community to keep holding me up and pushing me forward step by step.
Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:
McAnany: Here are three founders you should check out next!
Mica LeJohn, Founder of Idoru: Idoru is self-expression for the digital-first generation.
Aaron Hsu, Founder of Blerp: Blerp helps you enhance any moment with sound.
Dawn Dickinson, Founder of PopCom: PopCom is an automated retail technology company that creates data and analytics software for intelligent vending.
Who should I profile next? Leave your suggestion in the comments:
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