Dublin Business / Entrepreneur Networking Group

What Dublin Business / Entrepreneur Networking Group does

Meetup is a community-based platform founded in 2002 that enables individuals to discover, join, and create local and online groups organized around shared interests. It serves 52+ million members across 300,000+ groups in 193 countries and 10,000+ cities, supporting use cases ranging from professional networking, career development, and entrepreneurship to hobby groups, skill sharing, and health support communities. The platform is built around a web product at meetup.com and native iOS/Android applications, with a self-serve onboarding flow and a two-sided marketplace in which 75% of organizers began as members.

The underlying product surface includes a personalized event recommendation engine, AI-powered semantic search, real-time messaging with delivery status, Group Discussions and Event Comments for member communication, and payment processing integrated via Stripe for member dues, event fees, and donations. Meetup Pro is the paid organizer tier offering email list building, custom branding, multi-group management, cross-group messaging, and analytics; Meetup claims Pro drives 40% more RSVPs, 50% more members, and 400% more engagement versus baseline. The technology stack has been actively modernized under new ownership.

Meetup operates a freemium business model: free membership for discovery and attendance, with revenue derived from Meetup Pro subscriptions, organizer-set recurring member dues, per-event fees, and optional fundraising donations processed through Stripe. The company is headquartered in New York, was acquired by Bending Spoons (owner of Remini, Splice, and Evernote) in January 2024, and operates as a private subsidiary (legal entity Bending Spoons US Inc.). Distribution is global via the App Store, Google Play, and the web, with a separately offered Meetup Pro Enterprise tier for large-scale community operators.

Name

Dublin Business / Entrepreneur Networking Group

Legal name

Meetup

Website

https://meetup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Meetup is a community platform founded in 2002 that connects 52+ million members across 300,000+ groups in 193 countries, enabling event discovery, group organization, and local community building through a freemium model with a paid Meetup Pro organizer subscription.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community & Event Platform

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Attendee Mobile Apps & Engagement Platforms (THAHAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Meeting & Event Program Technology (Registration, Apps, Badging) (THACAFAB), Community/Group Chat Platforms (BPAMACAH)

Keywords

• Community event platform
• Local group networking
• Event discovery platform
• Organizer subscription tools
• Social networking platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Meetup Pro Subscription: Paid subscription tier for organizers providing tools to grow email lists, build brands, and manage multiple groups globally. Includes custom branding, cross-group messaging, and analytics.
2. Member Dues: Organizers can charge recurring membership fees to group members to offset organizing costs and foster engagement. Powered by Stripe payment processing.
3. Event Fees: Organizers can charge fees for specific events to cover costs like speakers, technology, or equipment.
4. Fundraising: Optional donations tool allowing organizers to collect voluntary monetary contributions from group members for group goals.
5. Basic Membership: Free membership tier allowing users to discover events, join groups, and attend events at no cost.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Meetup is a web and mobile platform where individuals discover and join local or online interest-based groups and RSVP to events, and where organizers create, manage, and monetize those groups. The platform also sells Meetup Pro, a paid subscription tier for organizers that provides email-list growth tools, custom branding, cross-group messaging, multi-group/hybrid event hosting, and analytics.

Product overview

Meetup is a social networking platform that connects people through local events and groups. The core product is the Meetup website and app where users can discover and join groups, RSVP to events, and connect with others who share their interests. Meetup Pro is a professional tier offering advanced tools for organizers including email marketing, custom branding, multi-group management, and analytics. The platform also extends its reach through the Keep Connected podcast hosted by CEO David Siegel, and maintains an active blog for community updates and organizer resources. The platform operates across 193 countries with 52+ million members and 300,000+ groups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Meetup Pro: A premium subscription service for organizers that provides tools to grow email lists, build community brands, and expand to groups across the globe. Pro features include 40% more RSVPs, 50% more members, and 400% more engagement.

Products and services

• Meetup Pro Premium subscription tier for organizers providing tools to grow email lists, build community brands, manage multiple groups worldwide, host multi-group and hybrid events, and access cross-group messaging and analytics.
• Meetup Mobile App Mobile application for iOS and Android enabling users to discover events, manage groups, connect with members, and plan events on the go.
• Meetup Web Platform (meetup.com) Core web platform where users discover and join local or online interest-based groups, RSVP to events, and where organizers create, manage, and monetize communities. Operates across 193 countries with 52+ million members.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20% increase in RSVPs from the Explore page redesign
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe is the payment processor powering Meetup's Member Dues, event fees, and fundraising features. As of October 3, 2024, Stripe integration became available to all organizers worldwide, replacing the previous PayPal integration. Stripe enables secure, reliable payment collection for group memberships and event fees.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• LinkedIn Events: LinkedIn Events targets the professional networking and career development use case that Meetup serves via groups like 'Tech & AI Jobs' panels. As part of Microsoft, it competes for organizer mindshare in the professional segment.
• WhatsApp Communities (Meta): WhatsApp's Communities feature enables group formation at massive scale for free, including event coordination. It competes with Meetup's group communication and event announcement features, especially internationally.
• Reddit: Reddit's subreddit communities host interest-based discussions and increasingly offline meetups (subreddit-based local groups). It competes with Meetup for the interest-based community formation use case at a global scale.
• Telegram: Telegram's channels and group features support large-scale community formation and event broadcasting, particularly internationally. It competes with Meetup on the communication layer that retains members around groups.
• Facebook (Meta) — Groups & Events: Facebook Groups and Events offer free community formation and event discovery embedded in a 2B+ user social graph. It is the largest incumbent competing for Meetup's use case, though Meta does not focus exclusively on the local-group/Meetup-style niche.

Direct peers

• Discord: Discord is the leading real-time community platform with servers organized around shared interests, often hosting in-person meetups. It directly competes with Meetup for community formation and organizer mindshare, particularly among younger demographics.
• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a ticketing and event-management platform serving both consumers and organizers. Like Meetup, it powers local event discovery and organizer tools, though it skews more toward paid ticketed events rather than recurring community groups.
• Nextdoor: Nextdoor is a neighborhood-based community platform that hosts local events. It directly competes with Meetup in the hyperlocal community/events discovery space, with a different but overlapping value proposition (residents vs interest-based groups).

Emerging players

• Meetup.com competitors — Patch: Patch is a hyperlocal news and events platform serving U.S. communities. It overlaps with Meetup on local event discovery but with a news-driven rather than community-formation model.
• Bumble (Bumble BFF/For Friends): Bumble For Friends targets the 'make new friends as an adult' use case that Meetup's social segments serve. It is an emerging player in the same social-connection problem space, though with a dating-app UX rather than event-driven one.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Meetup
• Facebookfacebook.com/DublinBENG
• Instagraminstagram.com/meetup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meetup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dublin Business / Entrepreneur Networking Group