Meet strangers. Timeleft in Poland

There's an app that connects people around the table, much like in a modern dinner club. The goal is not to be online, but rather to log off and engage in conversations with real people over food. You register and meet five specially selected individuals in a restaurant tailored to your needs. Meet Timeleft.

On November 13, PURO and Timeleft are joining forces! Meet strangers in one of the restaurants in five PURO cities. Buy a ticket.

A conversation with Aleksander Dunin from Timeleft.

Who came up with Timeleft?

The main idea behind the startup was Maxime Barbier. He created a list of things he wanted to do before turning forty. This started a non-romantic thread of connecting with others to do various activities together. Then the pandemic hit, and many people struggled with loneliness. The idea evolved, step by step, until it reached its final form. The first dinners took place in Lisbon.

How did you join the team?

I read an article about Timeleft in the "Financial Times." I had previously worked at Google and was interested in technology that solves social issues. That’s what the article was about. At that time, Timeleft wasn’t operating in Poland yet, so I reached out to the founders and pitched Poland as a great country for the app. Soon after, my wife got a job in the Netherlands, we moved there, and that’s when I joined the main office of Timeleft.

What is Timeleft all about?

Timeleft is about facilitating meetings in the real world. Usually, the success of an app is measured by how much time people spend on it. We want to go against the grain. The idea is that the app leads to a meeting, but after that, it’s no longer needed. We don’t want to position ourselves in opposition to Tinder; we’re in a different category. It’s very simple: we connect you, and you sit down at the table and talk.

How does the app work?

Timeleft is an app, but you can also register on the website. You fill out a short personality test and answer simple questions, such as your music and movie preferences or how much you’re willing to spend on dinner. Then, the app arranges for you to meet five strangers. This is the optimal group size; four people might be too awkward for a dinner, while eight would just be two groups of four. Dinners always take place on Wednesdays at a set time in each country. In Poland, it’s at seven PM, and in Spain, for example, at eight PM. You register, and based on your answers, we select a group for you. On Tuesday, you’ll get information about the people you’ll meet, and on Wednesday morning, you find out which restaurant you’ll be going to. You purchase a ticket for the dinner and then pay the bill afterward. You can also get a subscription for a month, three months, or six months. You can even travel and attend dinners in different countries.

Who uses Timeleft?

There are several types of people who use Timeleft. One group is solo travelers, those who are in a different city every week. There are also singles looking to meet someone and enjoy their time, while about 70 percent are people who are not in a relationship and actively spend their time. What connects these individuals is a love for food. We want them to put their phones away and spend time with another person, overcoming the fear of talking to strangers, trying to get to know each other better, and potentially forming friendships. Many people continue these connections afterward.

Is there etiquette in Timeleft?

For example, is phone use prohibited during dinners?
We have general rules, such as not being vulgar or insulting anyone. During dinner, you can use the questions we provide to break the ice, so one person might use their phone for that, which can be helpful. These questions are along the lines of, “What music festival did you attend recently?” and for more challenging ones, “What advice would you give your ten-years-younger self?”

How many people in Poland use Timeleft?

In Poland, we are in six cities: Warsaw, Gdańsk, Kraków, Poznań, Wrocław, and Łódź. In Warsaw, we have about 100 participants each week. It’s a good number, although our ambitions are bigger. For comparison, in New York, São Paulo, or Paris, around 700 people use Timeleft every Wednesday. We are growing rapidly.

How is the choice of restaurants made?

Restaurateurs reach out to us, but we primarily select them after checking the venue. Some restaurants are more suitable than others, and there are places we don’t consider. For example, slurping ramen may not be conducive to meeting strangers. Tapas bars aren’t for everyone either, as not everyone likes to share with strangers. The most important thing is to have the right music and atmosphere.

How do you match people?

We consider age, ensuring that the difference between companions is no more than 10 years, but we also take interests into account. We aim for a gender balance as well. Women often prefer to meet in all-female groups. My mission is to educate men that it's nice to have friends with whom they can talk.

What will happen at PURO?

Timeleft dinners connect 17,000 people worldwide every Wednesday. In some cities, we also organize what we call a "last drink," where people can meet others from different groups. This inspired us to have 250 people meet and get to know new friends in five cities on Wednesday, November 13. It’s a very simple idea based on the concept of dinner clubs that have existed for over 100 years. After dinner in each of these locations, there will be a DJ and space to continue conversations with people from other groups. PURO has great restaurants and a mission to support various initiatives. The media partner for the event is "Elle" magazine, and the ambassador is Karolina Sobańska.

Aleksander Dunin worked for five years at Google for Startups, supporting startups from Central and Eastern Europe. Now, together with Timeleft, he connects people in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Along the way, he founded a men’s pajama brand called Nudin. How does all this connect? “Honestly, I have no idea,” he replies, adding, “But I really enjoy it.”