AMELA
Community SNS operator — new platform launch story

ℹ︎For confidentiality, the company name, project name, and system images have been replaced with pseudonyms and mocks.

Do what you love, together with people nearby.

Gatherly is a community SNS app where you post meetups centered on areas and stations to connect with peers. Posts, chat, and notifications enable real-time interaction, while reporting and blocking keep it safe to use.

The story of launching a new platform — iOS / Android apps, admin panel, and API built in-house from scratch.

Meetups × area
Find peers
Chat
Real-time
Coin billing
Monetization
Gatherly📍 Shinjuku Station
Weekend futsal meetup — beginners welcome!
Shinjuku · Sports · 3 left
Looking for café-hopping buddies ☕
Shibuya · Gourmet · 2 left
Board game meetup @ Ikebukuro
Ikebukuro · Hobbies · Full
01
CLIENT
About the client

A community SNS operator nurturing local connections.

A company running a community app that meets the need to enjoy hobbies and activities together with people nearby. It aimed to create a safe space for interaction.

With smartphones as the main stage, they needed a foundation that delivers a real-time experience of people connecting through posts, chat, and notifications, while balancing healthy operations and monetization.

Area-based
Station & area
SNS
Posts & interaction
2 OS
iOS / Android
BUSINESS FLOW
STEP 1
Post a meetup
Meetups by station, area, and category
STEP 2
Join & interact
Gather as a community
STEP 3
Chat
Real-time contact via notifications
STEP 4
Safety & monetization
Report handling + coin billing
02
CHALLENGE
Design challenges to solve

Four design challenges for creating connections.

Wanted to find activity partners nearby

Friends for hobbies and activitiesA place to search nearbywas missing.

Wanted to interact safely

No reporting or blocking mechanism,Lacked a sense of safety

Wanted to keep a healthy community

On the operator sideModerationwas difficult.

Wanted to monetize continuously

With free alone,Revenue modeldid not hold up.

03
ARCHITECTURE
The architecture we built together

A community foundation for safe gatherings, built in-house from scratch.

A community SNS operator built its mobile app, API, and admin panel in-house from scratch together with Amela. Meetup posts, communities, chat, report moderation, and coin billing were unified onto a single platform.

AMELA
EXECUTION
10 months
Duration
0→1
New build
Area ①
Meetups & communities
Challenge
No nearby place to find meetups
Solution
Station- and area-based meetup feed
Match with peers by category
Area ②
Chat & notifications
Challenge
Communication was not real-time
Solution
Chat + push notifications
Smooth from joining to interacting
Area ③
Safety & soundness
Challenge
Could not prevent inappropriate posts
Solution
Reporting & blocking + admin panel
Operators handle moderation
Area ④
Monetization
Challenge
No revenue model
Solution
In-app coin purchases
Continuous monetization
Mobile
React NativeRedux-SagaFirebase
Backend
ExpressMySQLRedis
Admin
Nuxt.jsAWS
04
IMPACT
The value the platform creates

A place where people gather and keep coming back, safely.

into connecting with people nearby

With station and area meetups, gather quickly with like-minded people.

Interact with peace of mind

Keeping a healthy space through reporting, blocking, and operational moderation.

Liven up in real time

Smooth from joining to interacting, with chat and push notifications.

Monetize continuously

Sustainable monetization through in-app coin purchases.

STAKEHOLDER
Users
App users
Typically
Limited ways to find peers
With Gatherly
Join nearby meetups with one tap
Business impact
More encounters and interaction
STAKEHOLDER
Operations
Service provider
Typically
Healthy operations and monetization were hard
With Gatherly
Admin panel + coin billing
Business impact
Balancing safe operations and recurring revenue
DEMO

Experience Gatherly with a live, working demo.

FLAGSHIP
Community & meetup feed

Find meetups by station and category, and join with one tap. Recreating the mobile app experience.

Launch demo →
Chat

Interact in real time with meetup participants. Try the conversation list and talk screen.

Launch demo →
Admin console

Try operational moderation — reviewing the report queue, managing users, and more.

Launch demo →