TsunagaruLab, Inc. — new platform launch story

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

An app that connects people —built in-house from scratch.

LinkUp is a community app that matches you by interests and activities and connects you through real-time chat. A new place to meet, safe to use thanks to phone verification.

"Matching, real-time, trusted verification and activity discovery" — the story of launching a new platform: an app meeting all four axes a community app needs, built in-house from scratch in 7 months.

See the build story Try the demo View overview

Meeting

Matching

By interests & activities

Conversation

Instant Chat

Firestore sync

Safety

SMS Auth

Identity check

Platforms

iOS / Android

Push notifications

LinkUp

Haruka 26

Shibuya

PhotographyHiking

✕♥

CLIENT

About the client

TsunagaruLab, Inc. — one of the country's leading creators of new connections.

TsunagaruLab, Inc. is a service provider that designs the way people meet. They aimed to create a safe community space built around hobbies and activities.

Existing services struggled to create connections and ensure safety. They chose to build a community app in-house from scratch — centered on matching and real-time chat, and equipped with identity verification.

Meeting

Interest-driven

Platforms

iOS/Android

Safety

SMS verification

Business flow — Verify → Profile → Matching → Chat

STEP

Verify by phone number

Reassuring identity check

STEP

Profile

STEP

Matching

Like / Skip

STEP

Chat

Real-time chat

CHALLENGE

Design challenges to solve

Four structural requirements that support connection.

None of these are matters of technology choice — they are business requirements tied directly to engagement, retention and safety. Building anew from scratch required a design that satisfies them all at once.

Weak triggers for meeting

If you can't connect from interests,matches rarely happen.

Conversations don't last

Without real-time capability,relationships break off.

Worries about safety

Without identity verification,impersonation and distrust follow.

Activities are hard to find

If you can't surface activities,the urge to take part weakens.

ARCHITECTURE

Architecture built together

Turning community into lasting connections across four areas.

Matching, real-time, trusted verification and activity discovery — we built the four areas a community app needs in-house from scratch together with TsunagaruLab, Inc. Firestore powers real time and SMS verification delivers peace of mind.

EXECUTION

7 months

Duration

22 person-months

Total effort

Area ①

Matching

Challenge

Need to connect people by interests and activities.

Solution

Matching by interest tags and proximity

Intuitive with Like / Skip.

Area ②

Real-time

Challenge

Need to keep conversations from breaking off.

Solution

Instant chat with Firestore

Read receipts and notifications boost interaction.

Area ③

Trusted verification

Challenge

Need to prevent impersonation.

Solution

Phone verification · report/block

Into a safe-to-use environment.

Area ④

Activity discovery

Challenge

Need to create reasons to take part.

Solution

Driven by activities and notifications

Discover nearby activities.

MOBILE

React Native TSTypeScript

BACKEND

Firebase

Firestore MCloud Messaging

TRUST

SSMS verification AAnalytics

IMPACT

The value the platform creates

TsunagaruLab's connections, expanding.

This foundation isn't a technical metric — it continuously generates business outcomes such as engagement, retention and safety.

A foundation where connections happen

Grow natural matches starting from interests.

Conversations continue

Deepen relationships through real time and notifications.

Design that guarantees safety

Build trust with identity checks and safety features.

People can join activities

Broaden interaction through nearby activities.

🙋

STAKEHOLDER

User

Typically

Even after meeting, conversations rarely last.

At TsunagaruLab

Match by interest and start chatting right away.

A richer experience

Continued use

🤝

STAKEHOLDER

Community

Typically

Lively interaction rarely emerges.

At TsunagaruLab

Activities energize participation.

Energized interaction

Community growth

🛡️

STAKEHOLDER

Ops & safety management

Typically

Impersonation and trouble handling are hard.

At TsunagaruLab

Run things soundly with verification and report/block.

Improved safety

Earning trust

📊

STAKEHOLDER

Management

Typically

Retention and engagement are hard to read.

At TsunagaruLab

Optimize initiatives with behavioral data.

Higher retention

Toward business growth

An app that connects people —built in-house from scratch.

TsunagaruLab, Inc. — one of the country's leading creators of new connections.

Four structural requirements that support connection.

Turning community into lasting connections across four areas.

TsunagaruLab's connections, expanding.

Experience LinkUp with a live, working demo.