Pie, the social app created by Bonobos founder Andy Dunn, is expanding its mission to connect people in real life. With a new 'Communities' feature, users can establish more permanent homes for their social groups on the app.

Originally an events app focused on Chicago, Pie now aims to encourage its 300,000 users to join communities where events become a natural outcome of connections rather than the main draw. Each ‘home’ offers community feeds and management tools, allowing members to connect beyond single events.

The addition follows changes that make Pie less about events and more about people attending them. In December last year, Pie updated its activity feed to highlight who you knew was attending an event, increasing time on the app from 2 minutes to 10 minutes post-update. Other features like a ‘favorites’ section allow users to build their public profiles with favorite interests.

Dunn, inspired by his struggle to find community in Chicago after moving from New York, sees Pie as a platform for building software for social clubs that foster deeper connections. The company has added Nadya Okamoto, founder of the popular run club Zoomies, as a co-founder and CMO, aiming to create a Reddit-like environment focused on real-life interactions.