INVESTOR OVERVIEW
The Connection Economy Is Ripe for
Disruption
Social media promised connection and delivered isolation · Sidekick is the anti-
social-media app, built to move people off their screens and into real-world
communities and friendships
Because we don’t monetize time-on-platform, we’re free to build an app that actually brings people together
THE OPPORTUNITY
They Started With Good Intentions · They Got Greedy · People Noticed
This is a generational opportunity to build something better — and capture the value that Big Tech is leaving on the table
⚡
Big Tech Is Losing Trust
From congressional hearings to billion-dollar lawsuits, the major platforms face unprecedented backlash. Books like Careless People and Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification have entered the mainstream conversation. The window is open.
🫀
Loneliness Is a Health Crisis
The U.S. Surgeon General and the WHO have both declared loneliness a public health emergency. 200 million Americans report being lonely. Demand for genuine connection has never been higher.
🎯
Sidekick is Mission-Driven
Because Sidekick doesn’t monetize time-on-platform, we have the structural freedom to actually solve the problem. We’re outsiders building the platform Silicon Valley can’t — because their business model won’t let them.
THE PRODUCT
Features That Drive Engagement
Key features that differentiate Sidekick and create sticky user behavior
CORE FEATURE
📅
Interest-Filtered Calendar
Users see local events filtered by their chosen interests, not a generic listing. A pottery enthusiast sees pottery classes. A birder sees dawn walks. This creates high-intent RSVP behavior because every event shown is already relevant. For B2B partners, this means their events reach exactly the people most likely to attend.
CORE FEATURE
📣
Opt-In Feed
Unlike algorithmic feeds designed to maximize engagement, Sidekick’s feed shows only content from communities and people the user has explicitly chosen to follow. No ads, no manipulation, no surprise content. This builds trust, reduces churn, and reinforces the anti-social-media positioning.
SIGNATURE FEATURE
🤝
Kickits
Open-ended, interest-based activity suggestions that start with “Let’s…” — as in “Let’s try that new ramen place” or “Let’s go on a sunrise hike.” Kickits lower the barrier to meeting new people by focusing on shared activities rather than profiles.
DIFFERENTIATOR
🚫
What We Don’t Have
No likes. No comments. No follower counts. No ads. No paid content. No AI-generated content. No image/video chat. No aliases. Every design decision reinforces the mission: get people off screens and into real-world connection.
THE BUSINESS MODEL
1 Platform, 2 Customers
Sidekick serves both individual users and community organizations, each paying for
different value, both powered by our proprietary matching engine
B2C: INDIVIDUAL USERS
Sell the Connection, Not the Addiction
Adults choose from 2,500+ interest categories and optional personal filters to find nearby people who share their passions. The app’s calendar, opt-in feed, and community tools turn digital matches into real-world friendships.
💰 Subscription model — users pay nothing until a critical mass has formed, then a small monthly fee
B2B: COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
Sell the Community, Not the Transaction
Arts venues, recreation departments, churches, and cultural centers use Sidekick to reach highly targeted audiences. Our taxonomy lets them connect with people who are genuinely interested in what they offer — not just anyone within a zip code.
💰 Partnership tiers — organizations pay for an administrative control panel, advanced features, and data analytics
GO-TO-MARKET
Crack the Code in Eugene · Copy It in Portland ·
Scale It Nationwide
Sidekick’s city-by-city “double wedge” expansion model builds dense local networks before
scaling, proving the model works at human scale before automating it at national scale
📍
PHASE 1: EUGENE
Prove the Model
Build partnerships, refine the product, and establish repeatable playbooks in our home market.
✓ Under Way
🔄
PHASE 2: PORTLAND & CORVALLIS
Replicate & Refine
Deploy the proven Eugene playbook in other West Coast cities using community features and local partnerships.
Next
🚀
PHASE 3: NATIONWIDE
Scale City by City
Expand across the U.S. The taxonomy and matching engine are location-agnostic by design.
future
TRACTION
Tested and Verified · Ready to Launch
Sidekick has completed its Beta testing and market-segmentation work and is preparing to re-launch in May 2026 · We’ve even done a UX review with eye-tracking technology · We’re ready to roll
5
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
Including Hult Center, Eugene Symphony, and City of Eugene Recreation
3
UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS
UO Insights Lab, Allen Hall PR, and MBA Strategy co-creation
12
STUDENT CONTRIBUTORS
Current college students and academics who shaped the app’s design
OUR PARTNERS IN EUGENE
Hult Center for the Performing Arts
Eugene Symphony
Eugene Science Center
City of Eugene Dept. of Recreation
First Congregational Church
75%
of testers said they’d recommend
Sidekick to a friend
This app, I truly believe, will become a household name and be phenomenally successful. You’ve done really good, and deserve to be wildly successful. Bravo!
This is exactly the type of app I would like to use. Trying to make friends is difficult as an adult and I could see myself using this app to make more friends.
Seems like a great idea to connect people without the negative effects of social media. It appears to offer a better and more positive place to meet people.
I think this app has great potential. An app that makes a clear message that this is for actual hang outs outside of the platform makes it feel more real.
From a usability study of 100 volunteers who tested Sidekick for 30+ minutes
THE TEAM
Outsiders With a Fresh Perspective on Tech
We’re not from Silicon Valley, and that’s a feature, not a bug · Every step of our design process was
built with the input of 12 current college students and academics
Laura Illig
Founder & CEO
Artist and entrepreneur with a vision for a new America. Passionate about community and willing to fight to bring us (back) together.
Robert Illig
Co-Founder & COO
Law professor and business strategist. Bringing legal expertise and strategic vision to the connection
economy.
THE ENGINE
2,500+ Hand-Curated Interest Categories
While most social platforms use broad categories or keyword tags, Sidekick has built a
structured, hand-curated taxonomy of over 2,500 interest categories organized into 10
domains · Users can match at exactly the level of specificity they want, from “Music” down
to “Bluegrass Banjo”
🤝 Friendship & Camaraderie
28
🎬 Entertainment
516
🎲 Hobbies & Games
238
📚 Knowledge & Inquiry
401
🌻 Service & Community
53
🎨 Arts & Music
466
🧘 Health, Wellness & Spirituality
98
🏡 Home & Garden
65
🌲 Nature & the Outdoors
95
⚽ Sports & Exercise
281
WHY THIS MATTERS TO INVESTORS
This taxonomy is a defensible competitive asset. It can’t be replicated overnight, it improves with user feedback over time, and it powers both the B2C matching and the B2B targeting, making it the engine of both revenue streams. Most apps need a network to create value. Sidekick creates value to build the network, because our taxonomy delivers relevant matches even at small scale.
BEYOND INTERESTS
Optional Personal Filters: Matching That Goes Deeper
7 opt-in filter categories let users match on dimensions no other platform captures
🌐
Languages
100+ languages
🧠
Neurodiversity
ADHD, Autism, more
💬
Personality Type
MBTI, Enneagram, more
♿
Disability
Deaf/HoH, Blind, Mobility, more
🍷
Substance Use
Preferences & recovery
👨👩👧
Situation
Family, faith, military, more
🏳️🌈
Status
Gender identity & orientation
🔒 Privacy by design. Every filter is opt-in. Default selections are hidden where appropriate. Data is never sold. Users control visibility at every level.
Inclusion as a Structural Feature, Not a Marketing Claim
Sidekick’s Particulars system doesn’t just accommodate diversity — it’s built around it. Users who identify as neurodivergent, disabled, LGBTQIA+, sober, or part of any other sub-community can filter for people who share their experience, making the product meaningfully better for underserved populations.
WHY THIS MATTERS TO INVESTORS
The Particulars system demonstrates product sophistication and market awareness. It shows sensitivity-aware design (hidden defaults for majority traits, tiered privacy), creates natural community segmentation for B2B partners, and positions Sidekick as genuinely inclusive, not performatively so. Combined with the Interests taxonomy, the Particulars system gives Sidekick 2,800+ distinct matching dimensions — an unparalleled depth of personalization for a friendship platform.
2,800+
Distinct Matching Dimensions = Interests + Personal Filters Combined
Woman-owned
Mission-driven
Built in Eugene, Oregon
Let’s Re-Build the Connection Economy Together
Whether you’re a potential partner, community organization, or someone
who believes technology should bring people together, we’d love to hear
from you
[email protected] · 541.510.4556