HowToMakeFriends turned check-in
into the start of real connection
A musician and performance artist by background, Eric Magnée builds moments where strangers become friends. He founded HowToMakeFriends driven by the belief that human connection is becoming increasingly important in a world where technology often pulls us apart. Because technology can be designed better, to bring people closer together. To show that even small interactions can have a meaningful impact and facilitate real-life connection.
His flagship experience, SpeedMeet, is one of the most joyful things we have seen in years of running events. SpeedMeet pairs people into small groups on their own phones, matched through shared interests, shared values, or the kind of surprising differences that make for a good conversation. From there, they move through playful and reflective prompts that turn small talk into something that actually sticks.
It runs in the browser with no app to download, scales from 50 to 350 people, and has been used at network events, conferences, company gatherings and student introduction weeks.
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Most events bring people into the same room and then hope connection happens by itself. SpeedMeet was built to change that. With GatherUs, we can now make the whole flow feel effortless: people check in and are immediately guided into real interaction. Less friction, more energy in the room, and more space for what actually matters: people meeting each other.
Eric Magnée
Founder, HowToMakeFriends
The challenge
Most events are designed to bring people together, but real connection is often still left to chance.
People arrive, check in, look around the room and then do what humans naturally do: they stay close to the people they already know, avoid the awkward first step, or get stuck in small talk that never really goes anywhere.
For event managers, that is a real problem. Because the value of a networking event, conference, community gathering or introduction week is not just that people showed up. The real value is what happens between them.
SpeedMeet was built to solve that moment.
It gives participants a playful and structured way to meet new people, start better conversations and feel part of the room from the very beginning. It gently nudges people out of their comfort zone, creating just enough structure to spark real conversations without forcing them.
But for that to work, the actual meeting experience has to start fast. Asking people to register once for the event and then register again for SpeedMeet would create friction exactly where the energy should be building.
The goal was simple: check-in and SpeedMeet should feel like one smooth flow.
The build
No second sign-up. No re-typing. No waiting.
For Eric, the setup was quick and flexible. The webhook created a clean real-time handoff from check-in to experience, while still giving him the freedom to shape the flow around what matters most: the energy in the room.
Ready to use together
The outcome
