Outernet turns your saved social posts into real-world plans

Danielle Egan and Athena Leong have a track record of organizing offline fun: together they’ve run a citywide scavenger hunt in San Francisco, turned a viral prank into a one-night exclusive NYC restaurant, and created a socializing alternative to running clubs called “sit club,” where people bring chairs and relax. With their new startup, Outernet, the co-founders want to help others add more fun to their lives too.

The app’s name reflects the idea of using the internet as a tool to get people to go outside. It’s one of several apps that let users save things they see online — local events, restaurants, bars, or city landmarks — and turn them into a to-do list for exploring the world. Instead of just liking a post about something you’d like to do, Outernet’s pitch is to share it to the app, which tracks the activity or place in an organized interface.

To save a post, users tap the share option from an app like TikTok or Instagram and select Outernet, or paste a link or upload a photo of something like a flyer directly into the app. Outernet uses AI to pull relevant details — date, time, location — from what’s saved. Events go into a chronological feed; other activities and places to visit are organized into separate tabs, and can be added to a calendar or viewed on Outernet’s map. The app also sends proactive reminders, and lets users “stamp” places they’ve visited, building toward what will eventually become a passport documenting their activities.

The idea grew out of the founders’ experience designing “Pursuit,” a citywide scavenger hunt in San Francisco that began three years ago and is now held annually, drawing participation from about 1.5% of the city’s population in its most recent run. Talking with participants, the founders found people didn’t join because they loved scavenger hunts, but because they wanted an excuse to go outside.

Outernet has been on the market for roughly two months and is already profitable from its premium subscription, priced at $6.99/month or $39.99/year, which lets users save more items per day. It has around 18,000 users total. The founders are having casual conversations with investors about next steps. Outernet is invite-only and available on iOS, with an Android waitlist.

Why it matters

Outernet is betting that AI-organized, socially sourced to-do lists can convert passive social-media scrolling into paid, real-world activity — a wedge into the broader market for apps like Albo, Tabi, and Plotline.