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CASE STUDY · SOCIAL NETWORKING
A React Native and Supabase social networking app for women in Switzerland, not a dating app: interest based matching, direct chat, community channels, local events paid with a Swiss QR bill and a neighbourhood marketplace, built from a 36 screen specification for a Zurich startup.
OUR CLIENT
Our client is Souly, a Zurich based startup building a social networking app for women who want to meet new people through shared interests, from running and pilates to brunch and cycling. The goal is not online conversation for its own sake but real connections in the city: members match with women who share their rhythm and interests, join community channels and meet at small local events. Souly needed a complete iOS and Android app, from specification and design to a production ready first version, built around a community based on trust.
THE CHALLENGE
The founder of Souly wanted a place where women in Zurich could meet through shared interests and build real friendships, clearly positioned as a social networking app and not a dating app. That meant more than matching: members needed a direct chat, community channels to talk in and small local events to meet at in person, with a simple sign up and payment for each event. On top of that, the first version had to be ready for a launch event with a fixed date, so every module was planned against a hard deadline from the start.
THE PRODUCT
We started with a full specification of 36 screens with user stories and acceptance criteria, then built the app in React Native with Supabase in two parallel streams. Members join through a simple onboarding, match by shared interests, talk in community channels and sign up for local events, paying with a Swiss QR bill sent by email. The whole app is available in English and German.
FEATURE WALKTHROUGH
The onboarding starts with what members actually like doing. Twenty eight interests are grouped into active, food and drink, culture and creativity, and going out and staying in, from running and padel to brunch, museums and flea markets. Members pick up to five, and they can skip the step and come back to it later.
Two final onboarding steps help others feel comfortable reaching out: a short bio in the member's own words and a photo grid with a main photo. A progress label shows exactly how many steps are left, so the whole setup feels short.
The discover tab shows one member at a time with her photo, distance, bio and interests, with the shared ones highlighted. A wave starts a connection and a cross moves on, so the decision is based on what two people have in common rather than on looks alone.
Once two members connect, they talk in a private chat with text and voice messages. The conversations the app is designed for are the practical ones: a coffee this weekend, a run by the lake, a first walk around a new neighbourhood.
Beyond one to one connections, members join topic channels such as a space for mothers, where they post questions, reply in threads and see pinned rules and upcoming events at the top. It is where a new arrival asks for a paediatrician in Oerlikon or a stroller friendly hike near the city.
Events turn online connections into real moments: small gatherings in Zurich, from a yoga and brunch morning to a group run. The Souly team creates and manages every event in an admin panel, members sign up in the app, and a Swiss QR bill for the event arrives by email, ready to pay in any Swiss banking app.
The marketplace lets members sell, swap or give away things in their city, with filters for price, category and city. For someone who just moved to Zurich, it is often the first reason to message a neighbour.
Souly has no ads and does not sell member data. Every feature stays free, and members who want to keep the app running can choose an optional yearly or one time supporter contribution, which switches on after launch.
HOW WE BUILT IT
Every screen described with user stories and acceptance criteria, so scope and priorities were agreed with the client before the build started.
A full design of the app in Figma, from onboarding to events and the supporter screen, with a visual style closer to a magazine than to a dating app.
Matching, chat and channels in one stream, events, marketplace and supporting flows in the other, planned on a timeline that ended at the launch date.
Store accounts set up on the client's side with our guidance, then builds prepared for App Store review, starting with iOS.
RESULTS
After two weeks of design and about two months of development, Souly has a full product in place: onboarding, interest based discovery, direct chat, community channels, local events paid with a Swiss QR bill, a marketplace and an independent supporter model, all in one React Native codebase for iOS and Android. The app is preparing its launch on iOS in Zurich, with Android to follow.
FAQ
How is a social networking app like Souly different from a dating app?
The matching mechanics can look similar, but the product is built around shared interests, groups and events rather than one to one romance. That changes the onboarding, the discovery screen, the tone of the design and the features around it, such as community channels, local events and a marketplace.
How do you plan a social networking app with a fixed launch date?
By agreeing the full scope first. For Souly that meant a 36 screen specification with user stories and acceptance criteria, then two weeks of design and about two months of development in two parallel streams, on a timeline that ended at the launch date. Our MVP development for startups page describes how we scope first versions like this.
Can a social networking app work without ads?
Souly chose an independent model: no ads, no selling member data, every feature free, and an optional supporter contribution for members who want to keep the app running. It is a simple model to build and easy for members to trust.
Why use a Swiss QR bill instead of card payments for events?
In Switzerland the QR bill is the standard way to pay invoices, and members already know how to pay one in their banking app. Sending a QR bill by email after sign up keeps event payments familiar for Swiss users and avoids building a card checkout into the first version of the app.
Do you work with founders in Switzerland?
Yes. Souly is a Zurich startup, and the app was built for the Swiss market from the start, in English and German and with Swiss QR bill payments. Our team works in the same time zone as Swiss clients. Our app development for Swiss companies page covers how we work with clients in Switzerland.
How much would a project like this cost?
It depends on the number of screens and modules, such as chat, channels, events and a marketplace, and on how much is needed for the first release. Our pricing page explains how we scope and price fixed price projects.
Whether it is a community for one city or a network across a whole country, we can turn your idea into a specification, a design and a working iOS and Android app, for a fixed price.
Or see Souly