How can we measure impact?

How can we measure impact?

At Close, we proudly say that we want to foster meaningful local connections and help create stronger communities. But how can we actually know whether we are doing that?

The question is not only how we create impact, but how we measure the impact we hope to have.

Today, I want to share some thoughts on the analytical side of the Close app: what we can measure, what we should be careful about, and where we may need to ask users directly.

Starting with the impact chain

Let’s start by taking a step back and looking at the impact chain of the app.

It is probably more complex than:

You have the app → stronger local connections

If we unpack this and focus on the matching logic, the chain looks more like this:

App activity → profile created → matches shown → meeting proposed → meeting accepted → meeting happens → contacts exchanged → friendship forms → stronger local connection

That is a long chain. But it also gives us many opportunities to learn how people are actually using the app and where we might be able to improve the experience.

For example, if many people create a profile but do not propose meetings, we need to understand what is stopping them. If meetings are proposed but rarely accepted, we need to look at trust, timing, relevance, or how the invitation is presented. If people meet but do not exchange contacts, maybe the experience was not strong enough yet.

In other words, the impact chain helps us move from a big mission to concrete product questions.

Thinking in funnels

One useful way to think about this is as a funnel.

At the top of the funnel, we can measure reach: how many people install the app, how many open it at least once, and how many complete onboarding. We can also look at anonymized information such as age distribution, selected interests, and meeting intents.

Further down the funnel, we can look at whether matches are generated, whether meetings are proposed, whether they are accepted, and whether people report a positive experience afterwards.

A simplified funnel might look like this:

1. App installed
2. Onboarding completed
3. Matches shown
4. Meeting proposed
5. Meeting accepted
6. Meeting happened
7. Contacts exchanged
8. New connection formed

This does not tell the whole story, but it gives us a practical way to understand where the app is working and where people drop off.

For example, imagine that 500 people actively use the app and 5% of them exchange contact details with someone they met through Close. That means 25 people may have made a new connection.

At first glance, 25 might sound small. But for those 25 people, that first connection can be meaningful. It can be the beginning of a friendship, a new routine, or simply the feeling of being a little more connected to the place they live.

And that matters.

Growing the funnel or improving the experience

Once we understand the funnel, we can ask better questions.

Do we need more people at the top of the funnel? That would mean focusing on awareness, partnerships, campaigns, and local outreach.

Or do we need to improve conversion further down the funnel? That would mean improving the matching logic, making meeting invitations easier, increasing trust, or helping users feel more comfortable taking the first step.

Both are important.

A larger user base gives people more possible matches. But a better experience makes it more likely that those matches become real-life meetings and eventually meaningful connections.

The goal should not only be to get more people into the app. The goal should be to help more people move through the impact chain in a way that feels safe, natural, and worthwhile.

What data can tell us

Anonymized usage data can help us understand what is happening inside the app.

For example, we can learn:

• How many users complete onboarding
• Which interests and meeting intents are most common
• How often matches are generated
• How often meetings are proposed and accepted
• How many meetings seem to result in a positive experience
• Whether users come back after a first meeting

This kind of data is useful because it shows patterns. It helps us understand where people get stuck and where the product can improve.

But there is also a limit to what usage data can tell us.

Data can show that two people exchanged contact details. It cannot fully tell us whether that moment felt meaningful. It cannot tell us whether someone felt less alone afterwards. It cannot tell us whether a small interaction made someone feel more at home in their neighborhood.

For that, we need to listen to users more directly.

Exploring in-app surveys

This is where in-app surveys could play an important role.

The idea would be to ask users a few short questions when they first join Close, and then occasionally check in over time. These surveys should be simple, respectful, and optional.

For example, we could ask:

• Do you feel connected to your neighborhood?
• Would you like to meet more people nearby?
• Have you met someone through Close that you would not have met otherwise?
• Did a meeting through Close feel positive or meaningful?
• Do you feel more connected than when you first joined?

This would help us understand not only what users do, but how they feel.

A baseline check-in at the beginning could give us a starting point. Later check-ins could help us understand whether people feel more connected over time. Combined with anonymized funnel data, this could give us a much stronger picture of Close’s real-world impact.

Measuring what matters

The most important part of Close’s mission is also the hardest to measure.

A meeting is measurable. A contact exchange is measurable. A repeated interaction is measurable.

But a feeling of belonging is harder to capture. A new friendship takes time. A stronger community is not created in one click.

That is why we need to combine different types of measurement. Funnel data can show us where the app is working. Surveys can help us understand whether users feel a difference. And stories from the community can remind us what the numbers are really about.

Because in the end, impact is not just a metric.

It is a person who meets someone new.

It is someone who feels a little more at home.

It is one more local connection that did not exist before.

What do you think?

We are still early in thinking about how to measure impact properly.

Would short in-app surveys be the right way to understand whether Close is helping people feel more connected? What questions would you ask? And how can we measure meaningful connection without making the experience feel too formal or intrusive?

We would love to hear your thoughts.