A growing number of entrepreneurs are launching businesses that focus on bringing people together offline, betting that physical interaction can counteract rising isolation. Brynn Putnam, who sold her fitness technology company Mirror to Lululemon for $500 million, and Tristan Walker, who sold grooming brand Walker & Company Brands to Procter & Gamble for an undisclosed sum, are now backing new ventures centered on shared, hands-on experiences.

Putnam’s startup Board develops a 24-inch touchscreen table that identifies physical game pieces and gestures, designed to facilitate group play across age groups. Walker’s Heirloom Craft acquires and expands fine-craft trade schools, beginning with a leatherworking school in San Francisco founded by Hermès’s first American artisan-ambassador. Both ventures emphasize tactile, collaborative activities as a counterbalance to digital isolation.

The push aligns with broader concerns about social disconnection. The World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Connection recently identified loneliness as a global health issue linked to approximately 870,000 deaths annually. A Harris Poll survey commissioned by Marriott Bonvoy found that two-thirds of Americans now prioritize experiences over material goods, citing a desire for more authentic engagement.

Putnam noted that Board emerged from personal frustration: as a mother of five in a blended family, she found few products that enabled multi-generational play. The table uses technology to recognize physical objects — such as a spaceship piece triggering an action — allowing children and grandparents to interact without navigating complex interfaces. Walker, concerned about AI’s impact on skill transmission and community, created Heirloom to revive apprenticeship models in crafts like leatherworking and watchmaking, citing data that over half of Gen Z and Gen Alpha reject traditional four-year degrees in favor of alternative skill-building paths.

Other founders are pursuing similar goals. Andy Dunn, co-founder of Bonobos, has expanded his social platform Pie into a “social life operating system” anchored by “Community Homes” for recurring group activities. Audrey Gelman’s Six Bells Countryside Inn in the Hudson Valley hosts monthly murder-mystery dinners, where actors embed clues among guests; a New York Times feature reported visitors often remain socializing past midnight. Gelman’s prior venture, The Wing, dissolved during the pandemic amid internal management controversies, informing her current approach.

These initiatives reflect both market opportunity and personal motivation. At a recent TechCrunch StrictlyVC event in New York, Putnam described Mirror’s origins as deeply personal — developed while pregnant and seeking ways to integrate fitness into her routine. Board, by contrast, was designed to solve a perceived gap in inclusive, accessible shared experiences. Walker similarly framed Heirloom as a response to eroding pathways for mastering tangible skills.

Funding levels remain modest compared to broader tech investments. Board has raised $35 million, Pie $24 million, and Six Bells $3.8 million. Heirloom has not disclosed funding. In contrast, WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann’s residential venture Flow, which markets physical spaces as antidotes to loneliness, has secured over $450 million from Andreessen Horowitz, highlighting divergent scalability trajectories.

The long-term viability of “togetherness” as a distinct investment category remains uncertain. While physical connection offers societal benefits, it does not scale as efficiently as digital platforms. What stands out is the background of the founders — each previously built consumer brands with proven market traction, lending credibility to their new ventures. Their next moves will indicate whether this niche is gaining sustained momentum.