Butter | Our Story: The App for Real-Life Social Plans

Hi, I’m Sam. Butter started with a list of stuff I wanted to do.

BORN IN MELBOURNE

RAISED IN LA

I knew the kind of life I wanted to live. I was missing the people to make it happen.

By 25 I’d moved cities 6 times, and every move went the same way.

I’d know exactly how I wanted to spend my weekends - the new restaurant, the run club, the gig on a Tuesday night - yet I'd have no one to spend them with.

Let me introduce myself

Even back home it was happening. In my 20s my friendships started to drift. Nobody did anything wrong; we were all changing fast, and we weren’t in the same season anymore. The stuff I was getting into wasn’t their stuff. I didn’t want to drag anyone along, and I didn’t want to miss out either. What I was craving were people who reflected where I was headed, not only where I’d been.

Butter is for social plans where strangers become friends: small, curated, everyday, not 200-person events. People request, you check their profile, you approve. Your plans show up in explore

THE CHALLENGE OF FINDING THE RIGHT CONNECTION

after doing a pile of research, I realised it wasn’t only me (phew). So many of us know who we’re becoming:

…the conversations we want to have, habits we want to build, weekends we want to spend differently.

What we’re missing is the people to do it with, and that isn’t because we’re lazy or not trying. It's simply because there’s nowhere to find those kinds of people.

Once you’re out of school and college, there’s no built-in way to find them. Most of us wait for a friend to be free, or keen, or both, and a lot of the time that means we just miss out.

we’re not “let’s circle back” or “maybe next week”

we’re the group chat that books the table, grabs the tickets and turns up early.

where other apps see an event listing, we see someone’s new favourite people

and one less night of doomscrolling.

SO I TOOK MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS

I taught myself to code

Yep, pre-vibe coding too; this was classic, old school iOS code. Then Melbourne went into lockdown, so with nowhere to go and a lot of time on my bedroom floor I started sketching the app I wished existed: somewhere I could put out the thing I wanted to do and find the people who’d say yes.

The day one, pre-launch wireframe of Butter.

I had a decade in brand and marketing, a lifetime of firsthand experience in the space, and a good eye for design. So I taught myself, one tutorial at a time, until there was a first version of Butter on my screen.

Eventually I left my glossy marketing job to go all in. I told my partner, “If it doesn’t work it doesn’t work, but I’m giving it a red hot crack.”

Our first big piece of press, while I was still working full-time. Sam was named one of Vogue Australia's Future Innovators in 2024.

I

knew

the

life

☀

I

wanted.

I

needed

the

people

✧

to

do

it

with

♫

THE EPIC TEAM BUILDING IT WITH ME

I'm not alone

on my bedroom

floor anymore

co-founder

sam

spent years in content and marketing getting people to look at their phones. Butter is her way of getting them to put them down.

136

new people met on Butter

ON THEIR LIST

finally clear her 'new cafes to try' list

become a mahjong pro

co-founder

francis

he came on board when Butter went from side project to company. He’s the reason it works as well as it looks.

new people met on Butter

ON THEIR LIST

step up his chess game

start a mountain biking club

partner lead

nora

she came to sam’s very first Butter plan. now she’s the reason our hosts grow, and keep coming back.

new people met on Butter

ON THEIR LIST

learn to play mahjong!

perfect the art of hosting

self-growth shouldn’t come with social sacrifice, and connection shouldn’t only belong to the lucky or the extroverted.

WE HAVE BIG GOALS

WE'RE ALL ABOUT

empowerment

THIS IS KEY

authenticity

WHAT WE BELIEVE IN

accessibility

ALWAYS LEAD WITH

boldness

Hi, I’m Sam. Butter started with a list of stuff I wanted to do.

Hi, I’m Sam. Butter started with a list of stuff I wanted to do.