Series, a new social networking app built around conversation-based networking, has raised a $5.1 million pre-seed round. The funding drew an eye-catching mix of backers, including Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Pear VC, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and GPTZero founder Edward Tian.
Launched by Yale seniors Nathaneo Johnson (CEO) and Sean Hargrow, Series is positioning itself as a next-generation social platform focused on making warm connections easier—without forcing users to download yet another app or broadcast their personal contact details. Instead, Series runs entirely through iMessage, turning the texting interface people already use every day into a lightweight way to meet new collaborators, friends, or even potential dates.
Here’s how it works: users text a dedicated Series number in iMessage and describe who they are and who they want to meet. From there, Series replies with what it calls “shares”—a swipeable carousel of 10 image-based posts from other users who are looking for similar connections. Each card includes a photo and a short “ask,” and if someone catches your eye, you can press and hold to start a private conversation within the Series chat. The key detail: you can connect without revealing your personal phone number.
Johnson believes this kind of conversational interface is where tech is heading, as experiences shift away from traditional browsing and scrolling and toward direct, chat-driven discovery—similar to the broader move from search-style interfaces to AI-style conversations. Series reflects that shift, treating messaging as the main user interface for networking.
The founders’ interest in connection-driven tech started early at Yale. Johnson and Hargrow met while working on a podcast through the Yale Entrepreneurial Society, where they interviewed founders and CEOs and repeatedly saw how much “warm introductions” mattered in business. That insight shaped their thesis: build a product that can facilitate warm connections at scale. After multiple iterations, they landed on the current version of Series, then began fundraising in March 2025 while assembling a team of eight.
A scrappy launch strategy helped accelerate early momentum. The team made a LinkedIn trailer video that quickly went viral—an idea they came up with at 1 a.m., filmed overnight, and posted the next afternoon. Within two days, they had met their first investor.
Originally popular with college students, Series has recently expanded beyond campuses while still focusing on Gen Z and young professionals. According to Johnson, students use Series across more than 750 campuses. He also says activated users show strong engagement, with 82% retention through Day 30—performance the company compares favorably to early social platform benchmarks. While many people use Series for business networking, the platform has also seen use cases like dating and finding friends.
The fresh funding will go toward hiring more engineers and expanding product capabilities, signaling broader ambitions for a social networking platform that lives inside iMessage. After graduation, the company plans to stay on the East Coast, operating out of an office in Chelsea, New York, with the founders frequently commuting from New Haven.
Their decision to build in New York reflects a growing trend of consumer startups choosing “Silicon Alley” over Silicon Valley. Johnson says the team has already built a strong early network across the Ivy League and the broader East Coast, making New York a natural fit for the next phase.
Perhaps most notably, the founders haven’t dropped out of college. Johnson describes the challenge of balancing exams and essays with leading a growing startup, but says staying enrolled felt possible—and worthwhile. His takeaway is simple: the time people treat as “extra” can be the difference between staying stuck and building something real.
