I launched Meutch in May! Thanks to friends who told me to stop fiddling with it and get it out into the world.
We ended the month with over a hundred people on Meutch. And 35 people joined a circle and took an action, which means I donated $35 dollars to a local sharing-oriented organization. This month it’s MakerWorks, where people share space, tools, and skills. As a reminder, I will donate to charity for every user who is active in a given month through all of 2026, so continue to borrow, loan, request, or giveaway!
It seems like anecdotally the platform is working. My garden now is full of plants that I got in response to my Meutch request – the tomatoes came from a friend while the green onions were especially magical as I got them from someone I didn’t already know!
Yesterday I borrowed a Sawzall via Meutch and used it to chop up some long scrap boards that were too big to fit in my garbage can. It was nice to use a high-quality tool without having to pay for it and store it – or even decide what model I wanted to buy.
And I heard from friends who borrowed a Pack N Play crib to host visiting family and a folding table and chairs for a party. Plus I lent a ton of camping gear to a work colleague who is trying backpacking for the first time.
Growth areas: I heard complaints and suggestions from users directly and also learned from how people use Meutch, leading to improvements (here’s everything that changed in Meutch in May). For instance, 96 people logged into Meutch in May, but two-third of them then took no further action. I’m now nudging new users to join a circle so they see activity in their feed immediately of what’s going on near them.
On the technical side, I completed the foundation for a mobile app, moving things around on the backend to get ready. Meutch is not a slam dunk case for a mobile app, given that it works fine in your web browser. But I think a lot of people expect a mobile app and I want to meet people wherever they are. That said, in June I want to prioritize the core web app experience.
Thanks to everyone who signed up and especially those of you who made a circle and told your friends about Meutch! I’m hopeful that we can sustain a foundation of activity among early adopters who are passionate about sharing and keep growing the user base.
Here’s to sharing in June! On my summer bucket list is to go tubing on the Huron River … I plan to borrow the tubes on Meutch.