In this week’s episode, we speak with Maxime Barbier, founder and CEO of TimeLeft. The fast-growing social dining platform is bringing strangers together for shared experiences around the world.
Launched in 2020, TimeLeft has evolved through four major pivots before finding its winning formula: small-group dinners in cities worldwide. Today, the subscription-based service operates in 250+ cities across 50+ countries, matching groups of six for midweek restaurant meetups, with new formats including women-only nights, bar meetups, and even group runs.
Barbier shares the lessons learned from his early career as a nightclub promoter, through building social media brands, to creating a platform designed to fight loneliness by fostering in-person connections. TimeLeft deliberately avoids the trappings of dating apps – no profile pictures, minimal preconceptions – to focus on authentic interactions and friendships, though romance sometimes blossoms.
The company’s matching algorithm uses personality testing, language preferences, budget, and group balance to create engaging, comfortable evenings for its 3 million users. With word-of-mouth growth fuelled by media interest in combating loneliness, TimeLeft has become a leader in the emerging “IRL tech” space.
Looking ahead, Barbier envisions TimeLeft not only helping people meet new friends but also strengthening existing friendships – potentially using AI to prompt and arrange meetups. For him, the mission is clear: use technology to create more meaningful moments in the limited “time left” we all have.
