Most of what I argue on this blog is that relational skills are learnable, and that the knowledge helps most before a crisis — yet almost no one is taught them in time. That same bet is why I angel-invest where I do. The companies below are all, in one way or another, trying to close the gap between what we know about healthy relationships and the tools ordinary people actually have to build them. I put small amounts of my own money behind founders working on that problem; none of this is investment advice, and I have an obvious stake in wanting them to do well.
OurRitual offers expert-led relationship support that blends one-on-one coaching and therapy with structured digital exercises, for individuals as well as couples. It appeals to me because it tends to meet people earlier than traditional couples therapy does — closer to the point where the skills would do the most good.
RealRoots is a friendship app for women that places members into small, facilitated groups and helps them turn matches into real friendships over a period of weeks. It treats friendship as something you can deliberately build rather than stumble into — a useful corrective, given how much the loneliness data implicates weak social ties and not just romantic ones.
Coral is an intimacy and sexual-wellness app for couples, with guided content and activities meant to make conversations about sex less awkward and more constructive. It works on a part of relationships that is both consequential and chronically under-discussed, which is exactly where good tools are scarcest.