# The Nudge

> The Nudge is a San Francisco company that texts its members curated plans for real-world fun - hikes, date ideas, restaurants, events and hidden gems in their city. Founded by siblings John and Sarah Peterson in 2018, it began as a $9/month SMS subscription pitched as an 'anti-startup' to get people off their phones, and has since grown into an AI-powered advisor and locals-only social network with roughly a million users across cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin and New York.

- **Founded:** 2018
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founders:** John Peterson (Co-founder & CEO), Sarah Peterson (Co-founder & COO)
- **Team size:** ~46 employees (per public data aggregators)
- **Products:** The Nudge (SMS service), The Nudge app, AI plan agent
- **Notable:** Named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Social Companies of 2024, alongside Snap, WhatsApp and Pinterest., Grew to roughly 1 million users across multiple US cities., Raised $13.4M total, including an $8M Series A in September 2022.

## Products & services

- **The Nudge (SMS service)** — A subscription that texts members roughly three curated 'Nudges' a week - hikes, date ideas, restaurants, events, meetups and hidden local gems, researched and planned by the company.
- **The Nudge app** — A companion mobile app (iOS and Android) where users save plans for later, mark Nudges as 'achieved,' watch short-form videos of things to do, and engage with a locals-only community.
- **AI plan agent** — An AI-powered advisor that proactively texts users like a friend, researches local events, curates optimal plans and helps book local experiences.

## Achievements

- Named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Social Companies of 2024, alongside Snap, WhatsApp and Pinterest.
- Grew to roughly 1 million users across multiple US cities.
- Raised $13.4M total, including an $8M Series A in September 2022.
- Expanded from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles, Austin and New York.

## Latest updates

- **2024** — Recognized on Fast Company's Most Innovative Social Companies list and repositioned as an AI-powered advisor and locals-only social network.
- **2025-10** — Coverage highlighted The Nudge reaching roughly 1M subscribers using primarily text messages.

## Links

- Website: https://nudgetext.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/nudgetext
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/nudgetext
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nudgetext/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/the-nudge
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-10