Danielle Egan and Athena Leong certainly know how to enjoy themselves. Together, they’ve put together a citywide scavenger hunt in San Francisco and transformed a viral prank into a one-night-only NYC restaurant. They also launched a “sit club” as an alternative to a running club, which encourages participants to bring their chairs and unwind. Now, with their latest venture, Outernet, the co-founders aim to help others infuse joy into their lives.

The app’s title reflects the idea of using the internet to motivate you to venture outdoors, hence the term “outernet.” It’s one of several applications designed to help you save online finds — such as local happenings, eateries, bars to explore, or other city attractions — and convert them into a checklist for discovering your surroundings.

Outernet proposes that instead of merely liking a post related to something you want to see or do on social media, you should share it via its app, which will catalog the activity or location you wish to visit in a user-friendly format. (Invite codes to test the app personally are at the end of this article).

What distinguishes Outernet from others in the market, such as Albo, Tabi, or Plotline, is its creators: individuals who have dedicated significant time to fostering playfulness and enjoyment offline. Now, they aim to incorporate that same energy into their app.

“In my spare time, I have a strong passion for encouraging people to step outside and engage in activities,” shares Egan, whose outside persona is quite different from her previous role in product BizOps at LinkedIn. “I enjoy capturing interest in surprising ways and delivering enjoyable experiences.” She mentions that the app’s goal is to become the “motivation engine for IRL” — something that smoothens the path between wanting to do something and actually making it happen.

Outernet capitalizes on a prevalent consumer habit. While scrolling through TikTok and Instagram, you often find inspiration from a creator’s content, which leads you to save it in the app as a reminder. However, you might quickly forget about the idea as you keep consuming more media. Outernet addresses this issue by systematically tracking the activities you aspire to do or places you wish to visit, all in one location.

To save a post within the app, simply select the share option from the originating app, like TikTok or Instagram, and scroll through the list of possible sharing locations until you find Outernet. You can also directly paste social media URLs or website addresses into the app, or upload a picture of something you encounter, such as a flyer.

For organization, Outernet uses AI to extract pertinent information, such as the date, time, location, and specifics about the activity you wish to undertake or the place you intend to visit. Events are organized into a chronological feed that you can refer back to whenever you’re searching for something to do. Other activities that don’t have a specific date, as well as desired places to visit, are classified into different tabs within the app. You can also synchronize events with your Apple or Google Calendar or visualize them on Outernet’s map.

The app is also capable of sending proactive reminders and prompts that motivate you to engage in the activities you’ve saved.

As you venture into the real world, you can “stamp” locations you’ve visited, creating what will ultimately be a passport chronicling your experiences.

“We’re exploring various methods to potentially create a sort of passport book where you can reflect on all your experiences and perhaps share that with friends, fostering a sense of pride,” Egan mentions regarding future product aspirations. They are also considering employing standard gamification strategies to motivate activity, such as distributing stamps when key milestones are reached.

The concept for Outernet originated from the founders’ work designing a citywide scavenger hunt in San Francisco, known as “Pursuit,” which started three years ago and is now held each year. The month-long event attracted participation from approximately 1.5% of San Francisco’s residents during its latest occurrence.

Through discussions with participants, the founders discovered that people didn’t engage because they were particularly fond of scavenger hunts or adventure games; they simply sought a reason to get outdoors. This ignited a creative spark.

“We came to understand that there is a true desire among people to participate in activities such as going on adventures. This is the emerging trend,” remarks Leong, who has a background in computer science and child development before transitioning into adventure game design.

“There are numerous fantastic community events, and as community organizers ourselves, we are very integrated into that environment,” Egan adds. “The challenge is that there are dedicated organizers on the ground who orchestrate these amazing events, yet they often lack the skills to reach out to people because marketing and attracting attention require a different skill set. This is where we excel, and we see ourselves as the bridge,” she explains.

Outernet’s app has been available for about two months and has already reached profitability through its premium subscription service ($6.99/month or $39.99/year), which allows users to save more items daily. The app boasts approximately 18,000 users, and the team is swiftly experimenting with new concepts.

The founders are currently engaging in informal discussions with investors regarding future directions, but identifying the right fit is crucial.

“We aim to engage investors — if we proceed — who are genuinely aligned with our vision,” states Leong. “We’re whimsical, and it’s essential that we find investors who resonate with that.”

Outernet operates on an invite-only basis and is accessible on iOS, with an Android waitlist available. TechCrunch readers may utilize the invite code “coffeewalk” to bypass the waitlist.