NZVC

Cupla

Cupla is a shared calendar app built specifically for couples that syncs both partners' Google, Apple and Outlook calendars into one color-coded view alongside shared to-dos, key dates and wishlists.

Category
Consumer and Marketplace
Fund
NZVC I
Website
cupla.app
On TechMates
1 episode
The app puts one couple's shared plans, here an anniversary trip, on a single countdown card.
The app puts one couple's shared plans, here an anniversary trip, on a single countdown card.

What Cupla does

Cupla adds relationship-focused features like weekly date goals, anniversary reminders and an AI assistant that helps plan time together. More than 500,000 couples use it, and the Auckland founders, Erika and Will Palmer, are a couple themselves.

The secret

Couples run a shared life on tools built for one person or for an office. The first New Zealand version, which focused on booking date nights, flopped; the plain calendar-first version released in the United States is the one that took off, because coordination is the job and romance is the reason.

Why NZVC invested in Cupla

NZVC invested in Cupla from NZVC Fund I. We file the company under Consumer and Marketplace on the portfolio wall.

We backed Cupla because couples are a large, underserved consumer segment that plans life together with tools built for individuals or workplaces. Designed by a couple for couples, the product nails the specific way partners coordinate, and it has grown a loyal base that reports less stress and more time together. As people look for apps that support real relationships rather than just productivity, we saw a focused team owning a category with room to expand across the broader shared-life market.

Watch: The app for busy couples

Cupla in the press

Cupla on TechMates

TechMates episode: The Secret Hack for Happy Couples
Watch on TechMates

The Secret Hack for Happy Couples

Erika Palmer, Co-Founder of Cupla · 30 January 2025

You hear how a finance career turned into an orchestra show and then an app for couples. Erika Palmer explains why she thinks relationships need management tools, and what building a company with your partner does to family life.

  • Why she left a finance career for music, and how it led to Synthony, a show blending orchestras and electronic music.
  • The story behind Cupla, an app that has already helped 50,000 couples carve out quality time.
  • Founder advice: overcoming fear of first steps, tackling burnout, and turning personal experiences into products.

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