What would you do if tomorrow didn’t come?

Buddies: A Game That’s Just Getting Started

“What do you do at night when everyone else is sleeping?”
“What does Bart Kiszala remind you of?”
“What is the worst reply to ‘I love you’?”

These are just a few of the questions you can expect when you play Buddies, a game created by Dominik and Jarek, which I happened to invest in around a year ago. It’s a game where friends answer questions they would typically hesitate to ask. By doing so, they learn new things about each other while having a lot of fun.

Now, with the company nearing the break-even point—a major milestone for the team—they’re preparing to raise capital to bring Buddies to more countries. With over 100,000 monthly users and holding the #1 spot in Poland’s App Store, the team is already seeing interest in markets like Italy and Germany. If you know someone who might be interested in connecting with them, feel free to ping me or reach out directly to dominik@buddies.fun

What Is Buddies?

Buddies is all about having fun by simply asking and answering questions — questions about each other. Some questions are quirky, and some are a bit deeper. The idea is simple: you play on your phones, and every round, players take turns answering questions about someone else. The fun part is that the questions require knowledge about the people you are playing with —so it’s not about random facts, but about what you know about each other, your memories, and inside jokes.

Now, imagine you’re playing Buddies with your closest friend. Here are some questions you might get asked about them:

• “What should they spend a million dollars on?”

• “What do they do best?”

• “What’s definitely in their browser history?”

• “How would they try to get the party started?”

• “If there were no tomorrow, what should they do?”

The questions give each person a chance to share stories they might not have otherwise told. It's great for house parties, team events, or even virtual hangouts with friends.

Where Do People Play Buddies?

The beauty of Buddies is you can literally play anywhere, anytime.

A few weeks ago, Jarek—one of the co-founders of Buddies—turned 30. He was the first designer to join Base in Poland. Along with a bunch of other folks from Base, we recently met for a surprise party to celebrate Jarek’s 30th birthday. After a few pizzas, a quick catch-up, and a couple of beers, we started playing Buddies. Ten people in their 20s, 30s, and one guy in his 40s (guess who) played for a couple of hours. Watch for yourself:

We had so much fun during the game. Some questions brought back cool memories from work, which I guess we sometimes miss.

The Growing Popularity of Buddies

The first 10,000 users playing buddies were reached in nine months after launch (from March to November 2022). After that, it took only five more months to hit 100,000 users. The journey from 100,000 to 1 million users took another 1.5 years. This was the story of the original Buddies app.

Then, last summer, the team released Buddies Spicy. It took just four months to reach 100,000 users.

Buddies include over 2,000 questions crafted by the team, and users have added nearly 1,000,000 which is pretty wild.

Unlike other games, Buddies is mostly played by women—60% of players are female, which is pretty unique. It can probably be explained by the fact that when friends get together, men often end up talking about things like “football and cars”. To keep the group engaged, women are more likely to suggest playing Buddies as a group activity.

The games are most popular in Poland, where Buddies currently holds the #1 and #2 spots in the Trivia and Family categories on App Stores. The team’s goal is to achieve similar success in app stores in other countries. There are early signs of adoption in other EU countries like Italy and Germany, and the next big step for the team is to expand into those markets.

The Team Behind Buddies: Dominik, Jarek, and Mirek

A little bit more than a year ago, Buddies was clearly growing into a serious business. The funding team faced a decision: commit fully and make it their full-time job, or continue treating it as a side project. As a big fan of the idea and knowing the team well, my friend Krzysiek and I were happy to provide initial funding to help them focus entirely on the game. Krzysiek is also an investor and serves as the CEO of Admind, the largest branding agency in Poland.

As I mentioned before, Buddies was created by Dominik and Jarek.
Before Buddies, they co-created a game called "Wiem to", a trivia game played on a single phone with a group of people. It was fun but didn’t quite have the multiplayer angle that Buddies brings to the table.

Jarek is not only a designer, but also an author who isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. A few years ago, during the COVID pandemic, he managed to write and publish a book that created a real buzz. Jarek’s book, “Dobre intencje, demokracja, kobiety – pełna historia Jarosława Kaczyńskiego”, is a satirical take on Poland’s political landscape, particularly focusing on the country's leadership. The book is entirely empty, with blank pages symbolizing Jarek’s thoughts on Kaczyński’s views on democracy and women, making a strong statement through its lack of content. A significant portion of the book’s profits was donated to the Centre for Women’s Rights, reflecting the main character’s anti-women policies.

As for Dominik—he’s a true geek. He loves both computer games and socializing, and he has a particular soft spot for cats. He’s always been passionate about games, which is why it makes sense that he co-founded Buddies. His technical skills have been crucial in developing the game. Dominik is also incredibly hard-working. In 2021, he ended up in the hospital for a couple of weeks, and during his stay he started working on Buddies. The idea for the game had been on his mind for a while, but it was during this time that he really started making it happen.

Mirek is the 3rd pillar of the team. Dominik and Mirek have known each other for over 30 years—some marriages have lasted less time than their friendship. They grew up in the same village and even in the same building, went to the same university, and ended up working in similar fields.

My Personal Take on Buddies

What I enjoy most about Buddies is observing how B2C products are built and scaled. I’ve always been on the B2B side, where finding the right acquisition channel was critical, typically a paid one.

With Buddies, the game is naturally social. You can’t play alone—you have to invite friends, and most games are played with 4 people. By inviting others, users help promote the game, which brings in more players. As more people join, the app moves up in the app store rankings, making it easier for new users to find it when it’s at the top. It’s a great system that helps the game grow.

On the revenue side, the team transitioned from selling sets of questions to a recurring revenue model.

It’s fascinating how differently recurring revenue works in games compared to SaaS businesses. Everything is different—paying periods (weekly vs. monthly), price elasticity, and the decision-making process to purchase. At the same time, there are similarities—some users have been paying for the app for more than 20 weeks and counting (equivalent to almost two years in SaaS), which is remarkable.

After the success of Buddies Spicy, the team is creating a new AI-powered game that builds challenges around what a group of friends actually enjoys—whether it’s gaming, music, memes, or something totally niche. I’m excited to see how this new game will be received by the players.

As mentioned before, with the company nearing the break-even point—a major milestone for the team—they’re preparing to raise capital to bring Buddies to more countries. If you know someone who might be interested in connecting with the founders or exploring this opportunity, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or contact dominik@buddies.fun.