I was reading a post by Femtech Insider founder Kathrin Folkendt the other day:
And I think I have one to add. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve opened a “community” tab inside a health app only to find… crickets. Maybe a lonely comment from three months ago, maybe two likes if the poster is lucky. As a Gen Zer, I’m very much the target audience for these apps, which is probably why I notice the disconnect so quickly. “Community” is the most overused (and misused) word in the digital health playbook right now.
To be fair, I get why the word gets thrown around. It is aspirational. But in reality, most of these so-called communities are ghost towns. Gen Z actually does value community and real-life connections as part of wellness. We’re the ones seeking out “third places” like group fitness classes, hiking meet-ups, or sports leagues just to counteract the loneliness that comes with spending too much time online.
Simply put, a follower count or a viral meme page is not the same thing as a thriving community. One is reach, the other is retention. One is awareness, the other is belonging. And the question I keep coming back to is, ‘how can health startups turn these quiet, empty spaces into vibrant hubs of interaction and support?’
From what I’ve seen working with founders and watching what actually sticks, there are three strategies worth paying attention to. They’re backed by real case studies, and they actually work in practice.
1. Partner with the people who’ve already done the hard part
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel or worse, try to build a wheel from scratch with no one to ride it. Some of the most effective “digital” communities I’ve seen were born from offline groups that already had momentum. Strava is the obvious case study here from their local run clubs, global reach, and activity-based meetups that turn digital tracking into an IRL ritual.
I interviewed Brian Bell, Strava’s Vice President of Global Communications and Social Impact, during a Strava-sponsored meet in SF which garnered over 100 individuals of all running levels.
“Run clubs are the new clubs… Gen Z women are the fastest-growing segment on the platform and they’re creating the most clubs. People keep people active, when you find a link up with somebody, that relationship gets you to try new things and stay engaged.”
This works because the digital fatigue is real. Outsourcing everything to AI only makes the craving for face-to-face connection stronger. And if you’re in women’s health, you have an entire ecosystem of grassroots, peer-led groups already doing the work. (Here’s a cheatsheet of who I’ve been watching: Momco, GRL Swirl, and countless others.)
Don’t just slap your logo on their flyer. Integrate in a way that actually matters to members. Offer them discounts, unlock app features, or create special privileges that feel like a genuine perk of belonging. That’s when you stop being “the app they downloaded” and start being part of their lifestyle.
2. Stop Mistaking Virality for Belonging
Your meme page, your viral TikTok views – unfortunately, those are not your community. They’re your entry point. They’re the front door people walk through, not the living room they stay in. Use them for inbound awareness, then move people into spaces where you can build long-term, organic trust.
Humanize your brand immediately. Put a recognizable face in front of it whether that be your founder, a health specialist, or a lead content creator, and make them a constant presence. Pull stories from your users and push them to the forefront so they’re not just consumers, they’re protagonists.
Then, anchor that storytelling in word-of-mouth. Not the “tag three friends” version, but the kind that happens in person. At the Strava event, I met runners who had never heard of the app until a friend invited them. By the end of the night, they were downloading it. And they weren’t just signing up but committing to meet weekly.
Make this a non-negotiable: build routined presence. Show up consistently for your people in a way that feels intentional, varied, and alive. This is different than ‘repetitive’. Be there often enough to be relied on, but not so formulaic that you fade into background noise.
3. It’s OK to be Mainstream Again
Tap into “mass moments” to anchor your community. Internet culture used to be a treasure hunt. The thrill was in finding the obscure, the Latvian experimental cartoon buried on a forgotten forum, the SoundCloud track with five plays that made you feel like you’d stumbled into a secret. Mainstream was where taste went to die.
But the niche can become a cul-de-sac. When you’re the only one in the room who gets the reference, connection stalls. What I’m seeing now is a pullback to mass cultural participation and not in a basic, play-it-safe way, but in a recognition that shared references are the fastest bridge between strangers. It’s the instant spark when someone spots the Labubu keychain on your tote or sings along to the same Taylor Swift lyric. It’s the Disney Channel nostalgia that gets a comment from someone in another time zone who had the exact same after-school ritual.
And TikTok has made it almost irresistible. The algorithm rewards you for joining the conversation already in motion, whether it’s a world tour, a viral toy, or a breaking news moment. Taste as a status symbol hasn’t disappeared, but flexing how rare your interests are can leave you standing alone. Connection feels richer when more people can meet you halfway.
For Founders:
- Map the cultural calendar for your demographic. Not just health awareness months (Endometriosis, PCOS) but pop culture tentpoles (Taylor Swift album drops, the Olympics) and generational nostalgia (early-2010s Tumblr, Disney Channel throwbacks).
- Create participatory campaigns that invite your users in–UGC prompts, “share your story” threads, challenges tied to a trending event or health milestone.
- Bridge online to offline: watch parties, group workouts, and pop-up health check-ins during these moments. They work as trust accelerators; shared experiences bond people faster than any comment section.
- Always tie it back to your mission. If you’re a cycle-tracking app, a “track together” campaign during the Women’s World Cup marries peak performance with menstrual health education in a way that feels relevant, not opportunistic.
Mass moments lower the barrier to connection. You’re not asking people to buy into a hyper-niche narrative when they’re already in the conversation. Your role is to be the bridge that turns a fleeting cultural spark into sustained community engagement.
Buzzwords aside, a genuine digital health community isn’t something you can tick off with a forum feature and a quarterly content plan. It’s slow, human-centric work. Partner with groups who already have momentum, and you’re importing trust instead of shouting into an empty room. Build authenticity over virality and you’ll give your users a voice – turning casual downloads into long-term advocates. Anchor your touchpoints to cultural moments people actually care about, and the whole thing starts to feel alive, relevant, and in sync with the wider world.
None of this will happen overnight. But if you understand that Gen Z isn’t chasing more platforms. They’re starved for more connection and you can build something that lasts. They’ll come for the tool, but they’ll stay for the relationships, for the in-jokes, the shared milestones, the friend who texts them to meet at the Saturday run club. That’s when “community” stops being a product feature and starts being the culture your users choose to live in.
