9 Innovative Social Media Startups to Follow

Last Updated: By TRUiC Team
Here at Startup Savant, we love startup culture. That’s why we identified the most exciting, innovative, and creative social media startups to watch in 2023 and beyond. From apps designed for meeting other professionals to all the memes you can consume— these are the top social media companies to follow.
Learn how to launch your own company by reading our comprehensive guide, How to Start a Startup.
Top Social Media Companies to Watch
Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the most exciting social media startups of 2023 that startup-lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.
Disclaimer: With so many exciting startups launching and growing worldwide, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.
1. Cobble
Location: New York City, New York
Funding: Seed, $3 Million
Cobble's target market is couples, and some of the offerings include the coordination of epic date nights. The platform helps to guide the decision-making process around planning dates, which can certainly get intimidating at times.
2. Pepper the App
Location: New York, United States
Funding: Angel Investors, Undisclosed
Pepper The App is a social media platform for food lovers, chefs, home cooks, and others involved in the food industry. Pepper brings together foodies across the world to share, create, and collaborate on tantalizing new recipes. Jake Aronskind and co-founder Matthew Schkolnick came up with the idea for Pepper during the 2020 pandemic wave when home cooking (bread anyone?) became a point of interest for many.
3. ShareChat
Location: Bangalore, India
Funding: Series H, $1.7 Billion
ShareChat specifically focuses on regions in which various Indian dialects are spoken and brings these users together on one platform for content sharing and access to its news feed. This social media startup has been so successful that there are murmurings of possible interest from Google and Twitter.
4. Fishbowl
Location: New York, United States
Funding: Seed, $7.4 Million
Fishbowl aids in the networking of users in various industries with common interests (education, finance, law, etc.) The motivation behind the platform is to increase information sharing, mentorship, and networking between individuals in the same sectors. The startup has seen adoption rates exceeding 40% in their current user clients.
Feeling inspired? Learn how to launch your company with our guide on How to Start a Startup.
5. Songclip
Location: Port Washington, New York
Funding: Venture - Series Unknown, $22.9 Million
Songclip is a startup that provides an application programming interface (API) enabling searches for song clips by users. The platform is optimized for searchability through title, lyrics, and artists. Integrated sharing capabilities add to the social community aspect of the platform.
6. Frilp
Location: Chennai, India
Funding: Non-Equity Assistance, $500,000
Frilp (short for friend's help) is a social platform along the lines of Yelp and Tripadvisor but with the specific target audience being your direct friends, family, and contacts. The platform uses your online interactions and contacts to create a network of people to share reviews with and from which to request recommendations.
7. 500px
Location: Toronto, Canada
Funding: Series B, $22.3 Million
500px is a social sharing platform for photographers and those who love the photographic arts. Its tagline is "home to everyone's best photos," which seems in line with the high quality of the pieces being shared on the platform. Of course, the normal social media norms of "likes" and "follows" are adhered to, and amateur photographers have the opportunity to sell their work to followers as well.
8. Yubo
Location: Paris, France
Funding: Series C, $65.7 Million
Yubo is a French social media startup that specifically targets the Gen Z market. The premise behind the platform is that users can interact with the knowledge that their information is safe and not being sold to influencers or marketers. Instead of making money through advertising, Yubo offers its users premium features and plans for purchase.
9. Exolyt
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Funding: Pre-Seed, €450,000
Exolyt makes TikTok profitable for brands and businesses by providing enhanced analytics and insights. The Finnish startup is powered by The Extravagant Company and takes business on TikTok to a whole new level with actionable data.
Recommended: Check out our full list of the top startups to watch!