Lenie Maré and Ninna Andersson of Bloom LGBTQ+ on Building a Community Where Friendship Comes First

Lenie Maré and Ninna Andersson are the co-founders of Bloom LGBTQ+, a community-first Android app for LGBTQ+ adults who are looking for genuine friendship and chosen family. Lenie is based in South Africa and Ninna in Sweden, and the two met on TikTok in December 2025, nearly 10,000 kilometres apart.

Their own story led them to ask a simple question: what about the person who just needs a friend? Bloom puts friendship first, takes mental wellbeing seriously, and treats dating as an option rather than an expectation. The app launched on Android on 25 July 2026, and the founders are building it across two continents with a small team and a lot of determination.

In this Q&A, Lenie and Ninna share what inspired them to build Bloom, the biggest lesson they have learned about turning an app into a real community, and what is next, from bringing Bloom to iPhone to building connections country by country.

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Q: What made you and Ninna build Bloom, and what was missing for LGBTQ+ adults looking for real friendship?

It all started with a love story, almost 10,000 kilometres apart.

Ninna lives in Sweden, and I'm in South Africa. We met on TikTok in December 2025, and what began as an unexpected connection turned into something that changed both our lives.

Somewhere between endless conversations, laughter, late nights and falling in love, we started talking about the LGBTQ+ community and how lonely life can sometimes be, even in a world where everyone seems connected.

We realised that so many platforms focus on dating and romance. But what about someone who simply needs a friend? Someone who has come out later in life, moved somewhere new, lost their support system or never really felt they belonged?

We wanted to create something different.

That's how Bloom was born. A community where friendship comes first, chosen family matters, mental wellbeing is taken seriously, and dating is there if someone wants it, but never the expectation.

We wanted people to have somewhere they could simply be themselves.

Q: You're building across two continents with a small team. What has been the biggest lesson so far?

That building an app is one thing. Building a community is something entirely different.

Neither of us came into this with a big technology company, investors or a team of developers behind us. We had an idea, a lot of determination, some wonderful people who helped us along the way, and probably far too much coffee.

We've had moments where things worked beautifully and others where we wanted to pull our hair out. And doing all of this while living in different countries has certainly taught us patience, communication and the importance of laughing when things don't go according to plan.

But our biggest lesson has been that you can't measure belonging purely in downloads or followers.

What really matters is people showing up, starting conversations, building friendships and inviting others into the community.

Bloom officially launched on Android on 25 July 2026. We're still small, still learning and still finding our feet. But we've already seen our story travel internationally through media interviews, podcasts and wonderful people who believe in what we're trying to build.

We've also learned that asking for help isn't a weakness. Sometimes it's the only way a small dream gets the chance to grow.

Q: What's next for Bloom, and where do you hope it goes from here?

Our immediate goal is to bring Bloom to iPhone so that more people can join, regardless of which phone they use.

We're also continually working to strengthen our safety features, privacy protections, moderation and mental wellbeing resources, because we know how important those things are for the LGBTQ+ community.

But our biggest dream goes beyond technology.

We want to build real communities, country by country, city by city, friendship by friendship. We're reaching out to LGBTQ+ organisations, community groups, media platforms and potential partners around the world, hoping to create meaningful connections rather than simply chase numbers.

We're funding this journey ourselves as much as we can, alongside a public fundraiser to help us grow, develop the iOS version and keep improving Bloom.

I don't expect Bloom to change the entire world overnight.

But if one person who feels completely alone opens the app and finds a genuine friend, someone who understands them, someone who makes them feel that they belong, then we've already achieved something extraordinary.

Ninna and I found each other across almost 10,000 kilometres.

Now we're hoping Bloom can help other people find their people, wherever they may be.

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