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
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 Erika and Will Palmer built it in Auckland as a couple themselves.
The secret
Couples run a shared life on tools built for one person or for an office. Cupla syncs the calendars both partners already keep rather than asking either of them to move to a new one, so the coordination works from the first day, and the date goals and key dates sit on top of something both partners already trust.
Why NZVC invested in Cupla
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.
In the founder's words
“Mark and the NZVC team are always thinking about ways to help us out based on what we have going on in the business. One really impactful introduction came totally unprompted where Mark connected us to a key advisor with experience growing Facebook and Whatsapp in Europe. She had a level of expertise orders of magnitude greater than anyone we had worked with before and she became a formal advisor which we're really excited about!”
Cupla in the press
- The entrepreneurial journey from Synthony to CuplaNBR · 24 June 2026
- Cupla passed 100,000 downloads within months of launchStarter Story · 4 January 2025
- Cupla launched a shared calendar built for couplesFashioNZ · 29 March 2022
Cupla on TechMates
The Secret Hack for Happy Couples
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.