Meet! Texas
Company description
Meet Texas (branded "Meet!") was a social networking app designed to facilitate real, in-person interactions rather than stop at the swipe-and-match stage most dating and social apps leave people at. The app used automated, user-generated events to pair people up in real life, aiming to counter the anxious, screen-bound socializing that conventional apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Meetup can encourage. The company was part of the Emerging Industries cohort of Startup Texas, the accelerator and pitch competition sponsored by the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC) in partnership with UTRGV's Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center (ECC) and taught at the eBridge Center.
Founder Julian Jimenez started building the app in October 2020 as a UTRGV student, originally conceived as an in-person speed-dating alternative, alongside co-founder Carlos Zarate, a UTRGV computer science graduate who worked in app development at American Express while helping build Meet Texas part-time. The app launched in February 2021 and grew from 0 to about 1,200 users organically through word of mouth and social media — enough to catch the attention of ValleyCentral/KVEO, which covered the two UTRGV students and their app as a local rethink of online dating.
Since the 2023 Startup Texas cohort, Jimenez has evolved the concept into Reuneo, a speed-networking platform now based in Austin that pairs people at professional and social events into short, structured 1-on-1 conversations — a pivot from consumer dating toward B2B event and hospitality networking. Reuneo is active and regularly running events at venues like Capital Factory in Austin as of 2025–2026, with Jimenez continuing as founder.
Founders: Julian Jimenez (Julian Vazquez-Jimenez), Owner/CEO, and Carlos Zarate, Co-Founder
Program: 2023 StartUp Texas Accelerator - Emerging Industries cohort
Links and socials
Meet Texas Facebook: facebook.com/meettexas
Current venture — Reuneo website: reuneo.app
Founder LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/julianvazquezjimenez
Address: relocated to Austin