When Danielle “Danny” Shantae Bush talks about Fun On The Run, she doesn’t begin with technology. She begins with survival. “The idea came out of real-life chaos,” she says. “The kind that cracks your world open and forces you to see what’s missing.”
For her, it started in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina. Being displaced from New Orleans, disconnected from loved ones, and cut off from any real-time way to find her people left a mark she couldn’t shake. “Isolation is dangerous,” Bush says. “When you need someone, you need them right now, not later, not when it’s convenient.”
Years later, she relived the same emotional storm while spending months in out-of-state hospitals when her son was gravely ill. “You don’t forget that kind of loneliness,” she says. “You don’t forget what it feels like to be surrounded by people but still completely alone.”
Then COVID hit, and the world experienced the same disconnection she had endured twice. After quarantine, she watched people struggle with social anxiety, loneliness, emotional disconnection, confusion about how to meet people again, and a total lack of tools to rebuild community. “It was Katrina all over again,” she says. “Just nationwide.”
Bush realized that everyone was expected to “go back to normal,” but no one was building anything to help bridge the gap between years of isolation and the expectation to reconnect. That’s when Fun On The Run Plus One became her calling. “This wasn’t an idea, it was an assignment,” she says. “A way to help people remember how to be human with each other again.”
Fun On The Run Plus One is her solution: a mobile, real-time community engine that helps people connect instantly through shared interests, likes, and hobbies. Users create a profile, complete with a photo and intro video, choose activities such as basketball, hiking, gaming, painting, sightseeing, or pickleball, and send a push alert whenever they want company. “I wanted something that fits real life,” she says. “If you want to go right now, you should be able to find someone right now.”
A message like:
“Hi! Sarah is out on the run, having some fun, looking for a plus one. Who wants to join?”
is instantly sent to anyone within 15 miles who selected that same interest. Whether it’s noon in Dallas or 8 p.m. in Denver, anyone can choose an activity and send a simple push alert. Connections can be one-on-one or in a group. “It’s simple, it’s fast, and it meets people exactly where they are,” Bush says.
The platform serves people navigating life transitions: college students, young professionals, single parents, creatives, athletes, hobbyists, new residents, and anyone rebuilding after a hard chapter. “Fun On The Run is for people who don’t just want connection, they need it to navigate their next chapter,” she explains. The team reaches users through college partnerships, creator programs, campus activations, community collaborations, and digital marketing that speaks directly to Gen Z and millennials.
The app is live today; iOS through TestFlight and Android through a secure link. It’s 85% complete, with a full rollout planned for January 2026. Danny intentionally launched early to gather data and user insights. “I didn’t want to guess,” she says. “I wanted to build what people actually need.”
All connection begins on Instagram at @funontherunplusone, where visitors can download the app or sign up through www.funontherun.co. “That’s our front door,” Danny says. “That’s where community begins.”
To read the full story, click on the cover of the December 2025 issue.
