Our story

In 2001, Nicholas Parkin founded Datacard, the venture that would lay the groundwork for Wowzing. In 2001, home internet access was less popular; only 37% of the UK population had slow desktop dial-up connections, and only 4% owned phones capable of loading even basic web pages. Although initial trials showed promise and attracted media coverage from the BBC and print publications, Parkin ultimately postponed the Datacard project, hoping future technological advancements would make it easier to launch the service.

Fast forward to 2026: with technological advancements, Nicholas decided to revive the service. The relaunch was driven by key technological and cultural shifts: modern infrastructure allowed for fully automated onboarding and print fulfillment, smart mobile devices became near-universal, and growing public dissatisfaction with conventional online meeting and dating apps created a strong appetite for authentic, offline connections in real social settings.

Nicholas initially tried to build the website himself. However, he soon realised that it was far more complex than anticipated. Around this time, he met Ostap Brehin, a full-stack developer, who had fled the war in Ukraine with his mother and younger brother.

The pair met through a theatre group at the Chatterbox Café in Canterbury, UK. Ostap had been coding since he was 11 years old, so when Nicholas shared his idea for Wowzing, Ostap offered to build the Web application.

Ostap became a partner in the business and set to work with Nicholas on both the front and back end of the website. Shortly afterwards, Ostap moved into new accommodation in Ashford, where an administrative error left him without broadband for several weeks. Undeterred, he would sit on a park bench in Ashford town centre sometimes at 2 a.m., connecting to a local shop's Wi-Fi. With drunks shouting obscenities as they stumbled past, Ostap discussed real-time changes to the code with Nicholas over the phone. It was a precarious few weeks while they waited for Ostap's broadband to be connected.

Building Wowzing took several months, with a significant amount of time spent ensuring the platform complied with banking regulations and the Online Safety Act 2023. Wowzing was officially incorporated on 4 September 2026.