Startup Model – Social Networking with People Nearby

THE MODEL: A platform where users can find and make friends with people based on location and shared interests.

STARTUP: Badoo (British startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – A platform for users to search for people around with similar interests.

Benefits to Users – Users can find people around them. Also users can meet other users who share common interests.

Localization – The app tries to localize content as much as possible. It greets you in your local language and shows profiles of people around you.

Easy & Fun – The app is very easy to use. Also they ask users to play a game (called Encounters) to match them with other users.

CONCERNS

Competition – This is very tough space to be in. Just way too many offering a very similar experience to users.

Startup Model – Dating with People Around You

The Model: A platform for users to discover people around them. A user can see profiles of people within a 250 metres radius. Also the number of times a person is around you can be seen on that person’s profile. If you want to show interest in someone, you can like their profile without that person knowing. Only if the other person also likes your profile will both of you get to know. Also if a user really does want to get noticed, he/she can charm a user to send a notification and if the other person shows interest as well, both can start a conversation.  

Startup Doing It: Happn (French startup)

What I Like:

Core Idea – Finding someone you like is a lot about seeing that person physically or knowing that you can very easily. To achieve this, showing profiles of people around makes sense.

Mutual Interest – Only when both users show interest in each other are they connected. Users need not be embarrassed about liking someone’s profile and hence will tend to engage better with the platform.

My Concerns:

Not Exhaustive – Since in this app users are limited to people around them, their requirement of finding someone may not be met. They move have to move to other dating apps, resulting in user retention issues for the platform.