It’s been a while since the online dating industry has done anything new and exciting.
We’ve all become pretty used to swiping through hundreds of profiles and ignoring the many “Hey, how are you?” and “Sups”… that’s all about to change though.
Tinder’s founding team, among execs from Netflix, AirBnB, Facebook, Snapchat, Uber, Lyft, Sweetgreen, Twitter and other secret high profile investors TBA, just took a $3 million bet on a free live speed dating app that’s currently exclusively in LA.
That makes it the highest-funded dating start-up to date. Meet… “Dandy” — the placeholder name while the app’s in stealth, invite-only early access. While the app is free, it is invite only and you must apply to join on their site. However, just like Raya, people are already charging as much as $700 under the table to ambassadors just for guaranteed fast-tracked early access.
So, what’s the difference?
It’s not just swiping… it’s LIVE matching + LIVE messaging.
Every day at 8 pm those with access in LA have 3 minutes to match and meet someone. It works pretty simply, at 8 pm sharp you answer the day’s question, like “What are you up to tonight?”. Then, the days daily live speed dating mixer begins…While you see a potential match, they also see you in real-time on their phone too.
You both then have a set amount of seconds to decide to like each other or not. If it’s an instant match you then connect for 3 minutes to enter a live chat! Then, if you decide you want to continue talking you can exchange numbers after.Think of it like LA exclusive live dating every night from the comfort of your phone.
With my own experience of it, it’s pretty nerve-wracking but exciting. The app’s Co-Founders, Leor Massachi and Daniel Newman, are the two young entrepreneurs who created the app while at USC, and who in true Silicon Valley fashion have dropped out at the age of 21. In an exclusive interview, the duo told us that the core value of the app is to create meaningful connections and move them into real life as quickly as possible. By going live only at one time, and for such a short amount of time, the app intends to focus on quality.The issue with most dating apps these days is that there are so many matches and messages going back and forth. “Dandy” wants to change precisely that. By showing both parties each other's profiles at the same time in real life, and then putting them into an immediate live chat for 3 minutes only, the app wants to make online dating feel authentic again. No strategically waiting an hour, then forgetting you were meant to reply and continuing to endlessly match more and more while you watch The Office for the 80th time. Dandy has officially made a statement that it will “not now, or ever sell access to test the app. The ambassador who was found selling early access passes has also now been permanently removed from our community”.
