My company is a combination of two dating apps:
Hily is an app for straight singles with 28 million users and rated among the TOP-5 dating apps in the US. Its focus is on quality conversations with features that include a compatibility quiz, video chat, live streams, and icebreaker prompts.
Taimi is the only fully inclusive LGBTQ+ dating app where 17 million users can explore and pursue their sexuality in an environment without social stigma. We promote freedom of choice where discovery and dating fluidity are the norm. In short, our users can find attractions and mutuals and date whomever they find interesting. This is the path to ultimate discovery.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
I worked for a mobile app development company in the social networking niche, and I had used dating apps myself. Ultimately, I realised that all apps were the same – no unique features and no customisation for specific users. That’s when a friend (my partner) and I created Hily with unique features that could also appeal to the LGBTQ+ community. Over time, we realised that there was a need for a fully inclusive app just for the LGBTQ+ community, and Taimi was born in 2018.
Other dating apps try to either cover the whole marketplace at once or only a smaller segment of the LGBTQ+ community. Taimi focuses on the full LGBTQ+ spectrum.
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How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?
At Taimi, our focus has been on branding and reaching a global audience. We have partnered with numerous celebrities and organisations, such as GLAAD, Pride events, and the Trevor Project, and have been featured in media entertainment shows, such as The L Word: Generation Q.
We’ve also worked on expanding existing app functions and features, including new algorithms so users can communicate and date with ease.
Hily, as mentioned, is one of the TOP-5 dating apps in the US but also holds two places among the top eight players in the market. The product focus is helping users communicate via the latest technology – video chats and live streaming, to name two. Live streaming is especially popular because users just have fun presenting themselves and seeing others “in action.” They can then decide whether further communication would be beneficial or if they should move on. Our research shows that women find this feature especially helpful.
In terms of numbers, Hily has doubled its revenue over the past year with a 70% increase in active users. Taimi continues to grow too, reached 17M users last year and remains sustainable.
What can we hope to see from Hily and Taimi in the future?
We’ll be strengthening our brand presence for both products with the goal that both will be in the TOP-5 dating apps globally. I can’t spill those plans, but you will see them.
Once, as a next step, we consider the IPO as a possible form of further development. But at first, we want to become the company which is wanted to be on IPO. So, our main goal is constant growth and securing leading positions in the marketplace.