What it takes to successfully run niche dating apps in India

AI prompt generator sneaker copper influencer managermdashthe last decade has birthed unimaginable jobsAt the US office of Schmooze a memecentric dating app developed by a Stanford University alumna nearly every job profile fits into this category ldquoMeme officersrdquo are especially crucial to the systemmdashthey determine the ldquoviberdquo of the content Users who choose the same memesmdashdesigned by meme officersmdashare matched by the algorithm the individuals then bond over shared interests and laugh over common miseries Itrsquos the epitome of the 21st century ldquohappilyeverafterrdquo Built on the belief that memes are representative of humour and intellect and a legitimate way of communicating and finding common ground with a potential partner the app has been wholeheartedly accepted in Indian cities since its launch in September 2023Left to right Solene Paillet Gleedenrsquos Marketing Head and Sybil Shiddell Country Manager India Gleeden has made considerable inroads in India particularly among homemakersIt responds to two uniquely Indian hurdles as identified by cofounders Vidya Madhavan and Abhinav Anurag The first that Indian women are hesitant to use dating apps because of their associations with casual sex and second that Indian men struggle with initiating conversations a move in the dating waltz that is considered their responsibility Memes resolve both issues and infusing a wholesome familiar flavour into online dating which continues to intimidate many IndiansIn the apprsquos initial days some in the investing circles asked if memes would have a limited audience When midday caught up with Madhavan she proudly shared that Schmooze was expected to cross a million subscribers soon with a significant proportion of users based in Indiamdashconsidered the fifth fastest growing market in the dating app segment In fact since 2021 nine out of 10 GenZ Indians are actively on themIn India a dating app can succeed only if yoursquore solving for women says Schmooze cofounder Vidya MadhavanGlobally this industry is dominated by two playersmdashBumble and the Match groupmdashwhose portfolio includes apps such as Tinder Hinge and OkCupid ldquoAcross the spectrum of matchmaking and datingrdquo says Neha Reddy an associate at the venture capital firm Antler India ldquowersquove seen Indian players such as Truly Madly Aisle QuackQuack and Betterhalf try to capture the market share While these platforms can grow to millions of downloads the challenge remains in monetisation one that is faced by global counterparts as wellrdquoFor dating apps such as Schmooze triumphs lie in proving that niche dating can play cupid and facilitate bonds Their journeys are not without challenges and strugglesmdashwith funding addressing user needs and navigating the Indian social and business landscapeInclov cofounded by Kalyani Khona pictured here and Shankar Srinivasan matched users who went on to get married and become parentsMEMES defy definition especially in the way that they can bring two people closer Madhavan was struck when one user from India relayed that he spent five hours speaking to a womanmdashnow his girlfriendmdashduring their first interaction ldquoUsing the app led them to discover that they have three things in commonmdashoverthinking drunk stories and annoying relativesrdquo she says ldquoI donrsquot know if these are subjects that would have come up on a first daterdquoA Google Play review of the app from a male user highlights that it gives him a limited set of matches per day Madhavan tells us that this is not an accident or a result of a small user base but rather a part of the apprsquos design ldquoA lot of maths has gone into the optimal number of matches each person should receiverdquo the cofounder explains ldquoSchmooze doesnrsquot want to be the kind of app where you swipe a hundred times and get only three matches This is why our conversion funnel is better than our peersrdquoIn the early days in India Schmooze had a presence in only six cities They bled users every day as disappointed people deleted the app when they found that it was not present in their location Acting on this response Madhavan and co decided to offer them the option to connect with those not within a geographical boundary to much success ldquoUnlike in the US Indian users especially in nonmetro cities are not held back by distance because romantic interactions with people of the opposite sex tend to be limitedrdquo she saysMemes are not simply a source of laughter they also use dark humour and touch upon subjects such politics social divides and mental health Madhavan says that Schmoozersquos approach acknowledges this reality while also recognising that many users enjoy it ldquoWe have an explorationexploitation type of algorithmrdquo she says ldquoWe show you a good amount of what you may like and keep experimenting to see what else you may enjoy Further if one user likes dark humour and the other doesnrsquot they wonrsquot be matchedrdquoIn the manner of dramatic entrances in the Bollywood vein the extramarital relationship app Gleeden arrived on our shores from where else but France in 2017mdasha year before Indian courts ruled that adultery was no longer a criminal offence Founded in 2009 Gleeden is a ldquoby women for womenrdquo platform that wanted to undo peoplersquos preconceived notions about infidelity especially on the lines of gender ldquoInfidelity has always been associated with menmdashwith sex depravity deception and lust In reality affairs translate mostly as virtual escapades sought to briefly escape from everyday routines And women need and look for these fantasies as much as menrdquo says Sybil Shiddell the platformrsquos Country Manager in India Tellingly homemakers form a significant portion of its users hereThe app set out to fill a void in the Indian dating scene and cater to the needs of those looking for relationships outside of marriage by giving them a private judgementfree space to chat ldquoIndiarsquos multicultural makeup and changing views on monogamy and relationships created a favourable atmosphere for Gleeden to flourishrdquo Shiddell says crediting the platformrsquos focus on secrecy and anonymity for its success Today Indians make up 28 per cent of Gleedenrsquos total global users A poll of 1500 users from Tier1 and Tier2 cities revealed that they had signed up for a variety of reasons From establishing new acquaintances to looking for companionship or examining current relationshipsDid the team worry about response from more conservative corners Shiddell admits that this was not an unfounded concern Gleeden could have easily caused controversy and encountered opposition from groups that support conventional marriage and fidelity norms ldquoItrsquos important to remember though that opinions in India regarding marriage and relationships are changing especially among a younger demographic which is increasingly willing to consider unconventional relationship formsrdquoThe numbers speak for themselves complicating what we know about pleasure and monogamy The abrogation of Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code adultery and the COVID19 pandemic led to a skyrocketing in subscriptions ldquoBetween March 2020 and January 2023 the userbase grew by 12 lakhrdquo Shiddell informs ldquoAccording to the latest data the number of Indian users has reached 28 million and in 2023 alone we registered over 740000 new downloads and subscriptions representing a startling 383 per cent increase from the previous yearrdquoTherersquos much to learn from niche dating apps that bid their users goodbye too When it launched in 2016 Kalyani Khona and Shankar Srinivasanrsquos Inclov was touted as Indiarsquos first disabilityinclusive dating app opening up new avenues for the community and its loved ones who hoped to see them find love without bias and discriminationThe app developed over five months also played Cupid to those with colour blindness visual disabilities and retina disorders Khona recalls that at the time codingrelated challenges even limited Xrsquos then called Twitter accessibility making Inclov oneofakind As a new user was onboarded they could pick from a number of accessibility features to suit their needs ldquoThe app was integrated with Google and iPhonesrsquo talkback featurerdquo she explains ldquoWe ensured everything was labelled and customised in the User Interface for the visually disabled It had a voice notes feature which was not yet a common element in other appsrdquoLater it welcomed ablebodied users too and in the process undid some of the biases associated with disabled people who are seen as asexual or uninterested in romance or better suited to date and marry people within the disabled community At its peak Inclov had 20000 matches and 50000 users of which a large proportion were active daily and weekly users says KhonaNotably the company raised funding twice with investors backing it as a solution to a social problem faced by an underserved community It was an investment driven by the inherent commercial value as well as a dogood sentiment ldquoTo be honest they were all in it for my dream Even when we ran into losses and shut the company down they seemed sadder that the Inclov project would be discontinuedrdquo she says The investors recognised the strides made beyond the balance sheetmdashespecially when the United Nations hailed the app as a global case studyThough Inclovrsquos journey may have halted its impact lives on through the love stories it enabled as well as lsquoInclov babiesrsquo ldquoWe met a number of amazing women who were worried that having children and families were unattainable dreams because marriage itself seemed a hurdlerdquo says Khona ldquoItrsquos been heartwarming to watch them have babiesrdquoThis has shaped the way Khona sees herself giving her a unique sense of closure and satisfaction ldquoItrsquos a saltandwater situationrdquo she says ldquoOnce the salt dissolves in the water you cannot quite separate the two to study the exact impact the salt had Inclov moulded my own views on marriage and changed what I wanted in a life partnerrdquoDating app makers may be assumed to be largely millennial or GenZs but Neha Reddy says they come from different age groups and backgrounds approaching the segment as a massive exciting opportunity ldquoThey attack the problem statement through multiple arcs from AI matchmaking to communityled solutionsrdquo she says ldquoCurrently wersquore witnessing incremental product innovationshellip But I believe the segment needs rethinking on how the younger generationapproaches datingrdquoWhile she cites Schmooze as an interesting example of a platform built around a strong consumer insight Reddy also draws our attention to thursdaymdashan app that allows users to match and chat only for 24 hours on the day before Friday after which their messages disappear This they believe pushes users to shift the conversation to an inperson date The company also organises meetups in 60 cities across the worldmdashspaces that are not held back by pressures of speed dating or mixersIn 2023 alone angel investor Akshay Punjabi was approached by three individuals seeking to build dating apps What struck him was that each founder wanted to customise the experience to Indian sensibilities rather than ape global modelsmdasha crucial way to distinguish oneself in winnertakesall market The term denotes a system where top competitors thrive at the expense of those who donrsquot performldquoI look for a key differentiator that will make a founder stand out scale up and monetiserdquo says Punjabi ldquoIf you attempt to build a challenger to an established app like Bumble it is only a matter of time until the money runs out Investors are also drawn to the potential of niche apps to be absorbed and integrated by larger players giving us a favourable exit If I think that a potential app could be incorporated into a Tinder Irsquod definitely be more drawn inrdquo And an app for the differently abled or those with NSFW sense of humour seeking bonds outside marriage would definitely do thatGleedenrsquos adultery content28 mTotal users in 2024383 per centUser growth from 2023 to 2024