Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ben Mussi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ben, appreciate you joining us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.
In 2019, Seattle was named the WORST city for dating… for the second year in a row. Seeking to melt the Seattle Freeze, I launched the Seattle Dating App in 2019. The app’s concept and design came directly from suggestions by Seattle singles. Every feature was crowd-selected by local singles voting on social media. Within months, we matched thousands of Seattleites, gaining lots of local media attention.
Soon after, singles from Portland began asking for an app of their own. We responded by releasing the Portland Dating App in early 2020. Amazingly, it became the number one trending dating app on Google Play during its launch week. Then came the COVID lockdowns and we made significant adjustments to help keep people connecting during the most dire of circumstances. We added features to better help people engage with each other virtually, as well as releasing a Web Portal where singles can join groups, video chats, and more. Our main goal has always been fostering more connections and we’ve released more than 2 dozen updates as we learn from our amazing users who provide feedback.
In 2022, we merged the Seattle and Portland apps into the Northwest Dating App (https://NorthwestDatingApp.com) leading to more than 22 million swipes, 1 million chats, and 220 thousand matches by Northwest singles. Some of our success stories include my own best friend, who found his girlfriend of four years through the app.
I’m excited about the recent launch of the California Dating App (https://CaliforniaDatingApp.com). California is well known for its vibrant dating community, with over half the population being single. California’s lively food scene, bustling nightlife, and many recreational activities provide ample opportunities for dating. However, modern dating in California brings its own challenges: accommodating busy schedules, battling congested traffic, and sifting through fake profiles.
The California Dating App addresses modern dating challenges by connecting compatible people in California with similar schedules on a neighborhood basis.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We make dating apps that connect singles in hyper-local regions. We’re like the micro-brewery of dating apps, tailoring each app to the tastes of local singles.
Many are surprised to learn The Match Group owns Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, Plenty Of Fish, and BLK among many others. The FTC alleges they knowingly conned users in the past by allowing scammers on their apps. Dating apps have grown into massive social networks connecting users around the globe.
Unfortunately for people seeking real relationships, these dating apps have grown to scale at the expense of their users by condoning access from scammers, bots, and fake profiles on an international scale.
Instead of using an international social media platform to seek connection, psychologists know that relationships have a better chance of developing when couples meet locally according to the “Proximity Principle”.
We just expanded our hyper-local dating concept and launched the California Dating App (https://CaliforniaDatingApp.com) on February 13th. You’ll only meet real singles around California thanks to our AI, so no more matching with scammers and non-locals!
– Too busy to date? Match on your schedule and meet singles available when you’re also free.
– California traffic affecting your dating life? Use our map to pick convenient California neighborhoods instead of matching based on distance.
– Full screen videos and images bring focus to each profile and navigation is similar to Instagram or TikTok. Swiping, matching, and chatting are 100% free.
– Pro users receive a free consultation with a professional dating coach to support their dating goals.
The California Dating App is free to swipe, match, message, and meet local California singles!
Our Pro subscription unlocks all the features to give your profile a boost and deliver more matches. It also comes with a free dating coach consultation and is only $21.99 per month.
Stay up to date with the California Dating App on our:
– Website https://CaliforniaDatingApp.com
– Instagram https://instagram.com/CaliDatingApp
– Facebook https://facebook.com/CaliforniaDtingApp
Stay up to date with the Northwest App on our:
– Website https://NorthwestDatingApp.com
– Instagram https://instagram.com/NorthwestDatingApp
– Facebook https://facebook.com/NorthwestDatingApp
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When we launched the Portland Dating App in January 2020, it was an immediate success. Within weeks, almost everyone who was single in the area had tried it. Then two months later, the global COVID lockdowns started. People were spending more and more time on the apps, and we saw a dramatic spike in activity. It was then that I realized there was a major issue.
We were seeing traffic from all over the world, not just Portland and Seattle. It turns out our app had become the number 1 trending dating app on Google Play, and as a result, we were attracting attention from international scam networks. I was devastated to find out how much of our traffic was from these fake accounts. I also noticed that the same fake accounts were appearing on other apps, such as Tinder and Bumble. I had wanted to create a safe and efficient platform for local people to connect, and these scammers were ruining it.
The FBI recently stated that romance scams are the most reported type of fraud, with victims losing over a billion dollars in 2022 alone. These scammers typically operate internationally, using VPNs to disguise their locations and stolen profile photos to appear legitimate. After matching, they will gradually gain a victim’s trust and then ask for money.
Determined to beat the scammers, I rallied our team to develop custom security software to guarantee a real local user base. We ran machine learning algorithms to identify the key characteristics of fake profiles and found that the most telling sign was that they were created by non-locals. We then modified our security systems to only allow local singles to sign up for our apps. Anyone from outside the area is immediately banned upon registration.
Today, we are the only dating app that guarantees all of its users are local. Our security continues to improve through artificial intelligence models trained on a database of over 27,000 previously banned profiles. We also post the scammers we have banned every day on our social media accounts, so that people can avoid them on other apps (https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4MTMwODU2MjA5MjY1NDcy).
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
In 2019, the local media was already publishing stories bemoaning Seattle’s tough dating scene. A massive influx of tech-transplants combined with the region’s reputation for social isolationism (the Seattle Freeze) left many local singles isolated and lonely.
My goal was to provide Seattleites with a renewed sense of hope when it came to dating and to manifest a renaissance in dating. I started by creating an Instagram account for a new dating app and asked local singles a TON of question about their ideal dating app. The app’s name, design, and features were all voted on by local social media users, leading to a dating app that local Seattleites were excited to try.
When we had a mere 96 Instagram followers, the local news station found out about our account and ran a fun story about the app during the nightly news (https://northwestdatingapp.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/news/2019-05-16-Featured-On-King-5.mp4).
The news story opened many doors for us. We had many more media requests thereafter leading to a general awareness of the app throughout Seattle. We began collaborating with many organizations that contribute to the local dating scene like restaurants, event promoters, lounges, clubs, podcasts, etc. We usually hosted an event for our users to come experience the local business at their venue. Each time we hosted a new event, our followers and engagement surged.
Users were increasingly asking us to review profiles they encountered on other dating and to help them ascertain whether the profiles were fake. We now post the scammers we ban on our social media so people can avoid those profiles on other dating apps (https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4MTMwODU2MjA5MjY1NDcy). I’m very proud to connect real local people on apps built for individual cities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://CaliforniaDatingApp.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CaliDatingApp
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/CaliforniaDatingApp
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/CityAppLLC/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaliDatingApp
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CaliforniaDating
- Other: Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1482721339 Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.portlanddating.app
Image Credits
California Dating App