Happn: bringing the ‘real globe’ back in internet dating

Didier Rappaport, leader of dating application Happn that simply raised $14m, talks to your Telegraph about love in a world that is digital

Online dating sites is certainly element of everyday activity for huge numbers of people, with more than one fourth of the latest relationships in britain now starting within the world that is digital. Especially in modern times, the increase of smart phones has made meeting people online easier and faster than in the past.

The popularity of location-based mobile apps like Tinder, Grindr and Happn, which match people based on proximity, has increased exponentially. Tinder, as an example, has reportedly been downloaded significantly more than 40m times globally since introducing in September 2012, and its particular users collectively “swipe” pages over 1bn times each day.

Happn, which established in Paris in very early 2014, claims to have members that are 6.5m – 700,000 of that are in britain. The application connects those who have crossed paths in actual life, allowing users to “seize everyday coincidences” and “avoid missed connections”, in accordance with the business.

“All of us have actually this dream – you see an attractive woman in the pub or in the subway, and also you can not speak with her because she makes too quickly, or as you had been experiencing bashful,” said Didier Rappaport, creator and leader of Happn.

“Happn is definitely a app for misconnection. You’ve got seen a person who, for many good explanation, you couldn’t speak to. Because of Happn, in the event that other individual has got the application, you shall have the ability to see them.”

Mr Rappaport, who previously co-founded video-sharing internet site Dailymotion, which will be one of the biggest video platforms in the field, claims that the “real globe” element is really what distinguishes Happn from old-fashioned relationship internet sites, in addition to mobile competitors like Tinder.

“Tinder is just a company that is huge plus they have actually produced a truly brilliant concept – the swipe – nevertheless when you use the swipe to your person, you transform the individual into an object,” he stated.

“all of us understand there isn’t any algorithm that may cause people to fit with one another. We think that love is concern of risk. We believe any such thing can occur whenever you’re perhaps not waiting around for it.”

Happn keeps growing exponentially. It took the business ten months to reach a million users, the 2nd million took 3 months, together with third million took two. Now the business is signing up 1m brand brand new users every month, and expects to attain a total individual base of 10m because of the end of the season.

This week, the organization shut a $14m Series B funding round led by Idinvest with involvement from Alven Capital, DN Capital, Raine Ventures and private people Fabrice Grinda, David Wolfson and Gil Penchina. Up to now, the ongoing company has raised a complete of $22m.

The brand new money will be employed to drive expansion into Asia – with launches prepared in Manila, Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong – and develop Happn’s presence in European countries, south usa therefore the usa.

“We think that we’re a software for major urban centers. It’s interesting that in which you have huge thickness of men and women, it really is tough to satisfy individuals. Young adults work so much, they don’t have actually time and energy to do other activities, so that it’s a fantastic assistance for them,” stated Mr Rappaport.

“we now have restricted budget, therefore we have actually selected first to focus on the cities that are major but we understand that the application will distribute. London is our second biggest town, nevertheless the software can be found in Manchester and Liverpool, for instance.”