ET BureauBANGALORE: “Tinder minus the poor people” is a tagline that may cause dry heaves but it seems there’s great demand for this sort of thing. Twenty years after the first online dating site appeared, an app aimed specifically at the “rich and beautiful” was launched last week.
Luxy, the newest dating app to emerge from Silicon Valley, will apparently allow the unspeakably posh to encounter their equally well-endowed counterparts online, outside their elite country clubs and exclusive dinner parties. “It works just like Tinder,” said the Luxy press release that set off an uproar on social media, referring to the popular dating app that runs on a hot-or-not model.
“With one big exception: Our app allows users to weed out the poor and unattractive.” Upon signing up, users are asked to declare their hobbies— horseback riding, golf, boating— and identify their favourite luxury brands. The CEO, who remains anonymous, has said that the app has 3,000 users, and that its male users average an annual income of $200,000.
While Luxy's arrival sparked derision among those who find its approach repulsive, it’s worked well in class-conscious India, where the online dating and matrimonial scene has long been plagued with taboos to do with verification, fraud, and “option overload”. This has spurred players to carve out more exclusive niches in the online dating market to accommodate the needs of affluent Indians struggling to find others of similarly well-off, cosmopolitan backgrounds.
There is DateIITians, which enjoyed widespread recognition when it launched two years ago. After a hiatus, the exclusive service for IIT graduates is planning to return in an app form by the end of the year.
Three-year-old Floh, as well as industry newcomers Woo and Aisle, create curated communities where individuals “desirable” attributes. Individuals are evaluated based on myriad details they disclose around their educational background, employment, and physical appearance, among others. “As a single male who recently moved to Mumbai, Floh has been for me the perfect prescription,” said 26-year-old entrepreneur Raghav Somani.
“Because of the screening process, you're sure to find liberal, intelligent and extremely like-minded people to have shared experiences with. Your chances of finding someone special are really high.” Is there any complicated science at play here? Aisle founder Able Joseph said it judges applicants on the sole criterion of “taste.” But strong self-selection processes are at play.
These services come associated with a considerable cost - Aisle, which considers itself a “closed community of single Indians sincerely looking for our better halves” rather than a dating app, charges Rs 1,999 for every three invitations sent to potential romantic interests.“It's a win-win solution,” Joseph said. “We can also keep a check on spam invites that you get on other online platforms.”
On the other hand, Floh charges subscribers on a membership plan basis. Users gain access to the community for three months for Rs 7,500, while a full year costs Rs 15,000. It has also organised more than 200 paid events for members to get to know each other in person, ranging from sailing trips to heritage walks.
Over the past three years, Floh has seen a number of marriages between its members, and it started creating events for members in New York City last month. As a result, these startups become bootstrapping successes. For instance, Floh turned cash positive after its first month, and does not prioritize raising further capital. “We have had the freedom to experiment fairly widely because we have complete control,” said cofounder Siddharth Mangharam.
Luxy, the newest dating app to emerge from Silicon Valley, will apparently allow the unspeakably posh to encounter their equally well-endowed counterparts online, outside their elite country clubs and exclusive dinner parties. “It works just like Tinder,” said the Luxy press release that set off an uproar on social media, referring to the popular dating app that runs on a hot-or-not model.
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While Luxy's arrival sparked derision among those who find its approach repulsive, it’s worked well in class-conscious India, where the online dating and matrimonial scene has long been plagued with taboos to do with verification, fraud, and “option overload”. This has spurred players to carve out more exclusive niches in the online dating market to accommodate the needs of affluent Indians struggling to find others of similarly well-off, cosmopolitan backgrounds.
There is DateIITians, which enjoyed widespread recognition when it launched two years ago. After a hiatus, the exclusive service for IIT graduates is planning to return in an app form by the end of the year.
Three-year-old Floh, as well as industry newcomers Woo and Aisle, create curated communities where individuals “desirable” attributes. Individuals are evaluated based on myriad details they disclose around their educational background, employment, and physical appearance, among others. “As a single male who recently moved to Mumbai, Floh has been for me the perfect prescription,” said 26-year-old entrepreneur Raghav Somani.
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“Because of the screening process, you're sure to find liberal, intelligent and extremely like-minded people to have shared experiences with. Your chances of finding someone special are really high.” Is there any complicated science at play here? Aisle founder Able Joseph said it judges applicants on the sole criterion of “taste.” But strong self-selection processes are at play.
These services come associated with a considerable cost - Aisle, which considers itself a “closed community of single Indians sincerely looking for our better halves” rather than a dating app, charges Rs 1,999 for every three invitations sent to potential romantic interests.“It's a win-win solution,” Joseph said. “We can also keep a check on spam invites that you get on other online platforms.”
On the other hand, Floh charges subscribers on a membership plan basis. Users gain access to the community for three months for Rs 7,500, while a full year costs Rs 15,000. It has also organised more than 200 paid events for members to get to know each other in person, ranging from sailing trips to heritage walks.
Over the past three years, Floh has seen a number of marriages between its members, and it started creating events for members in New York City last month. As a result, these startups become bootstrapping successes. For instance, Floh turned cash positive after its first month, and does not prioritize raising further capital. “We have had the freedom to experiment fairly widely because we have complete control,” said cofounder Siddharth Mangharam.
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