As Musical Alex Hofmann, The Former President Of Lily, Has Done Something That Seems Impossible. He Helped Build An App That Could Compete With Social Giants Such As Meta, YouTube Or Snapchat. In 2018, Byte Beat Acquired Musical For About US $1 Billion Ly Later, Hofmann Left The Company And Became An Investor, But He Soon Decided That He Wanted To Make Applications Again.
So He Founded 9count, The Parent Company Of Everland, Helpline, Juju And Wink, A Dating App With Millions Of Users.
Hofman Told Techcrunch: "I've Observed A Trend In China Where Many Technology Companies Build Not Just One Product, But Multiple Products. He Pointed Out That Companies Like Meta Have Developed Through The Acquisition Of Applications Such As Instagram And WhatsApp, While Twitter Continues To Iterate On The Same Flagship Application. Of Course, Having One Product Is Super Exciting, But We Do See A Trend That There Are More And More Products Different Interest Groups. It Is Possible To Serve Them With Only One Product, But It Is More Likely To Contact More People With Different Products. "
So Far, Wink Is The Most Successful Application Of 9count. It Is Very Popular Among Young Users Who Want To Make New Friends Online. But Wink Connects People, Regardless Of Location, As Long As Users Speak The Same Language. This Design Is Intentional - The Company Doesn't Want To Face The Security Problems Of People Meeting In Real Life, Because The Application Is Suitable For Users Aged 13 And Over.
"Interestingly, Some Users Over The Age Of 18 Asked Us, 'Oh, It Would Be Great If I Could Find Someone In My City,' So That's One Of The Reasons We Said, You Know, Maybe It Makes Sense To Really Create A Dating App," Hofmann Said.
Unlike Many Popular Dating Software, Spark Does Not Require Users To Slide Left Or Right. Instead, You Can See The People Around You In A Grid At Once, Which Is A Bit Like Grindr. But Unlike Grindr, Users Can Only Receive Each Other's Information When They Are Sparing Each Other.
"For Us, It's Really Trying To Understand What Can Best Replicate The Real World. So, Like At A Party, You Don't Spend Time Mentally Thinking 'yes' And' No 'because You Look At Everyone Around You," Hofmann Said.
Similar To Applications Like Bumble, The Request Will Only Last 24 Hours After The User Sends A Favorite Or Message On Spark.
"We Really Want Users To Respond Quickly, So No One Needs To Play A Waiting Game Like They Do In Other Applications Now," Hofmann Said
Spark Has "soft Start" In Hundreds Of Countries, And It Climbed To The First Place In IOS App Stores In Ireland And The Netherlands In One Day. Although The App Is Free To Use, It Provides A Subscription Option, That Is, It Provides Users With The Benefits Of The Standard Paid Dating App, Such As Seeing All The People Who Like You, Additional Sparks And Other Functions. Hofmann Pointed Out That The Exact Pricing And Benefits May Still Change, But Now The Subscription Fee Is $19.99 Per Month, And There Will Be A Small Discount If Users Subscribe For Three Or 12 Months At A Time.
When It Comes To Security, Spark Uses Hive, An Artificial Intelligence Audit Tool, To Ensure That Users Do Not Upload Harmful Or Unhealthy Content To Their Files. Like Wink, Spark Has A 24-hour Trust And Security Team. In Addition, It Has Hired A Security Expert To Discover Errors And Vulnerabilities On The Platform Before They Are Exploited By Bad People.
Of Course, No Matter What Security Measures The Dating Software Has, Users Should Be Cautious When Meeting Strangers. Match Group, The Parent Company Of Tinder, OkCupid And Hinge, Invested In Noonlight To Realize Security Functions Such As Emergency Assistance, Location Tracking And Photo Verification. The Business Decision Came After An Investigation By Propublica And Columbia News Research, Which Revealed How Match Group Allowed Known Sex Offenders To Use Its Free App.
9count Was Founded In 2018 And Has Raised US $21.5 Million Under The Leadership Of Redpoint And GGV Capital. Its Latest Application Spark Is Now Available On IOS.