Hi HN community,<p>I recently launched a unique dating app that's gaining traction, especially in Africa.<p>My app features video-based profiles and an AI chatbot assistant for user onboarding, enhancing the user experience right from the start.<p>One idea I was considering is incorporating a Patreon-style crowdfunding model.<p>This could allow users to support the app's development and access premium features, helping sustain and grow the platform while keeping it accessible and free to use.<p>Given our current success (most of our users are women, and the app is going viral in parts of Africa), I'd love to get your thoughts on this crowdfunding approach.<p>* Do you think a Patreon-style model makes sense for a dating app?<p>* What potential benefits or challenges do you foresee?<p>* How would you feel about supporting an app like this through crowdfunding?<p>Looking forward to your insights and feedback and if you’d like to try the app it's available on both the App Store and Google Play:<p>https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.realdatingapp.rn<p>https://apps.apple.com/us/app/real-dating-app-video-a-i/id6504808371<p>Thanks!
Just call it what it is. You're not selling a "Patreon" model (where the platform mediates transactions) but a subscription service, where you are paid on a regular basis. Using other businesses (especially markedly different ones) as a point of comparison will scare your potential customers away.<p>As for paid dating apps... well, plenty of those exist already. If your app is free right now, I would not expect the majority of your current userbase to start paying for features.
I was half-expecting you to come up with some clever incentives for your donors. (Like, "If you donate this much money, we'll have a professional dating couch give you feedback on your profile." Or "We'll have a celebrity read your profile, and tell you what they think!")<p>Professional photographers taking profile pics? Early access to new profiles? Prioritization for your responses? I guess I'm thinking if you're trying to do crowdfunding, it helps to have an unusual idea that gets people talking, maybe making it go viral in a news story... Or at least, something fun enough to get someone to chip in some money...