EUROPEANCEO – Mar 7 – Happn, a dating app based on the premise of reprising chance meetings, is the product of serial tech entrepreneur Didier Rappaport. The app launched in 2014. "We now have 60M users around the world and Happn is the #2 most downloaded dating app worldwide," said Rappaport. After studying economics at the University of Bordeaux, Rappaport went into the family textiles business, where he was charged with sourcing materials from Asia to be sold across Europe. He created the world's first B2B marketplace for textiles, Textileeguide, in 1998. Then in 2005, he co-founded Dailymotion, the second-most popular video-sharing website in the world today. Rappaport stayed on as COO at Dailymotion until 2008, when he co-founded Nomao, a personalised social network based on geolocation technology. "It has never been so difficult to connect with people in real life than today," he said. "Most of the existing dating services are very virtual and often very time-consuming." Happn uses 'hyper-location' technology to proffer matches when users have crossed paths in real life. While users can use the service for free, premium features are available for purchase. When asked what advice Rappaport offers to aspiring entrepreneurs, he said: "It takes confidence, strong motivation and vision. You have to be ready and eager to go all the way, and then it's mainly about getting the help of the good people and always being two steps ahead."
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