USA TODAY – Jan 26 – Mobile video communication is one of the latest trends in online dating and is the focus of a number of services including Dating.fm, Flikdate, VideoDate, View N Me and Instamour. "Skype started the whole genre change and FaceTime took it into mobile," says Marc Lesnick, founder of iDate. "FaceTime already proves that the model works." Mobile video communication is made with advances in mobile technology and allows for a limited first date experience without the full commitment of an in-person meeting.
Category: VideoDate
Video Date Interview With CEO Marcel Cafferata
OPW INTERVIEW – Nov 19 – VideoDate is an app that allows users to do their first date on their phone. It’s a great idea, in principal. I’m amazed their isn’t more competition from established players. – Mark Brooks
What's your founding story?
I started my mobile app after realizing that most dating apps were very one dimensional. They had limited options including pictures, brief descriptions and basic text messaging. Those apps leave the door wide open for fake profiles. With VideoDate, I wanted to raise the bar and help eliminate fake profiles and also allow people to have a real interaction prior to meeting in person.
What was your budget for starting the site and what funding did your raise?
I've funded my app completely myself and have raised 0 dollars. I spent in total $85k on my app.
How does the app work?
VideoDate is the Skype of mobile dating. We are a gps/ geo targeting app where you get to browse through profiles and choose to engage in live video communication directly over your mobile devices (patent pending). You can weed out the individuals you want to chat with easily and in addition to video chat you are able to send text messages, picture messages and in the very near future 90 second video messages.
Who's your competition?
As of now we have 2 other competitors – flikdate and date.fm. But we have more options and larger numbers.
How's it different from other iDating apps?
We offer many ways of finding love and connecting with specific desired audiences via distance (geo location/gps), orientation, race and much more. We also have picture messaging and live video chat. Soon we will offer actual video messaging as an in app purchase.
What's the most interesting feedback have you've had from your members about the app?
Members tend to really enjoy the live video chat and say it really helps with breaking the ice.
CCTV America: Technology Has Made Dating Far More Convenient
OPW – July 16 – CoffeeMeetsBagel was founded by three sisters – Arum, Soo and Dawoon Kang. It gives users 24 hours to decide whether they like or pass on proposed dates. If there is a mutual interest, the site sets up a private chat line for them. WhatsYourPrice.com was founded by Brandon Wade. The site lets male users to bid on first dates. It is not prostitution, Brandon Wade, argues. He said there is no sex guaranteed on the first date and it is just a compensation for the cost associated with going on a first date. VideoDate is a dating app, founded by Marcel Caferata, that allows users to connect before first date via video dates. So far ~100K people have downloaded the app.
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New Online Dating Startups
TECH CRUNCH – Sep 13 – Michael Cafferata, a firefighter, started VideoDate, a mobile video chat app. The entire experience, including filling out your profile, happens on a mobile device. The app will try to match you with other users, and if you and another person are interested in each other, you can do a video chat. You can’t just do a video call with someone who hasn’t approved you. The app is ad supported, but Cafferata says a paid ad-free version will be released later. Frimper is another video app. But instead of a mobile app, the company has gone with a Facebook app. There are two main components: matching algorithms and an online “speed-dating”. The speed-dating component is the catchy part, but Frimper is investing heavily on the algorithm. Frimper’s matching isn’t based just on what you say about yourself, but also about what other Frimper users you interact with say about you. Dateini solves a different problem entirely: What do you do once you’ve already got a date? The company provides a date-planning application described as a virtual concierge service.