The Crunchbase “Female Founder Series,” is a number of stories, Q&As, and thought-leadership pieces from glass-ceiling-smashers whom overcame the chances, raised money, and are usually now leading effective businesses.
Dani Fankhauser, co-founder of XO, is utilizing enjoyable and games to generate a better relationship software experience.
An very early adopter of on the web dating, Dani isn’t any complete complete complete stranger into the struggles and exhaustion that originated in conventional apps. In a period where connection is more valuable—and difficult—than ever, she lay out together with her co-founders to generate a new and new take for internet dating. The effect is XO—the very first relationship software with icebreaker games. The unique back-and-forth of games helps it be easier for users to start out conversations and build better connections.
We asked Dani about her change from journalist to business owner, the brand new challenges she has faced from branding to fundraising, as well as the classes she’s got discovered as you go along.
Q: inform us the whole tale behind your company’s founding: What led one to begin ecommerce?
A: straight Back this year, I became initial of my buddies to try online dating sites, and proudly, once I convinced a buddy to participate OkCupid, she came across her spouse. I became additionally among the first reporters to talk about Tinder. My co-founders had built a couple of viral games that are mobile once I came across them during the early 2019, I happened to be really fatigued by internet dating, and so I knew it had been time for one thing fresh and brand new. We designed XO to incorporate games into dating making it an event that’s maybe not demoralizing and draining, but enjoyable.
Q: What problem does your organization re re re solve, or make an effort to? What exactly are a few of the most significant impacts your business has already established up to now?
A: Our mission would be to assist individuals build and strengthen connections that are genuine. The word “connection” gets a rep that is bad times because social web web internet sites do literally link us, but make you feel disconnected. Games have a unique back-and-forth, and aren’t too severe, and that’s why they’re employed for team-building, for instance. Games powerfully change the tone of a discussion.
I became astonished to listen to early individual feedback that 100% of people’s interactions on XO was in fact good and therefore users were saying every thing they came across really was thoughtful and respectful. Needless to say this is our intention in offering an interaction that is different other dating apps. I additionally believe we’re attracting the sort of individuals who don’t make use of other apps due to the concentrate on appearance, therefore users are fulfilling people that are different XO than they might on Tinder.
Q: In just what methods do you consider differently regarding your industry than the others do? In exactly what means have you been disrupting your industry?
A: As soon as we first began pitching, we’d hear, “Wow, just just how has no body thought of the yet?” Dating and games—it’s those types of ideas that asian ladies dating are great think somebody will have done already. My experience arises from building online communities around content that resonates, and my co-founders have actually built a lot of games nevertheless they aren’t your standard competitive, graphics-driven games. So we arrived to it with an original take about what a game title is and just what dating should really be, and that’s why XO has therefore quickly hooked an eager fanbase.
Q: What had been one hurdle that is unexpected challenge you encountered when starting?
A: Choosing a true title for the application is one thing that appears enjoyable it is actually very difficult. The ability to communicate what it is you do in very little space matters—it’s how we break through the noise to investors and journalists before we even get to launch as a consumer app. We desired a thing that screamed “dating and games” in as few letters as you are able to, and we also nailed it with XO. We really had a various title we employed for about 10 months before stumbling on XO. There are plenty availability that is variables—trademarkthe logic around everything you can get is astonishing), social/domain supply, term associations individuals make (we went a couple of studies), astonishing alternate definitions you’ll find on UrbanDictionary. One title we liked in the beginning was Wink, many individuals linked it with a mature guy winking at a new woman, and now we decided the creepiness element ended up beingn’t well worth it, despite the fact that many people liked the name.