A dating app modeled after TikTok Desti sorts matches based on destination dates.
Users
now have the ability to locate possible matches based on a preferred date
location thanks to the new video-focused dating app Desti, which just launched
over the weekend. Residents of Austin, Texas, the app's first market, can
scroll through a vertical feed where profiles highlight the places (referred to
as "destis") they want to visit on a first date, such as wakeboarding
at Lake Travis, trying a new sushi restaurant, or even visiting a beer garden
that welcomes dogs. Swiping through internal TikTok-style videos that showcase
the Austin region yields the "destis."
Desti
differs from other dating apps like Tinder or Bumble in that there is no
"like" feature, forcing users to initiate interactions. The recipient
can accept or reject a message that users have sent to them. They can only view
one at a time, and to move on to the next, they must pass or respond to the
message.
Users
using iOS devices in the Austin region will be able to download the app at
first. In the upcoming weeks, Android smartphones will have access to it. The
business promises it would eventually branch out to other regions.
The
user must choose three "destis" when creating their profile, choosing
from options like breweries, rooftops, live music, food trucks, dog dates, etc.
Alongside the film, there are several prompts to pick from, such as
"Someone educates me...," "The CDC recommends...," or
"Tonight we should... " The user adds a bio and four photos to their
profile to finish it.
Desti
employs a similar concept for its destination-based dating app because so many
millennials and Gen Z users use TikTok or Instagram to find restaurants and new
things to do in their neighborhood.
According
to Nick Dominguez, COO and principal designer/developer of Desti, "We
chose to gamble on short-form video being the future."
The
startup is not the only dating app that emphasizes videos in the TikTok manner.
Users can add videos to a feed and swipe on videos from matches on Snack, for
instance. Similarly, the French app Feels had an idea.
The
business said that it was working on whether each destination would carry the
location or descriptions. To enable customers to browse various locations,
venues, restaurants, events, and local companies, Desti intends to develop a
more feature-rich Discovery tab.
Other
features in development include a paid subscription option and upgrades that
will remove restrictions like daily message caps. Users can currently send 5 to
12 SMS per day.
The
program also has a friend version named Besti, which is currently in Austin,
Texas, beta testing.
At
a $5 million valuation cap, the company raised its whole $1 million round in
July.
The
first hour after Desti's introduction on July 29 saw 500 users. Over 5,000 messages
and 2,000 downloads totaled just that one day.
The
destination-based dating app, which was created by John Taylor, AJ Qutub, and
Nick Dominguez, claims to help put an end to "small chat, dull, dead-end
talks, awful one-liners, and flaky matches that never go anywhere."
"Dating online and trying to strike up discussions with strangers are
inherently awkward. One way to make someone feel less unusual is to be able to
notice that they frequent one of your favorite patio bars or one of your
favorite coffee shops. It contributes to the interaction feeling more casual,
as though you may naturally run into the person. The objective of
every dating app is for users to eventually meet. Our hypothesis is that adding
it will increase the conversion of that end goal during the swiping experience.
Desti
was developed with single women in mind as well, as many of their inboxes on
other dating apps are swamped with cringe-worthy pickup lines or just the
extremely basic and unimaginative opener "sup?"
"We
discovered that screening and communication were the main points of friction in
the most popular dating applications. Women had to handle their dating apps on
a full-time basis, and it was difficult to manage the results. The three of us
thought it was fantastic that people might be more in charge of their own
experiences," Dominguez added.
What
gives John, AJ, and Nick the insight to understand women's demands was one
query we had. Julia Chesbrough, a former Hinge designer, gave the three guys
advice on the dating app market and created the Desti app for them. But why
isn't the designer a co-founder if she is a woman with experience at Hinge?
"Dating
applications are two-sided," Dominguez retorted. Men become lost in the
overwhelming bustle that women encounter on their side. We were aware that
there was a problem on our end, and our aim was to identify the core of the
issue. Our talented designer, Julia, is not now a co-founder because she
currently owns her own firm, Rebel Studios, where she has several clients and
earns far more money annually than she would by working for a single company.
Although
Desti was created for women who are accustomed to dating app
"clutter," we contend that harassment and a lack of background checks
are the fundamental issues with today's dating applications. The issue of
sexual predators on Match-owned dating applications like Tinder was highlighted
in a report by ProPublica and Columbia Journalism Investigations in 2019. Match
Group launched background checks for Tinder in March and more recently added
Stir and its own app to the list.
Safety
is crucial for everyone, but women especially. Not all women prefer to host the
first date at their home. That was the main consideration when developing
Desti," stated Dominguez. "We intended to allow people to select
their preferred public space as their Desti. In addition, there will be
AI-powered photo authentication and background checks.
Background
checks and photo authentication functions are not present in the current app,
according to the firm, but they are future plans. The only information
Dominguez could offer about its ambitions in these areas was that they would
think about adopting some sort of third-party integration.