Toronto-born dating app just won big on Dragons' Den but there's a huge catch
It's the deal of a lifetime for a fledgling made-in-Toronto dating app that matches users based on personality rather than looks.
Despite an already competitive market – daters already have Hinge, Tinder, Bumble, and many more at their fingertips – and app fatigue reportedly on the rise, Bokay just might rise above the fold now that it landed a huge investment.
On the Jan. 8 episode of Dragons' Den, founders Ali Momen and Carlos Sabbah had the opportunity to pitch their Love is Blind-esque dating app to Canada's wealthiest entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
"Choosing who you date is one of the most important decisions of your life, yet we do it with such haste and only on the surface," says Momen, explaining that profile photos on Bokay are blurred and personality-based prompts are emphasized instead.
The founders asked the Dragons for $100,000 for 20 per cent of the company, valued at $500,000.
Arlene Dickinson, admittedly the only single investor in the group, was the first to show enthusiasm for the duo's unique approach to online dating. Momen and Sabbah even went as far as to create her a profile to get the full Bokay experience. In a funny bit, they matched her with Kevin O'Leary, but once his photo was finally revealed, she could not swipe left fast enough. "Not my type!" Dickinson blurts out.
On most dating apps, specifically those household names like Tinder and Hinge, the men significantly outnumber the women; on Bokay, Momen says 40 per cent of its users are women, which is above the industry standard of 35 per cent.
After one year on the market, Bokay's total user base remains relatively small, with just 6,000 daters across Canada. Four of the Dragons opted out of the deal, flagging low revenue and users in an already "competitive" and "difficult" market to break through.
Dickinson, however, saw potential and even hinted that Bokay could be the next big thing, noting that Lavalife (founded by former Dragons' Den member Bruce Croxon) launched in the late '80s and grew into a platform with millions of Canadian users in the decades that followed.
The astute businesswoman offered the Bokay founders what they asked for, $100,000 for 20 per cent of the business, but with one hitch. If they don't get 80,000 users signed up within the year, she will get a 30 per cent stake instead.
"The dating industry is a dirty business, and I like that you're not," Dickinson says. "Maybe there is space for an app that is ethical and does care about people."
Momen tells blogTO that he and Sabbah went into that pitch specifically wanting Dickinson on board due to her marketing expertise. "We knew she was the one. Dating apps are a marketing game, and she's the perfect person to help us grow."
It's not every day that a small company gets a six-figure investment from one of Canada's most prominent investors. Time will tell if Bokay's mission to "slow the swipe" puts them on the fast track to success.
CBC
