Deal highlights

• Backed by 500 Startups/ Dave McClure
• Company pioneering the next evolution of online dating
• 12,000 registered profiles as of Oct. 2016/ Growing 20% month-over-month
• $2+ billion growing market with proven revenue models
• Exclusive opportunity to invest at an early stage
• Founded by a passionate Stanford/Berkeley/OkCupid Labs alum with domain expertise and unique insight

The Problem:  On today's dating apps, less than 11% of matches result in actual dates!

People spend most of their time and energy swiping and texting, instead of connecting face-to-face. The majority of users want dates, but apps force them to play a game of matching, messaging, scheduling, and waiting. This leads to widespread frustration, high user churn, and a sentiment commonly known as “dating app fatigue.”

Technology shouldn’t get in the way of connection; it should make it easier.

Whim achieves this goal by ditching the chat-centric model, and replacing it with an actual date setup service.

The chat-centric model is a relic from the 1990s. In 2016, technology-driven meetup coordination is not only possible, but also expected from a generation of mobile app users who get almost everything “on demand.” Whim uses scheduling tools, matching and venue algorithms to set users up on dates with the people they want to meet, at a time and place that's convenient for them.

The Result: On Whim, users' chances of meeting in real life are more than 6x that of other dating apps.

Whim is the only app that genuinely prioritizes meaningful, real-life interactions. 70% of matches on Whim result in actual dates, versus less than 11% on other apps:

How It Works

Whim makes dates happen based on when and where you're free, and whom you want to meet. Simply:

• Open the app

• Indicate when you're free

• Match with someone you like

• Whim takes care of the rest!

Whim schedules your date and alerts both of you via text message. Upon opening the app, you find a recommendation for a specific cocktail bar, wine bar, or cafe located roughly equidistant from the two of you, as well as your date’s contact information so that you can be in touch just to confirm the details. Seamlessly, you find yourself out on a real-life date in as little as a few hours later -- without any significant work or buildup.

Backed by Scientific Research

Social science experts agree that other dating apps’ emphasis on predictive matching algorithms and virtual online interactions is misguided. Along with frustrated singles everywhere, they too are calling for a solution that puts the emphasis back on in-person interactions.

Aziz talks about this all the time!

Our Story

We started working on Whim in 2014, when we realized that the current slew of dating apps was actually causing significant frustration for relationship-seeking singles. A lot of hard work, testing, iterating, consulting with experts, user interviews, and research went into building our MVP (minimum viable product). Dave McClure’s 500 Startups accelerator recognized the value in our first product and admitted us into Batch 10, in spite of being much earlier stage than they typically allow into their program.

App Launch + Instant Traction

After 500 Startups’ coaching and continued iteration, Whim launched in the App Store to San Francisco and New York City in 2015. The app instantly gained organic traction, accumulating thousands of users in those cities based purely on earned media and word-of-mouth. 3,500 users signed up for Whim in its first month, and we quickly earned nods in TechCrunch, Fortune, ProductHunt, Los Angeles Times, and more.

Growing Through Word-of-Mouth

For the past year, we have continued to grow almost exclusively through organic sharing. Our metrics tell the story:

Our Users Love Us

Direct feedback proves that we are headed in the right direction:

What's next

Whim 2.0

Building upon the success of Whim 1.0, we’re currently hard at work on our second major release. Among countless improvements based on both qualitative and quantitative data from our users, Whim 2.0 will include:

• A new subscription revenue model and a move toward more premium experience positioning

• Built-in incentives for dating follow-through and accountable behavior, and disincentives against “flaking”

• A simplified scheduling process, balancing the need for planning with the desire for spontaneity

• Brand new UI/UX by one of the Valley’s top designers

• A platform that enables sponsored venue partners, unlocking a potentially lucrative second revenue stream

Why Invest

We know what we're doing

Whim has already accomplished impressive traction with very little funding to date. We’ve been covered by major media outlets and have received an overwhelmingly positive response from our users.

The market is huge, and growing

Online dating is a $2+ billion industry in the U.S. alone, growing 14% year-over-year. Internationally, the space is still relatively unsaturated and has even greater potential for growth.

We're on a mission

Our mission is to influence dating and social culture in a positive way. We believe people are better off meeting each other in real life versus endlessly swiping, texting on their phones, and going nowhere. By investing in Whim, you’re supporting a movement of love and genuine connection.

Use of Funds

We are raising at least $50,000. 

Your investment in Whim will allow us to:

• Complete development of version 2.0
• Increase growth and acquisition 3x
• Earn meaningful early revenue

If we exceed our minimum fundraising goal, our plan is to:

• Accelerate development

• Accelerate growth and acquisition 

• Release Whim for Android

Terms of the Deal

Investing in this crowdfunding opportunity through Republic allows you to be an angel investor in Whim under the provisions of Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (known as the “JOBS Act”) and Regulation Crowdfunding. The financial instrument for your investment chiamata a Crowd Safe. With a Crowd Safe, your investment automatically converts into stock when Whim undergoes a liquidity event - in other words, when we are acquired or have an IPO. 

The valuation cap specifies the maximum valuation under which your investment will convert into shares. Whim's valuation cap for this round is $5 million. If the company is acquired for less than the valuation cap amount, the discount provision gives you a discount to the valuation. The discount provision for this round is 20%.

What the Press Is Saying About Whim

"By putting the emphasis back on actual dates, Whim users are 10 times more likely to meet someone than those utilizing other dating sites."

- Brit+Co: This New Dating App Will Actually Schedule Your Dates for You

"Whim’s design can get you from behind your phone screen into that cute art gallery you’ve been meaning to check out without a massive (and ultimately fruitless) time-suck."

- Glamour: Dating App Culture is Being Reconsidered, and We're All About It

"There’s … Whim for people who are tired of all the chatting in the current batch of dating apps.... Whim is particularly absolutist in its approach to setting up actual dates."

- TechCrunch: Whim is a Dating App Focused on Actual Dates

"Whim was born out of women's frustration with being trapped in texting purgatory with guys who would ghost when it was time to meet."

- Marie Claire: Can Women Fix Dating?

"Whim tells both users when and where — yes, it picks a date location for you — the date will take place."

- VentureBeat: The Latest Trend in Dating Apps: Skipping the Chat and Going Straight to the Date

"Forget rummaging through in-depth profiles and messaging back and forth. If two people are interested in each other, they're going on a date."

- LA Times: New Dating Apps Cut to the Chase, Set Up Dates Quickly

"Whim, a new app from OkCupid alum Eve Peters, wants to take daters back to the basics, but with the modern spin. Instead of just swiping and chatting, the app sets up actual, face-to-face dates."

- Fortune: This Dating App Skips Messaging and Goes Straight to the Date

"For the uncoupled among us who’d rather gaze into each other’s eyes than a busted-up iPhone..."

- Boston Globe: Clickworthy: An App for Every Love Interest

Founder’s Story

Eve Peters, Founder and CEO of Whim

I have been involved in the online dating space - as both a product designer and a customer - for nearly a decade. Two years out of Stanford and single in San Francisco, I began in 2006 as a user of Match.com. From early on, I lamented the time and energy wasted in moving past the messaging zone and into the real-life zone. On a regular basis, I found myself spending over an hour a day managing messages with potential dates, with only a fraction of those conversations culminating in actual meetups. When I did eventually meet these people, most of them disappointed after the back-and-forth text messaging buildup.

In a day and age where mobile technology enables us to get almost anything “on-demand,” I wondered why dating apps still felt so exhausting and inefficient. In search of answers, I founded my first dating startup in 2008, earned a nod as a TechCrunch50 nominee, and went on later to lead product development at OKCupid Labs. In 2014, armed with learnings from that first venture and my time at OkCupid, I took the entrepreneurial leap again. I rounded up an awesome development team, built our MVP, got into 500 Startups, and officially launched the following year. 

My team's philosophy – which is supported by sociologists like Eric Klinenberg and Eli Finkel (not to mention your grandmother, by the way!) – is that face-to-face interaction (not algorithms, and not texting), is the best way to get to know someone and see if there’s chemistry. With that in mind, we go to work every day with a goal to make getting to that meaningful in-person moment as efficient, delightful, and worthwhile as possible.

These days I'm single, and I love using Whim to meet people in a way that feels effective, fun and even a bit magical. I'm excited to be crowdfunding for this company. This is modern dating, funded by the people, for the people! I hope you'll join us.

P.S. Happy Whim Success Story

We wanted to share this recent email from one of our users:

Let's create more stories like this one!