Join me as I chat with Anu Atluru, startup builder, angel investor, and writer, as we dive deep into how to build and scale premium dating apps, and Anu shares her thoughts on how to leverage status to position and growth hack your startup. Episode Timestamps: 00:00 Intro01:27 Startup Idea 1: Premium Dating App for Niche Markets20:51 Startup Idea 2: AI Girlfriends/Boyfriends for Niche Demographics 27:23 Startup Idea 3: "Riz-maxing" app30:55 Startup Idea 4: Report cards for life35:15 Pricing strategy shift39:10 Content format discussion1) The League 2.0: Dating app for modern status symbols - Original League app sold for $30M+ to Match Groupa) Charged up to $2,499/month (!) for premium membershipsb) New version could filter by:- YC founders- Follower counts- Who follows youKey insight: Status markers have evolved beyond just education/job2) Why now for League 2.0? - Cheaper than ever to launch dating appsa) More distribution channels to hack growthb) People desperate for new ways to find partnersc) Premium/niche dating apps are HOTExample: Lox Club for Jewish singles crushing it3) Controversial idea alert: AI girlfriends/boyfriends for niche demographics - Huge financial opportunity (but ethically questionable)- Google Trends shows massive spike in interest- Could target specific ethnicities, religions, etc.Opportunity for brave founders, but proceed with caution!4) "Riz-maxing" app: Charisma coach in your pocket - AI listens to your convos & scores social skills- Gives feedback on awkwardness, charisma, etc.- People crave honest social feedbackThink: Looksmaxxing app, but for personality5) Report cards for life: Huge untapped opportunity - We're conditioned to want feedback from school days- Adults still crave knowing how they measure up- Combine with personality tests, IQ tests, etc.People LOVE data about themselves!6) Pricing strategy shift: Death of monthly subscriptions? - One-time payments- Lifetime subscriptions- Annual plans- Pay-what-you-want modelsMonthly feels like a "situationship" - users want commitment or freedom!7) Content creation pro tip: Iterate on format until you find your groove - Don't get stuck on what you "should" do- Experiment with:a) Live vs. asyncb) Solo vs. groupc) Short-form vs. long-formd) Audio vs. videoFind your emotional center & natural aptitude!8) Challenge: Create more novel content formats! Ideas:- Tech/culture Daily Show- Startup Cribs (MTV-style home tours)- Live, unscripted breakdownsPush to extremes - avoid the crowded middle!Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideas Work with me and my team: LCA — world’s best product design firm to build apps, websites and brands people love. https://latecheckout.agency/BoringAds — ads agency that will build you profitable ad campaigns http://boringads.com/BoringMarketing — SEO agency and tools to get your organic customers http://boringmarketing.com/Community Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses http://communityempire.co/FIND ME ON SOCIALX/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenbergInstagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/FIND ANU ON SOCIALX/Twitter: https://x.com/anuatluruNewsletter: https://www.workingtheorys.com
Full Episode
I just brainstormed with one of the smartest people I know about 20 plus dating app ideas. It was a live brainstorm. She had this insight. I opened up a Google Doc. All of a sudden, one idea, three ideas, seven ideas. This is a playbook for how to come up with 20 plus dating app ideas. One of the most proven ways to make money on the internet. I think you'll enjoy this episode.
Lovely to have you here. You're probably one of my favorite follows on Twitter because you're always putting out creative ideas. So I had to have you for the Startup Ideas podcast. It was only right.
I appreciate the sentiment. It's always nice to hear positive things about Twitter and not like terrible things about Twitter. And obviously you're a great follow. I mean, these days you're doing a lot of interesting stuff. I won't like give away the hacks of what I've observed that you're doing. But yeah, always like curious what you're thinking about. Love your letter.
Love when my tweets show up in your letter. So a lot of crossover.
Very cool. So let's start with ideas.
Okay. Let's start with ideas. All right. So I always have like a bunch of ideas. So I kind of like pared down a few today that I think probably relate to things that people know that I think about as opposed to like the completely off the wall things. And maybe that like anybody could really like take a crack at versus like things that would be hard to do. So, okay.
Start with a fun one, which is basically like, you know, the league, the dating app started like 10 plus years ago at this point. So, um, I mean, I don't think everything has to be like super novel. I kind of think that someone should just like make another The League.
Okay, for people who don't know what The League is, maybe explain what it is.
Okay, so the League is basically, it's like a dating app. And I think it was started around 2012 or 2013. And the premise is like, okay, if you're a woman who's kind of like ambitious, and you want to get a significant other who is similarly ambitious, and also wants to be with a ambitious, accomplished partner, like, where can you actually find that?
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