Canadian-made Gen-Z dating app backed by content creator Cameron Dallas (VIDEO)
Social media star and American actor Cameron Dallas is joining a pair of Canadian students who are on a mission to change the face of dating once and for all.
The app is called “IRLY” and has been created with the intention of helping people find love more easily than other apps on the market.
The difference? IRLY offers interactive games and the ability to send video and audio messages, so you’re not stuck decoding cryptic texts from a match.
The idea was inspired by its founder and Toronto Metropolitan University student Laura Rollock’s dating experiences.
āIn real life, people are not always honest about what they want or how they feel. So we decided to create a platform where people can finally be themselves,ā she said.
Her close friend who attended UBC, Connor Rose, later joined the team as CEO and co-founder before recruiting internet influencer Cameron Dallas.
IRLY
Daily Hive spoke with Dallas about his role with IRLY and how it intends to collide the online dating experience we know today with video chatting capabilities and game formats.
Why did you join IRLY as a co-founder?
“Dating is a scene I’ve always wanted to go into … because I think I could bring something to the table.
“I feel like [other apps on the market] don’t really have the best pulse on what’s actually going on, and they’re not really doing much to solve the problems.
“Me and Connor [IRLY CEO], actually both have single moms … My mom would just complain about these dating apps, like ‘it’s really hard to meet people,’ or ‘they’re different in person’… So we really wanted to just help our moms and make the dating experience way better.”
How will people build stronger connections on IRLY?
“I would hope that they would just understand how games really do break the ice and being able to video chat…Ā could really build a relationship with someone whether it was a real connection or not.
“Games are an amazing way to break the ice for any scenario, right? If I go to a friend’s house… It’s a great way to meet people… It’s a great way to build connections… And it’s cool you get to see people’s personalities. Are they competitive? Are they a little on the nicer side?
“I would hope that [people using the app] would have a great and fun experience… And that they would feel that it’s different as far as communication. You’re really getting to actually talk to people, you’re getting to spend time with them on video chat.”
IRLY
What are issues other dating apps have not resolved that IRLY will offer from the start?
“I think that they don’t listen to their actual problems. And for example, breaking the ice. There are not a lot of ways to like break the ice, as far as Hinge or Bumble. You kind of just messaging…
“The other big thing is catfishing… if we’re just on text, I don’t really know who you are. I don’t really know how you’re saying something. So a lot of the tone is being left out. And 90% of communication is tone. I don’t know how to gauge whether or not I think you’d be a safe person for me. If we’re video chatting I can kind of gauge, what kind of person is this? And it would make me a lot more comfortable to meet someone in person as well.
“But the other thing is just the functionality of the apps, I think that IRLY is going to really be a shaker in the space.”
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Do you have any advice for people interested in using the app to get back into dating?
“I think my advice… is just to be yourself, be open, be honest, and be ready to build that relationship.
“It takes a lot to open up to someone in general, it takes a lot to be ready to even build a relationship. And to even try and find that someone you know.”
Why should singles pick IRLY over other apps on the market?
“I know that it’s really hard when you’re on like Tinder or Bumble, and you’re matching with people that you’re not sure how long they’ve had Tinder or Bumble. You could swipe right or left on someone that has made an account eight years ago, and hasn’t posted since.
“So I think it’s really cool that IRLY is gonna have an online pool, where you’re always going to be matched with someone or presented someone based on the fact that they’re actually online or not. And I think that’s a huge, huge factor because then you’re not wasting your time.
“You’re not wasting your time swiping you’re not wasting your time trying to message them and think of something like ‘oh, what’s the perfect thing to say to this person?’ Right? And you’re not getting your hopes up. With early you’re actually meeting someone in real-time, and you’re getting someone presented to you that you have an opportunity to talk to instantaneously.”
What do you wish IRLY users will tell their friends after joining the app?
“The best experience that they could possibly have and our end goal is for someone to meet someone special, make that connection, build a relationship, and then go and tell their friends like, ‘Oh, I did this on IRLY and it was because the games helped us break the ice, we actually got to video chat, and the interface was super easy. And it really made it way easier than other dating apps would. And it made it way more comfortable way safer.’
“That’s a dream situation.”
Pre-seed money has been raised from top investors like the co-founder of StockX and ex-Twitter executives, among others.
IRLY is launching this winter and will be available for download in the App Store and Google Play.
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