flutrr’s Bharat Bet: Can It Outshine Tinder & Bumble In India’s Dating Space?

In the last five years, India’s online dating sector has experienced explosive growth on the back of various tech-based platforms, especially apps, entering the ecosystem. The proof of this is a staggering 293% increase in users, with the sector reaching 82.4 Mn in 2023. 

However, despite this growth, dating app platforms in the country are faced with a unique set of challenges, including a skewed male-to-female ratio and an untrustworthy or unverified base of suspicious users. In addition, dating apps have lately become breeding grounds for criminal activities.  

Moving on, many dating platforms in the country are struggling to generate revenue and retain users due to the limited presence of women on these platforms. To keep this at bay, platforms generally overlook the quality of users they onboard, leading to an increase in imposters and fraudsters on the platforms.

To assuage the Indian online dating ecosystem, the father-son duo of Kaushik and Anirban Banerjee are building flutrr, a vernacular dating app that is laser-focused on women’s safety. It also addresses common issues faced by dating platforms, such as gender imbalance and user security, by using its proprietary safety technology developed to ensure women’s protection.

“We have implemented several safety features based on feedback from women. For example, after a woman from Jhansi raised concerns about her cousin finding her on the app, we introduced a ‘block contact’ feature to prevent anyone from a user’s phonebook from seeing their profile. Similarly, we added a feature called ‘ghost mode,’ which allows women to display only their initials and hides their exact location. We also added a private mode messaging feature to prevent cyber harassment,” Kaushik told Inc42.

However, the platform’s unique value proposition lies in serving women from Tier II and Tier III towns and cities. The founders, with their app, claim to provide a safe alternative to both casual dating and arranged marriages. Per the founders, the startup’s brand messaging has been carefully crafted to foster long-term, meaningful relationships. 

The app supports English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, and is looking to add Northeastern languages such as Garo, Khasi, and Assamese. The founders claim to have over 5 Lakh monthly active users (MAU) on the dating app and more than 9 Lakh app downloads. 

fluttr’s turnover jumped to INR 2.5 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 99 Lakh in FY23 and INR 17 Lakh in FY22.

Meanwhile, the dating platform is all set to raise INR 3.75 Cr as part of a strategic funding round from Zee Akaash News, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the media conglomerate.

The Idea Of flutrr

Before launching flutrr, Kaushik, an IIT Lucknow alumnus, spent three decades in the corporate world working across sectors like FMCG, consumer durables, media, telecom, building materials, and fashion. 

In 2014, he took a sabbatical to focus on consultancy, helping SMEs with digital transformation. Floating a startup wasn’t on his mind until 2020, when his son, Anirban, came up with the idea.

Back then, Anirban, a mass communication graduate from St Xavier’s College, was all set to go to the UK to pursue his MBA. However, the plans were impacted due to the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic. Anirban decided to pursue a startup instead.

Next, Anirban, along with his GenZ friends, inspired by their heartbreaks, came up with the idea of launching a dating app.

“I initially turned down the idea, pointing out that there are already many dating apps in India, and questioned their unique selling proposition,” Kaushik said.

His son then went back for further research and spoke to many youths. This time, he returned with the concept of building a vernacular dating app, particularly for non-English audiences. Kaushik found the idea interesting, more because English can be a barrier for many in the country.

After three months of research, the Father-Son duo started developing an app to cater to Tier II and II cities like Assam, Siliguri, Varanasi, Lucknow, and Jaipur. In December 2021, the startup launched the platform in Hindi, Bengali, and English. 

According to the cofounder, while Covid-19 did not significantly impact the launch, working remotely was a big challenge for the team. 

Another major challenge the brand faced was onboarding women on the platform, Kaushik said. The duo spent the initial four to six months understanding the motivation behind women’s decisions to join the platform. 

The brand’s first milestone of approximately 10,000 users was also achieved during these initial months, particularly after they decided to introduce a campus ambassador network, which helps the startup promote its app’s services, among college students. 

It involves collaborations with student influencers to spread awareness about flutrr and engage the youth. These ambassadors enhance the app’s visibility through social media and word-of-mouth marketing.

flutrr’s Monetisation Strategy

From the start, the founders were clear about their focus — tapping into the potential of non-English-speaking individuals from Tier II and III cities and suburban areas. 

Given that the platform was made for audiences living in the real Bharat, the founders resisted floating a subscription-based model. They knew that these consumers were unlikely to pay INR 700-800 for dating app subscriptions. 

Their initial plan was to monetise the app through advertisements. However, this model didn’t work as expected as they started receiving complaints about excessive ads on the platform. Consequently, the founders shifted to a microtransaction model, allowing users to access the app for free but pay for specific services. 

“For instance, users could boost their profile for six hours by paying INR 30. This change led to a significant shift in revenue, and today, 95% of our earnings come from microtransactions,” Kaushik said.

Additionally, they prioritised women’s privacy and safety, especially considering the dynamics of smaller towns. 

From the outset, the founders implemented proprietary safety features and continuously enhanced them over time. These features include face recognition to eliminate fake profiles, a no-screenshot policy, private mode messaging to prevent cyber harassment, profanity filters, the ability to block known contacts from the phonebook, location-hiding options for privacy, a blur filter during video calls, and allowing only Aadhaar-verified profiles to chat or match.

Kaushik added that women also have access to delete the chat of their match if they feel uncomfortable. 

Another realisation was that English-speaking dating apps were viewed as casual or hookup apps, while matrimonial apps were seen as geared toward arranged marriages. 

“Many young people in small towns were not interested in arranged marriages but also didn’t want casual dating. They were seeking long-term relationships that fit somewhere between the two. As a result, we repositioned flutrr as a relationship app rather than a dating app, with a focus on old-school romance,” the founders said.

All in all, the startup generates revenues from microtransactions, ads and its campus ambassador network.

What’s Next For flutrr? 

Currently, the app provides AI-driven features like a love coach and personalised music composer. Additionally, it plans to roll out conversational AI to help users craft replies based on the other person’s sentiments.

Going forward, Kaushik plans to elevate the dating app to a whole new level by introducing offline experiences.

“The vision for flutrr extends beyond being just a dating app; it aims to involve both online and offline experiences. After Diwali, we are planning to host singles meetups at local cafés in smaller towns. Users will be able to see where the events are happening and sign up through the flutrr app,” Kaushik said.

The initial launch will take place in cities like Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Patna, Allahabad, Bhopal, and Indore.

Besides, the startup is currently focussed on technology development and rolling out new AI features. For example, in September, it launched flutrr Tunes, which lets users compose their own songs using AI tools and send them to impress someone special. 

For FY25, the startup also aims to boost microtransaction revenue to hit profitability. “Our goal is to double our user base to 2 Mn downloads by mid-2025. We also aspire to become a 1 Mn MAU company with a profitable bottom line. Once we achieve this, we will consider a Series A funding round,” Kaushik said.

So far the company has raised $1 Mn (INR 8.3 Cr) funding from investors, including Zee Media Corporation, TOI, The Chennai Angels (TCA), Kiana Ventures, Huma Qureshi, StartupLanes, and certain CXOs of Fortune 500 companies.

Per the founders, the penetration of Indian dating apps in Tier II and III markets is only around 4-5%. The overall dating app market in India is valued at INR 3,600 Cr and is growing at an annual rate of 17%. 

Given that the market is set for significant expansion over the next decade, it will be interesting to see how the cofounders of flutrr take on Tinder, Bumble and other more established dating apps in the country with their Bharat-only thesis.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]