Draft:StarLit Dating App

StarLit Dating is a social application set to release in 2024. It was created to help users find romantic partners and friends all over the world. The website says it caters to people who easily form bonds over books, movies, comedy, and games.

Their slogan is, "Find the love you read about," and the theme correlates with never-before-seen features that are new to the dating app market.

FEATURES

In their biographies, users can add carousels of their favorite films, movies, and books, not to mention something called a "Free Date Frenzy." This is described as a feature that connects to a user's "StarLit wallet" to distribute gift cards to the first 100 people who agree to go on a date at certain times throughout the year. Additionally, the chat room is equipped with games that help you speed-date your partner to understand their personalities and interests better.

StarLit Dating is owned by StarLit Story Co. and was founded by Holly R. Valakresch, the company's operator, designer, and CEO.

HISOTRY AND DEVELOPMENT

In 2019, she created the first version of the StarLit app, which would have been a social platform for writers and screenwriters to share their work and make connections within the industry. After a second project that had been given priority fell through, Valakresch began reworking StarLit into something new.

The logo was described as reworking a Holly berry. The heart is the berry and the stars on either side are the prickly leaves, though it was decided early on that the original red heart should be changed to pink so as not to confuse anyone with Christmas colors.

The app features a midnight blue background studded with constellations to enhance user experience and promote a sense of comfort and belonging. It's also proven to boost serotonin and remain easy on the eyes for users subject to prolonged exposure. Unanimously, testers agreed the starry background is one of the most distinct StarLit features, though there is a pink and green light-mode version that matches the logo.

CHANGING THE ODDS

Men represent more than 60% of dating app users and women want to be sure they're swiping on quality partners.

One thing StarLit aims to do is use psychological factors such as intrapersonal intelligence to help create high-quality, lasting connections. Unlike other apps, StarLit has no option for "seeking hookups, but possibly open to something serious," and other similar cop-out options. This opens the door for emotional manipulation and often leads to one party bending over backward to get what they want and leaving their partner disappointed once they do. The options StarLit offers are specific. Either you want something serious, or you don't.

In the boardroom, the logo being "too girly" was also a topic of conversation and also purely psychological. It was decided that good-quality men would not be intimidated by a heart shape or the color pink. Additionally, it would encourage more women to join to even out the disparity between users.

Other dating apps have limits on how far you can search for a partner. Many will give you 50-100 miles of distance to search, at most. StarLit Dating decided to open up the whole world to users, allowing people to match across the world to find love, friendships, travel buddies, or even others with similar interests.

CONTROVERSY

One controversial rule StarLit has is that users are not allowed to pose with dead, wounded, or compromised animals. This means no more dead deer, captured fish, etc.

PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS

The app is $2.50/month for a yearly subscription and there are no tiers for users. Everyone is given access to the same features to exercise fairness. Executives agreed that there was too much price gouging from competitors who were putting the priority of money above helping their users make worthwhile connections and chose to go a different route. StarLit prices are comparable to a single cup of coffee per month.