Executive Interview: David Standen, co-founder of Loveflutter

Loveflutter.com is a new dating site for quirky and interesting people. Launched in the Summer of 2013, Loveflutter is the first dating site to harness the power of Google’s Knowledge Graph to match people by similar interests across music, films, TV shows, books, sports and more. With nearly 20,000 people from 19 countries engaging with the brand by taking the site’s Quirky-Interesting Test and signing up, the team have a solid foundation and vision to scale Loveflutter.com globally and compete head-to-head with industry giants.

Name: David Standen
Position & Company: Co-founder, Loveflutter.com
Period of time in the role: 24 months
Twitter ID: @dstanden
​Can you describe your role and what you do in one sentence?

As co-founder the role involves pretty much everything, a lot of thinking on your feet.

What is your personal style in business in three words?

’Getting Things Done!’

How did you get into the online dating industry?

It didn’t happen by accident. Having plenty of personal experience using a number of dating sites and gaining more experience working with Badoo (London) for a short period. The experiences really broadened my view of online dating and there lay the challenge – how do you go about improving what’s already there and find solutions to both today’s and tomorrow’s dating problems. It doesn’t happen overnight, but whilst discussing and developing a number of ideas, Loveflutter was born.

What are you most proud of in your role?

Thinking of creative ways to overcome the industry’s biggest challenges makes it a very fulfilling role. One of our first challenges was to create a brand identity that stood out from the crowd, representing our creative take on online dating. Not only did we create a product but we created a brand first and foremost.

With our trademarked identity “Loveflutter”, meaning that “butterflies in your stomach feeling”, we’re building an emotional connection through the product. It was a great deal of effort but it’s worth its weight in gold when we read stories of people using Loveflutter everyday to get on great dates.

What are the biggest challenges the industry faces?

To continue the fight against spam, fake profiles and scammers. As online dating becomes ever more pervasive, issues around security and online safety become increasingly important for users and the industry alike.

To monetize ensuring added value for the user. With the growth of free dating sites the subscription-based model of online dating is called into question: why should I pay for online dating? The answer lies in exploring new revenue streams and adding extra value to your site through product features and services that truly help people date smarter.

To stay ahead of the technology curve. A new online dating landscape is rapidly taking shape where both technological innovation and big data are key tools to enhance both the online and offline dating experience, harnessing these for the benefit of the user is paramount.

What do you believe is the most exciting opportunity facing the industry?

The big one for us is seamlessly connecting the online and offline dating experience. Loveflutter has the perfect foundation for connecting these with its interest-based focus around a person’s offline activities and interests then actually helping people meet up (yes in real life!) by suggesting great date venues close by.

What do you love most about the online dating industry?

The growing number of dating start-ups biting at the heels of the established incumbents with some great ideas. We love the David vs Goliath challenge we’re representing and feel we’re at the forefront. It’s been an incredible start, with zero marketing budget Loveflutter has broken into the industry with an engaging brand personality, ground-breaking technological innovation and creative communications generating a buzz in both the US and UK dating markets.

Which service or company do you admire in the online dating industry?

Tinder app for simplifying the experience (perhaps a little shallow!) and other location-based apps like Highlight. Also not forgetting Howaboutwe for their impressive US rollout and attempt at connecting the offline and online world of dating.

What sets your company apart from others in the industry?

Where do I start?! From a technology perspective we’re the first to harness the power of Google’s Knowledge Graph to create the industry’s smartest interest-matching algorithm, helping our users connect on more levels. From a user’s point of view, we’re making it easier to find someone who shares similar interests and get on a first date with our “Suggest-a-date” feature powered by Foursquare, another industry first.

Finally, from a brand perspective, we’re the first to establish a connection with “quirky-interesting” people, an untapped mass demographic with set attitudes and beliefs that’s culturally transferable, opening up Loveflutter to a global audience.

What does the rest of 2013 hold for your company?

We’re focusing on growing our userbase in both the US and UK initially and we’re developing our iOS and Android mobile apps for release in a few months, watch this space!