New Dating App Reaches Final Of Women Startup Challenge

A new dating app has this week secured a top ten finalist place at this year’s Women Startup Challenge NYC competition.

Launched in June, HeyU is a brand new video dating app that brings elements of Snapchat to online dating.

The free app allows users to upload 15-second videos (or less) of themselves “singing, dancing, or showing the world through their eyes” in order to create fun dating profiles.

HeyU was founded by JingJing Tian, alongside Max Peng and Marvin Liu.

The competition, run by Women Who Tech, saw over 200 entries from across the Northeast of the United States.

Speaking about the challenge, Women Who Tech founder Allyson Kapin said: “The Women Startup Challenge is shaking up a culture and economy that has made it exceedingly difficult for women entrepreneurs to access capital.

“Currently, only seven percent of investor money goes to women. If we truly want to innovate and create the best products for people in this world, we need to radically change how we invest. And that is what we are hoping to ignite through the Women Startup Challenge.”

Other finalists include SoftSpot by Moonlab, carpool solution GoKid, LIA Diagnostics and virtual closet platform Closet Collective.

Next month, the finalists will also join investors for the first-ever Women Startup Speed Dating event at AOL – an event designed to give women founders one-on-one access to investors and experts.

Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, is partnering with Women Who Tech on the competition as part of his craigconnects initiative, and said: “I’m supporting this competition because a good idea is a good idea whoever it comes from. That’s only fair.”

The pitch competition is being held on 9th November 2015 at Microsoft in Times Square, New York, and will be judged by investor Joanne Wilson, Susan Lyne of AOL’s BBG Ventures, founder and managing director of digitalundivided (DID) Kathryn Finney and Victoria Song, VC at Flybridge.

The winner will be awarded $25,000 in cash.

Download HeyU for iOS devices here, or visit its official site here.