Being online has become an integral part of our lives, influencing various aspects including social interactions and even romantic relationships. There are so many dating apps. Over 1 billion swipes are done every day.
Instead of endless swiping and chats that come to nothing, noii creates authentic encounters and unforgettable rendezvous. With the combination of video dating and offline events, the team connects singles in real life.
Recently, noii has initiated a crowdinvesting campaign with our partner OOMNIUM. Dive into the insights about their business and investment opportunity in our interview with Laura Matter, Co-Founder and CEO.
Hi Laura! Nice to meet you online! What is the problem your team is solving?
Online dating often leads to a waste of time: instead of real dates, there is endless swiping and fleeting dopamine kicks.
What solution have you found to solve this problem and make dating experience more fascinating nowadays?
With noii, we make dating authentic and efficient. Through a combination of video dating and offline events, we make it possible for many more singles to meet each other faster and more in real life.
How did you implement your solution?
Twice a week, we organise live video dating sessions in which seven new people get to know each other within an hour based on algorithms and user information. Video chats significantly reduce the risk of fake details and profiles and provide a clear picture of the other person through their voice, facial expressions and movements. This makes it easier to judge whether you want to get to know the other person better. 78% meet in real life after a match.
What is your business model?
We follow the freemium model for online video dating. The platform can be used free of charge, but important features are reserved for premium subscribers. You can currently choose between a term of one month for CHF 49, several months and one year. Tickets are sold for offline events. Here we bring together up to 500 people in one evening. Premium subscribers also have advantages here: For example, extra tickets are reserved for Premium Members, even for events that are already sold out. Around 50 % of revenue is generated via the subscription model, while the other 50 % comes from ticket sales for offline events.
What is your target market?
We were currently only active in Zurich and have now expanded into other cities: Bern, St. Gallen and Lucerne. By the end of 2024, we would like to cover the whole of German-speaking Switzerland.
What milestones have you already achieved?
Some milestones that I haven't forgotten myself:
2021: First MVP market tests with Zoom
2022: Founding of noii land AG, development and launch of the platform in October, first offline events
2023: 10,000 video dates, offline events mostly sold out since July, individual offline events with over 500 visitors
2024: 5,000 offline event visitors, 25,000 users on the platform
Wow, sounds like incredible achievements. Who helped you to create noii?
We are 3 co-founders: Thomas Kuschel (CFO & COO), Vladislav Lisavcov (CTO), Laura (CEO, CMO). Thomas lives in Stuttgart, so we are used to working remotely. In Ukraine, our tech team consists of two part-time frontend developers and one UX designer.
How much capital do you want to raise and how will you use these funds?
New capital will be used in our marketing to expand into new Swiss cities. And to take our digital platform to the next level technically and to invest in our matching algorithms. This is where we are expanding to:
2024: (German-speaking) Switzerland
2025: Germany
2026: Other European countries
Dating is only successful with many people. The more people use our platform, the better the experience for each individual. That's why user growth is extremely important to us. We already do a lot of creative marketing. We want to expand this with more capital. Especially when it comes to other cities and countries. We also want to develop our product further. So far, we've managed everything with a small development team of three people. However, we need more men and women power to further develop our matching algorithms. We are aiming for 80,000 registered users by the end of 2024 and 300,000 by 2025, which means planned revenue of CHF 600,000 for 2024 and CHF 1.5 million for 2025. The financial break-even point should be reached in 2027.
What was the problem or challenge you faced before you approached OOMNIUM & Aktionariat?
Capital for further growth was needed in a rather difficult fundraising period, when many investors were more cautious.
What measures did you take to overcome the challenge(s) and why did you ultimately decide in favour of OOMNIUM & Aktionariat?
Clarified various options and different providers. Oomnium had a very professional appearance. I knew Aktionariat through personal contacts.
Why would you recommend OOMNIUM & Aktionariat to other start-ups and SMEs?
Very professional, they help a lot to prioritise the important things
To learn more about noii and their crowdinvesting, you take a look at their investment pitch.
