Lex, a social and courting app for the LGBTQ+ group, has been acquired by 9count, a cell app conglomerate specializing in social networks.
Lex began as an Instagram web page in 2017, which was impressed by classic lesbian private advertisements. The web page grew to become so fashionable that founder Kell Rakowski spun it into an app in 2019. In lower than a 12 months, the app raised a $1.5 million seed spherical, and seasoned entrepreneur Jennifer Lewis joined as a co-founder and CEO.
“Mainstream social platforms actually don’t serve this viewers,” Lewis instructed TechCrunch. In keeping with GLAAD, LGBTQ+ individuals are twice as prone to expertise harassment on-line, which makes intentional on-line areas for queer folks extra needed. “What I’m obsessed with at Lex is constructing a social platform the place customers can meet folks like them, but in addition have a secure house the place they’ll totally categorical their id.”
Lex’s customers have excessive requirements for the app, because it serves a group that has been traditionally missed and mistreated by mainstream social platforms. Final 12 months, the app rebranded to emphasise common socialization over courting and hookups, which made some customers fearful that Lex was changing into too sanitized. As one consumer instructed TechCrunch on the time, “There’s no have to encourage ‘social’ use until you’re making an attempt to discourse different makes use of (i.e., intercourse).”
As Lex joins 9count, customers could also be involved about additional change to the app. However Lewis says this transfer will allow Lex to ship new options extra shortly and improve its content material moderation capability. “We’re in a position to ship new options in all probability like thrice the speed of earlier than the acquisition,” she mentioned.
9count is led by Alex Hofmann, who previously served as CEO of Musical.ly, the app that was acquired by ByteDance and have become TikTok. The conglomerate’s hottest app is Wink, one other courting and friendship app, however it additionally operates different apps like Summer time, a courting app.
Given his expertise with ByteDance, which owns a number of apps underneath one company umbrella, Hofmann needs 9count to echo that technique. “We had our first dialog and instantly realized we actually share the identical imaginative and prescient,” Hofmann mentioned. “The imaginative and prescient is basically that we consider the way forward for social media isn’t in, , constructing this one massive product, chasing billions of customers with advertisements, and we consider the longer term is vertical social networks that empower communities.”
In keeping with Lex, the app has been downloaded over 1,000,000 instances, which is low in comparison with more-mainstream courting apps — nonetheless, Lex is focusing on a smaller viewers, and customers ship thousands and thousands of messages monthly. Hofmann and Lewis declined to reveal the phrases of the deal.
