The number of single people on the planet is increasing every year. Businesses are adjusting to this trend. Lawyers are rapidly earning capital on cases of divorce, division of property and dealing with children, while IT specialists are developing and offering clients applications for singles – platforms for online dating. 

 

The dating industry is one of the most successful ventures of the 21st century. Dating sites are gaining an audience of millions, a significant part of which is ready to buy paid services.

 

Note! According to experts, the dating market brings entrepreneurs $6 billion a year in profits. Moreover, the online dating industry in the world is expected to grow by 6.9% annually until 2028. The high rate of growth in this area will continue for at least another ten years. The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, loans, etc.) margins for large dating companies are 15-35%.

 

In order to effectively start a business in the field of virtual dating, a number of conditions must be met. An important role is played by the correct legal formalization of entrepreneurship: registering a company, launching a website and a mobile application, developing internal policies, opening a corporate account in a bank or payment system, obtaining permits, if required by the law in the country of registration. Representatives of Attorneys Association Lawrange are ready to help with this complex of issues. 

 

 

What is an online dating site? 

 

Online dating sites are designed to find a soul mate, make new friends and expand your social circle. Unlike marriage agencies, there are no intermediaries between users who want to make contact. The main task of dating sites is to create a favorable atmosphere for posting photos and brief information about oneself in the accounts, as well as for further exchange of messages.

 

What makes an online dating site profitable? Profit from the dating project can be made in two ways: 1) paid services for users; 2) advertising. In both cases, income is possible only if the site has previously managed to attract a sufficient number of users.

 

The business model of freemium is characteristic for the majority of the rating-projects. This involves the provision of minimal functionality to customers for free, and the rest – on a paid basis. The first users may be offered all services for free, because it is desirable to launch “word of mouth” as the most effective way to increase traffic. There is a system of VIP-accounts on dating sites, selling paid gifts and compliments, raising the profile, paid access to communication with popular users, and so on. Many paid services can be introduced, the main thing is to get customers interested in buying.

 

 

The peculiarities of the business

 

Dating is a highly risky line of business. This means that financial institutions are reluctant to cooperate with the owners of such a project. Government regulators and regulatory agencies also relate to the dispatching companies with a degree of wariness.

 

Therefore, when drawing up such a business, there are no trifles. Some entrepreneurs place emphasis on the uniqueness of the project, the implementation of non-standard ideas, and they forget about the formalities, which then becomes the cause of much trouble. In this case, problems may arise at any stage of the project life cycle. Even if the entrepreneur has been successful in entering the market, attracting a considerable number of customers, then when scaling up the business unexpectedly “pitfalls” may occur. For example, the policy of Google, Facebook or Apple in relation to data projects can be an obstacle.

 

Note! Despite its high-risk status, a successful business attracts investors. The reason for this attractiveness is the simple monetization of such projects. An investor can quickly sell the company (e.g. to a larger player).

 

 

Internal policies and data security in dating

 

A huge risk for the dating project is the leakage of confidential data. From time to time the media discusses the scandals associated with married ladies and married men on dating sites. It is unpleasant when piquant photos as well as correspondence with frivolous content appear in the public domain.

 

Note! The LGBT dating service Grindr was involved in the biggest data breach scandal of all. As it turned out, data about the location and movements of millions of users of the app had been collected and available for sale since 2017. This information was sold to advertisers. As a result, the former owner was forced to sell the company for a modest sum.

 

Due to the above, it is important for a dating site to legally draft and then implement a User Agreement and Privacy Policy. In this way, you can protect yourself from a significant portion of customer disputes to the maximum extent possible.

 

For a stable and effective online dating site, the following components are necessary:

 

 

  • Violation monitoring

Dating sites attract large numbers of people with unstable psyches and amoral motivations. Therefore, users (predominantly female) are exposed to threats of violence, sexual harassment and blackmail. All-encompassing browsing of correspondence in manual mode is not possible, and it is incorrect in terms of invasion of personal space.

 

At the same time, a script can be built into the site that will detect such incidents. Then you can easily weed out users who behave inadequately and commit violations.

 

 

  • Support service

User comfort must be provided not only by technical means. Chat-bot support on the dating site is not enough – you should establish the work of several employees (preferably around the clock). The support service will mainly work in two directions: 1) troubleshooting technical failures, such as problems with paid services, correspondence, comments, and so on; 2) handling complaints from users.

 

Complaints on such sites are filed by users in connection with violence and harassment, which have already been mentioned, as well as in connection with fraudulent actions. Scammers on dating sites inevitably gather a lot. New and new schemes are invented to lure money based on speculation of feelings. Complaints under any circumstances should be considered promptly, and accounts of aggressors and scammers should be deleted immediately. Ideally, you should block the IP address from which the offender accessed the account.

 

Important! Facts of spreading photos and other personal data, as well as blackmail and fraud, cause irreparable harm to the reputation of the dating site. Therefore you should spare no effort to prevent such incidents.

 

 

  • Controlling the age of visitors

Online dating sites traditionally attract minors. However, the content of an intimate nature should by no means fall on the eyes of such users. Otherwise there may be sanctions from the controlling bodies – fines or even closure of the service due to accusations of corrupting minors. That is why it is important to use a reliable system for verifying the age of users. 

 

 

  • Confirming the reality of users

On the one hand, the owner of the online dating site is tempted to create the appearance of activity through a large number of fictitious accounts. But on the other hand, users enjoy communicating with real people, so the fiction sooner or later comes out sideways.

 

Verification of users is not mandatory, but highly desirable. We are not talking about identity verification using passport data. It is enough to verify your identity via phone, e-mail, or social networking pages. It is also possible to verify identity using a smartphone camera, as online banks do, for example. The introduction of the system of user verification significantly increases the reputation of the dating project.

 

 

The best countries to open a company

 

There can be no universal solutions for such a high-risk business as dating. The Lawrange team offers its own options for each project. The available budget, planned scale of project development, possibilities of opening accounts in banks and payment systems and so on are taken into account. Together with our partners we regularly update the top jurisdictions for the registration of active projects. Currently, our list of recommended countries includes the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus.

 

 

United Kingdom

 

The UK has a long tradition of dating sites. The country even has an association of such organizations – the Association of British Introduction Agencies (ABIA), membership in which increases the credibility of the company in the eyes of potential clients. British dating sites operate without reducing activity, even after gaining a decent number of customers. To attract new visitors to such sites are constantly offered promotions, for example – free use of all services during the first month, and so on.

 

Important! In order to develop your own business we suggest you to register a company in Great Britain as LTD (Limited) and to open an account or accounts in the payment systems. Registration of the company in England with the support of Lawrange provides a good starting point for business, from which you will be able to explore world markets and win the attention of a huge number of clients.

 

 

United Arab Emirates

 

The country has created an excellent environment for the development of commercial projects in a wide variety of areas. Company registration in UAE in 2024 with the support of AA Lawrange gives an opportunity to start in business from a reliable legal platform. An entrepreneur will be able to choose one of the free economic zones at his discretion, get tax residency in the country and live in excellent conditions, or manage the project remotely. Among the key advantages of the UAE is the respect of confidentiality regarding the details of entrepreneurs and their capitals.

 

 

Cyprus

 

According to legend, it was on Cyprus where the goddess of love Aphrodite was born from the foam of the sea. The island is renowned for its incredible hospitality for all kinds of businesses, and dating – the industry of lovemaking – is no exception. Cyprus registration has one of the largest dating networks in the world Badoo, supporting many languages and working in many countries around the world.

 

Registering a company in Cyprus with the support of AA Lawrange allows you to take full advantage of the low taxation level as well as the favorable investment climate in the country. It is a proven option for an easy and smooth launch of a business project.

 

 

How much does it cost to open a company for dating? 

 

For the registration of a company in England with AA Lawrange there is a special offer – instead of 2950 EUR you can pay only 1850 EUR. The price includes registration of the company in the form of LTD (Limited) + registration of an account in 3 payment systems.

 

To open a company in UAE, you should spend 7900 USD for the registration itself and incur a number of additional expenses: for connection and use of E-Channel, Tax Resident Visa, Tenancy contract, opening a bank account etc. The price of opening a company in Cyprus by Lawrange is 2500 Euros.

 

 

Conclusions

 

Dating is a specific sphere of business requiring special approaches to legal, technical and marketing arrangements. This type of entrepreneurship is simultaneously connected with high risks and high income prospects.

 

If you plan to start a dating project, you can safely pass the whole complex of legal issues to the Lawrange’s team. We have experience in registering and supporting such a business, so we can provide you with valuable assistance.

 

 

 

 

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