In one year of activity, the Toulouse application which wants to boost the social life of its members already has 30,000 users and is aiming for the five million mark.
The friendly dating app blows out its first candle! Frimake, invented and developed in Toulouse by Alae Elhayyate has already won over 30,000 users, including 8,000 in Toulouse, and wants to make 2021 the year of acceleration. Far from Tinder type dating applications, Frimake (contraction of friends maker) has succeeded in finding its place by allowing its members to meet around a game of football, bowling or board games, a jogging course, of a tapas evening… More than 6,000 activities have already been organized by the members. “Our society has become very individualistic and makes new friendships difficult. I have invented a digital tool to fight against loneliness,” says the young start-uper from Toulouse.
The basic application is free (€ 4.99 per month with comfort options) and allows you to create a profile with your passions and tastes and launch an event that other Frimakers can join. The community is very involved since an evening at the White Sail in Toulouse, just before the first confinement, had gathered 269 people.
Fundraising of 3 M €
Faced with success, the ten-person start-up expanded to three new French-speaking countries last September with Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg. “Now is the time to take our place in the market. We are targeting five million users within four to five years, ambitions Alae Elhayyate. To become a mass medium, we need to significantly increase our notoriety and visibility” . A ramp-up that must be financed by raising funds of € 3 million to be completed by the first half of 2021 from venture capital funds and business angels. Frimake expects a potential turnover of € 30 million in the medium term, “an achievable goal if we set up powerful communication campaigns” assures the entrepreneur. The second objective will be to open up Spain and the United Kingdom and “why not Quebec”. A subscription of 50 € per month will also be launched for professionals (cafes, restaurants, places of entertainment…) because the application can play the role of business broker in the organization of Frimakers evenings. The application has already received support from Stade Toulousain winger Yohan Huget and Toulouse city hall.
University partner
In order to fight against the social isolation of students, which has been further reinforced with confinements, the Toulouse III Paul Sabatier University has decided to forge a partnership with Frimake by promoting the application on its campus. Frimake could for example be the subject of a communication in a welcome pack at each start of the school year.
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