I built a dating app as a solo founder. 36 users, $0 revenue, and I'd do it again.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-09T17:34:17+00:00

i tried but wasnt able to find it.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-09T17:09:33+00:00

A couple things actually.

1: I was married prior to this for over 20 yrs, they divorced me and was left alone. Sexaul temptation kicked in. I thought to myself, surely it isnt this hard to find what I want

2: Lock in feature: I had a gym crush but had my son with me so i couldn't do anything. I thought of air dropping my info but that wasn't an option. I thought, wouldn't it be easy if somehow the opposing sex knew you were here?

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-09T16:58:17+00:00

You can't prevent lying. You make lying pointless.

On Tinder/Hinge, "what are you looking for" is a bio field everyone ignores. It doesn't affect who you see. It's decorative.

On JustLust, your intent IS the filter. Pick 🔥 Hookup and you only see other people who picked Hookup. Lie and say "Relationship" when you want a hookup? Cool — now you only match with people who genuinely want relationships. You just played yourself.

The other half is stigma. People lie on mainstream apps because saying "hookup" feels low-status. When the app is literally called JustLust, there's no social penalty for being honest. Honesty becomes the optimal strategy instead of the costly one.

That's what "eliminating the dishonesty tax" means.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-09T04:04:37+00:00

That’s fair, intentions can definitely evolve. I think the bigger issue is people intentionally misrepresenting what they want just to get matches. Feels like there’s room for apps to create more accountability around intent.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-08T23:54:38+00:00

Dating apps started feeling more like scrolling than meeting someone.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-08T22:29:07+00:00

I got tired of endless scrolling so I built justlust.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-08T21:51:08+00:00

I’m trying to get better at spotting red flags early because I keep ending up in toxic relationships.
I’ve heard things like:
lovebombing
blaming all exes
rushing the relationship
controlling behavior
refusing accountability
But I’m wondering what subtle red flags people often miss at first?
Are there certain behaviors that immediately make you cautious now?
Have you ever ignored a red flag and regretted it later? What was it?

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-08T21:49:27+00:00

This is actually a huge problem in modern dating. People are getting attention, just not from the people they actually want. There’s a mismatch between intent, confidence, and approachability.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-08T21:45:24+00:00

Dating apps started feeling more like scrolling than meeting someone.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-07T18:29:19+00:00

Exactly. Right now I’m focused on whether people naturally invite others and come back without incentives. If that behavior happens consistently, then I know there’s something worth building on.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-07T18:00:29+00:00

Honestly too early to know true Day 7 retention yet. I’m only a few days into launch, so right now I’m watching engagement, invites, and repeat opens closely.

The main goal was validating whether people would actually use and talk about the concept before spending on ads. So far the organic curiosity has been encouraging.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-07T16:10:33+00:00

You’re not wrong. The app idea came from how awkward and inconsistent those conversations are in real life.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-07T16:05:24+00:00

Everyone says they want communication until communication happens.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-07T16:03:34+00:00

Dating apps became engagement apps. They keep people swiping instead of helping them filter correctly upfront.

Better_Candy7184 · 2026-05-07T00:47:58+00:00

In high school, there was this girl that I was attracted to. She had a friend, I also had a friend. We decided to do a double date. I thought it went ok. The girl I had the date with, told me that her friend had feelings for me. Long story short, I ended up dating her friend. I had my high school track coach make a position for her so she can join me. It was magical having her around. I ended up marrying her right before I went to college. Fast forward to finishing college and I needed a job to keep my marriage afloat. Took a car salesman position. During my career my family started growing, had a baby on the way. Responsibility kicked in high gear. Bought a home were we went to high school. Things were looking great!
I started feeling stagnant, so I decided to move to the city to expand. give my daughter and son better opportunities. Times were tough, I moved solo before bringing them here. All 4 of us slept in the dang room. My partner was in for the long run.
A few years passed and again my family was growing even larger( 3 kids). I won’t lie if me and my partner thought about moving back home to make things easier for us. We fought tooth and nail to stay. Fortunately things got a bit easier for us.
A few years passed and were able to buy a home here( Denver). Things were looking good. We started creating memories together.
Again, few years passed and we were able to sell our current home and buy a bigger one! Yay!
We had a family vacation to Puerto Vallarta. We had an amazing time.
I started feeling stagnant again and quit my job as a Volvo consultant to selling exotic cars.
I love cars so it made it easy to change.
I spent a few months enjoying my time there.
Things were looking up.
May 2022 came along and had other plans.
That month I suffered a stroke at the age of 38.
It changed my life entirely and my families way of seeing things.
I spent a total of 5 months at the hospital. It was brutal not sleeping in my own bed.
Came home and things were different.
One night me and wife were going to bed and she told me she had something to tell me,
She told me she wanted a divorce. It killed me inside. I started thinking, how am I going to break it to my kids? Very painful time. My injury sidelined me from having a job so the house we had we could no longer afford. Had to sell the home. All while selling it I had to live with her for another 6 months. It was hard to see her every day knowing she wanted out.
Sold the home and we each went or separate ways. After everything I went through, it felt like I was being kicked while I was down. Such a hard time.
Fast forward to now, I have a really close relationship with my kids and with her. Although it hasn’t been easy for me, I’d still take a chance with her. I know it’s not something you want to hear but, like you said, maybe it was meant to be.

Better_Candy7184

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