9count, a mobile app conglomerate that concentrates on social networks, has acquired Lex, a social and dating application for the LGBTQ+ community
In 2017, Lex was established as an Instagram page, drawing inspiration from vintage lesbian personal ads. In 2019, Kell Rakowski, the page’s proprietor, transformed it into an application due to its immense popularity.
Jennifer Lewis, a seasoned entrepreneur, joined the app as a co-founder and CEO, and the appraised a $1.5 million initial round in less than a year.
“Mainstream social platforms do not adequately serve this audience,” Lewis stated in an interview with TechCrunch. Intentional online spaces for queer individuals are increasingly necessary, as LGBTQ+ individuals are twice as likely to experience online harassment, according to GLAAD.
“My passion at Lex is the development of a social platform that provides users with a secure environment in which they can fully express their identity and connect with others who share their interests.”
Lex’s users have high expectations for the application, as it caters to a historically disregarded and mistreated community by conventional social media platforms.
The app rebranded last year to prioritize general socialization over dating and encounters, which caused some users to express concern that Lex was becoming excessively sanitized.
At the time, a user informed TechCrunch, “There is no need to promote social use unless you are attempting to discuss other uses, such as sex.”
Users may be apprehensive about the potential for additional modifications to the application as Lex becomes a member of 9count. However, Lewis asserts that this action will facilitate the rapid deployment of new features and enhance Lex’s content moderation capabilities.
“We are able to release new features at a rate that is approximately three times higher than it was before the acquisition,” she stated.
Alex Hofmann, who previously served as CEO of Musical.ly, the app acquired by ByteDance and subsequently rebranded as TikTok, is the leader of 9count.
Wink, an additional dating and friendship application, is the conglomerate’s most prominent application; however, it also manages other applications, including Summer, a dating application.
Hofmann intends for 9count to emulate ByteDance’s approach, which involves owning numerous applications under a single corporate umbrella. Hofmann stated, “We engaged in our initial conversation and immediately recognized that we possess a mutual vision.”
The vision is essentially that we believe the future of social media is not in the construction of a single large product and the pursuit of billions of users through advertising. Rather, we believe that the future is in vertical social networks that empower communities.
Lex reports that the app has been downloaded more than one million times, which is lower than the downloads for more mainstream dating applications.
Nevertheless, Lex targets a more specialized audience, and users send millions of messages monthly. Hofmann and Lewis did not disclose the parameters of the agreement.