Item — HN Reader

I'd love to disrupt the dating app industry with a non-profit charitable model.

There are many ultra wealthy people that recognize declining birth rates and population will destroy economic growth, and that this isn't a problem that can be solved with more competition.

In software, when there's a technology that can benefit everyone in an industry but individual control creates perverse incentives, companies will band together to create standards organizations or non-profits to harness the tech in a way that benefits everyone. This already happens with the Linux Foundation and open-source more generally.

Dating apps should have the same model because the negative externality of a perpetually single society is going to kill the economy and possibly destroy the world.

3 comments

Taking a page from the Signal Foundation, it could have operating expenses of $50+ million per year. After bootstrapping for the first five years, donations might begin to recover 33% of the operating expenses per year. Even with extremely efficient software and lean operations, the expenses could probably be halved at best. Adjust for 5% inflation and 20% growth per year. I think this could basically be a national service as important as social security, but for the world.

> is going to kill the economy and possibly destroy the world.

It can't destroy the world if it kills the economy. One or the other.

>There are many ultra wealthy people that recognize declining birth rates and population will destroy economic growth

Hence the corporate and government push for open borders and mass migration despite citizen/voters opposition and the shift towards right wing populism.

No mainstream politicians are pushing for “open borders.” It is an extremist, unpopular idea.

>No mainstream politicians are pushing for “open borders.”

Ever hear of Angela Merkel and her Willkommenskultur which upset a lot of people and countries? And various EU politicians promoting the same policy.