New Dating App Polar Baer

Hi, guys.

Happy Tuesday.

Today I have something super exciting here because I love new things.

And I'm here with the two guys that came up with this super cool idea of this new dating app.

I'm not sure if it's a dating app or a hookup app, but we're going to ask them all about it.

I'm here with Charles and Courtney from this new app called Polar Bear.

Hi, guys.

Hi, that's Miu.

Hello.

Say hi to my Instagram audience too.

You guys are alive on Instagram.

Thank you so much for doing this.

So, let's jump right in because you know we don't have a lot of time and I have 10 million questions for you guys.

What is Polar Bear?

How did you come up with this idea?

Yeah, I can take that.

So,

Polar Bear is a

we consider ourselves to be an icebreaker app.

So, basically, the way that it works works is

I'm having issues today, all kinds of issues.

Go ahead.

Technical

icebreaker app and the way that the app works is

you land on our maps page and you can see all the polar bear locations in your area and how many people are there.

Once you get to a location, once you decide where you want to go, you can check in and also see other users at that location.

And that's where we start to become like an icebreaker app.

And in terms of where the idea came from,

it's actually a funny story because the way that the app is, at least the way that we intend it to be used, is actually how we came up with the idea.

I was just celebrating a job I had gotten in New York City.

Courtney and I had been working with each other at the time.

So we went out as sort of like farewell drinks.

So we were at a happy hour

and we were drinking, eating, and there was a girl across the bar who caught my eye.

And we made eye contact a few times.

We smiled at each other a few times.

And I turned to Courtney and was like, wouldn't it be awesome if there was just like an app that like I could like let her know I'm interested and she could let me know like, yeah, you can come talk to me.

And that's sort of where the app stemmed from.

Went home a few days later.

Courtney called me and was like, dude, I can't stop thinking about that idea, and we should do it.

And now we're here.

It sounds amazing.

So, okay, how does this work?

You download the app.

Let's say, so the two people need to be in the same location.

So let's say I go to a new restaurant and oh, maybe I want to meet somebody.

So I open the app and then how does it work

yeah i mean so i'll jump into this yeah

you literally just described the perfect situation right you're in a restaurant you're ready to meet people and that's the first step right just being ready uh to meet someone yeah you go to this restaurant you open up the polar bear app and you're able to see everyone that is also a polar bear user at that location and you can only see it when you're there So then once you see all the people, you see somebody that you'd like to connect with, you just send them a nudge, right?

and then if they send you a nudge too and you've each matched you're able then to message each other and at that point we're encouraging everybody to meet right we want you to meet in real life we're trying to get people off of their phones um because everybody's just so used to the swipe culture yeah so we're giving everybody three messages and we want you to use those three messages to find each other in the space that you are and then start that conversation and break the ice like Charles says.

We're a dating app, but we really like to think of ourselves as the icebreaker app because we're just facilitating that initial spark, that initial conversation, and then we go from there.

Yeah, so now let's say I get a nudge and I'm not interested in the person.

Isn't it a little awkward since the two people are going to be like in the same place?

Like, if you can see me from across the room and I'm not interested, then what

you just don't answer the nudge?

Yeah, I mean, I think the best thing about our app is one of the facts that there's no rejection, right?

Like, you're never going to receive that you've gotten denied, or you're never going to receive that this person is not interested.

It's a double opt-in, so the only time where you'll see that you know you're actually going to match with someone and have an opportunity to speak is actually when you cheat both matches.

Okay, that makes sense.

Sounds like fun.

So, you guys told me you started in one city first, right?

So,

we're currently in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

So at the moment, that's the only place.

So guys, if anybody's in Gainesville and you want to try it out, how does it work?

They download it at the App Store?

Yeah, so we're currently available on iOS.

So

yeah,

if you're interested, it sounds like a great idea if you'd like to use it.

We're operating around

the UF campus right now.

Gainesville is in.

you know, it isn't a huge city,

but there is a a lot of nightlife acts here.

So you can

find us in Gainesville at some of the popular bars like Fats, JJ's Rowdy's,

Downtown Fats,

The Range, White Buffalo, so on and so forth.

How many people do you think you have it using right now?

So we're about we are about a week in.

That's it?

Oh, wow.

Oh, sorry, sorry.

I was going to jump in and say, oh, no, that's not right.

But it is spanking brand new.

Wow.

See?

Cat on the loose breaking news here.

Great.

So you're, okay, you're around for four weeks only.

All right.

So, and do you have like a good number of users already or not yet?

We think so.

We think we've seen

a lot of growth in a short period of time.

I think we're over, we're almost near 2,000 users.

Holy cow, seriously?

That's a pretty impressive number for something that just.

Yeah,

we're out here hustling.

No, listen, we're getting great feedback from

a lot of the college kids that go to UF

as well as some of the local people in Gatesville.

Do you know if somebody actually met

through your app and is in a relationship dating, or you guys don't have that data yet?

Yeah, I mean, we don't have that data yet, so we don't have any like those testimonials of like we found we've met on Bolivar and we have a happy relationship because, like you said, we've known him for weeks, even though if we didn't make that happen, right, there's something there.

But we have started to see people connect and match with each other.

And to us, like, that's the perfect thing.

I remember like we've been at every event, right?

We wanted to be there and see how our app works, how our app works in the real world.

And we were all both waiting for that first match, right?

Like, once it starts from there, it just goes up.

And on the same night that we saw our first match, we saw multiple matches.

We saw a lot of people going to be able to do that.

Really?

That is so sweet.

I like that idea because you guys are so right.

I mean, right now, I am personally not going out a lot to bars and restaurants because of COVID.

But yeah, I do remember situations if I'm out in a public event and you see a cute guy sitting out there, you're not gonna go there and say, hi, do you wanna meet me?

Because it's kind of intimidating.

And I guess for guys, it's the same thing.

And I think this is such a cool way to kind of like approach the person.

And if they don't answer back, it means you're not gonna waste your time or get blown off, right?

Yeah, it saves time.

I mean, one of the fun things about the events that we're doing, like we go to every place, we hand out masks.

We like to promote social distancing at all places that we're at.

Once you're following, you know, those social distance rules in the same places that you're at right you have that opportunity like you said like if I am interested to meet somebody great I can use it and then that same opportunity that I might not have had before the situation you just described like okay this is a little weird this is a little awkward I'm not gonna go over there but who knows that could have been you know the prince charming or that could have been the sweet and etc

like there's so many missed opportunities that are there

and all we're doing is just giving you that opportunity for it to be possible yeah it sounds amazing amazing.

And another question that I know it's not on the list of questions that people send me, but it's something I came up with right now.

Where do I open this app?

Anywhere I want?

Or, like, specifically bars or restaurants?

I don't know.

Let's say I'm at a sports event or at the park, for example, walking my dog.

Could it work anywhere?

Yeah, so the original vision

for the app was

regardless of where you are,

making sure that you have the opportunity to

meet people

in that particular location.

So while right now the immediate focus is nightlife, bars, lounges, restaurants, clubs,

we very much are excited and

looking forward to the day where we can make books, bookstores, coffee shops,

pull-up locations.

Because the thing about meeting people is sometimes it happens in the least obvious places.

Yeah.

We want to make sure that eventually we give everybody the opportunity to do that.

So yeah, right now the focus is nightlife,

specifically bars right now, but we definitely want to expand.

So, but I'm just trying to understand.

Let's say I download the app, okay, it's on my phone.

How do I know which places I should open it or not?

Is there a list there or something?

So what ends up happening, right, because we're small, right?

So what ends up happening is we tell everybody, once you open the app, it actually lets you know, follow us on Instagram because we're going to let you know the locations that you're.

We let everybody know.

We want to keep you informed and keep all that information out there.

Okay.

Once you open the app, you're going to see a cool little bear with this lovely.

Yeah, it is super cute.

You guys got to check out.

Yeah.

I saw your Instagram and it's the logo is super cute.

How did you guys come up with this name, Polar Bear?

Well, have you ever heard of the pick-up line?

Like, how much does a polar bear weigh?

No, never.

Enough to break the ice.

That's how that goes.

That's where the idea came from, right?

We were so stuck on like breaking the ice.

That is so cute and so cheesy.

Nobody ever gave me that pickup.

I know, right?

But every time we tell people that joke, they're like, ah, okay, I like that.

And we played on the word bear,

Yeah, that's how the theme came about.

That's amazing.

That was going to be my next question because I saw that we do pronounce it polar bear, but you, but the name, by the way, if you guys want to find them on Insta, it's polar B A E R, correct?

And now you just explained it, just wanted to make it fun and play with the word bear.

It's super super cute.

The logo is amazing.

Now, talk to us about being in other cities for the people that are not in Gainesville.

What are your plans?

Yeah.

So we had to start in one place.

We didn't want to start in multiple locations and then have a bad user experience when we opened the app and see, like, well, not only are there no, you know, barely any locations, but barely anybody's checked into those locations.

So right now the focus is Gainesville, but we're talking about branching out to, we're probably in the state to Florida for the next few months.

So we're thinking Tampa, South Florida next.

But yeah, we don't have a super defined roadmap just yet in terms of where we're going to be.

But I think the best way to sort of keep tabs on where polar bear is going to be available next is if you just follow us on our social.

But we're thinking definitely staying in Florida and just kind of expanding south.

Or the people let us know, right?

Like you're fans.

People start saying, hey, we want polar polar barrier we want polar barrier and they start giving us suggestions like that might sway our thinking of where we want to go well i am in miami so obviously i want you guys to be down here and i know a lot of my single girlfriends are gonna say the same i am in miami because miami is so hot and happening right now i think

Obviously, because of the weather, but all the bars and the clubs and the restaurants are open.

As much as people are wearing masks and everything, the nightlife is very alive here.

So, definitely would be my suggestion.

I would love to see you guys down here.

I think you're going to be very successful.

Thank you.

Now, I actually got a question from a couple of my friends.

Do you think this is, it's, they think it sounds more like just a hookup app than a relationship app because of the way you're meeting people?

What do you guys have to say?

Is this more like a hookup app, or do you want it to be a relationship relationship app or both?

Yeah,

we

I think the goal for us is to connect people

in real life because I think what a lot of the dating apps that are currently out there fail to deliver on is their promise to connect you with people.

They do a great job of getting matches, but oftentimes those matches don't beat to dates.

So

like at our core, what we want to do is just connect people in real life and obviously with COVID in a socially distant and responsible way.

In terms of what type of app we are,

I think

what we're trying to do is define what that culture of Polar Bear is.

And we don't necessarily want to be a cheap hookup app.

That's not what we're sort of,

you know, we didn't start this with that intention.

But honestly, like, we're well aware that wherever our users take us, take us.

I think the beauty of polar bear is that it can be a combination of the two.

Because like there's no, I'm not one of those shade and hookup apps.

They have their place and people use them, and that's totally fine.

You know, people go through phases in their lives where they don't want serious relationships.

So we want to make sure that we're an option for both people.

And I think what that really comes down to are the places in polar bear.

So because there's polar bear locations, you know certain bars and certain areas will have an older, more mature crowd or a younger, you know, you know, crowd that might not be looking for anything serious.

So that is the beauty of polar bear.

As we grow,

you know, you can sort of decide where you want to go in polar bear and based off of what your interests are.

I love that you said that.

It's such a nice answer because you're not promising anybody a relationship, but at least you are saying that we have the option to meet the person in person as opposed to these other apps that you swipe left, left, right, right, right, but it doesn't mean you're even going to connect.

So, I really love that idea, like basically not wasting anybody's time.

And then, if it, I think it's up to each person to figure out if the other person just wants a hookup, if they're from out of town, and if they want to go on a second date with you.

But I love that.

Amazing.

Yeah,

we sought out to solve that issue is to connect people in person.

Like, we can't make promises.

No dating app can make promises

about how authentic and real people are going to be in terms of being serious and settling down.

That is something that we're aware of.

And we're not going to make those promises, but we understand that there's a lot of frustration around not meeting.

So that's our goal.

And the biggest compliment I think that I received, we were talking with somebody who used our app before and she was said, she basically told us like, what you are doing is you are prioritizing the in-person connection.

And I feel like dating apps have lost lost that.

And that's like, that was like the biggest thing that I could have heard about our app.

Like, yeah, that's the point, right?

Like, we want to meet people, we want to connect with someone.

And she said, you're prioritizing that.

Like, everything else that comes from dating, sure, but it starts with us meeting and that initial connection.

I could not agree with you guys anymore.

I personally don't like these other dating apps myself because I don't like wasting my time.

And this is an awesome, amazing idea.

Congratulations, guys super cool and I really hope you come to Miami

down there so

that's on the top of the list I would love to try it out I would love to try it

where we should go yes absolutely Miami is is booming right now and and there are so many cool places and I'm sure people here would love it but anyways at the moment you guys are in Gainesville so if anybody from Gainesville is listening, it is free to download, right?

That's another cool thing, too.

Zero cost to use it at the moment.

Amazing.

And

it will be for

the foreseeable future.

We really want to prove that there's value in this app.

Fabulous.

possible.

Sounds great.

So, I'm gonna keep an eye on your Instagram, which is

Polar Bear.

It's underscore Polar Bear, right?

So, underscore Polar, and again, you know, that's I on the bay, B-A-E-R.

So, underscore polar bear.

Underscore Polar Bear, B-A-E-R.

We're gonna keep an eye out, and when they're in Miami, I'll definitely let you guys know.

Thank you so much for being with us.

This is Cat on the Loose on Tuesday.

Bye, guys.

It was amazing.