As its name suggest, Wyldfire owes more than a little of its
inspiration to Tinder, which Freeman and White first experienced a year
ago when, both fresh out of long-term relationships, they signed up to
restart their dating lives. Comparing notes, they each observed that
most of the women they encountered there seemed excessively wary.
“We’d get in these chats with them and it would just end very
quickly,” says Freeman. “We hadn’t even had the chance to say anything
creepy or insane to get them to abandon us.”
Intrigued, they did some research and learned that most dating apps
and sites have more male users than female ones. They then surveyed
female friends about their experiences with online dating, who told them
the biggest drawback was the indiscriminate and explicit come-ons they
received from guys. “That got the wheels turning in our heads,” says
Freeman.
The idea that emerged: an app-based service that men could only join if
invited by a woman member. Essentially, every guy on it comes pre-vetted
with a “Not a Total Creep” stamp of approval from an actual woman.
There are a few other peculiarities — for instance, chats are limited to
20 messages to avoid wasting either party’s time — but on the whole
it’s basically a lot like Tinder, as its cofounders freely admit.
“Without Tinder, we wouldn’t exist,” says Freeman. “We’ve taken their
idea and spun off something we think is super highly valuable off the
core concept.”