Bootstrapped and Profitable: Taimi and Hily Set Sights on IPO Readiness
Taimi and Hily, two mobile dating apps, are preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) after achieving profitability through bootstrapping. Founded by Jake Vygnan and his Kyiv co-founders, the apps cater to different markets, with Hily targeting mainstream dating and Taimi focusing on the LGBTQ+ community.
The mobile dating app market is about to get a new player in the form of Taimi and Hily, two bootstrapped and profitable companies that are now setting their sights on an initial public offering (IPO).
Taimi and Hily were founded by Jake Vygnan and his Kyiv co-founders in 2017. While Hily targets the mainstream dating market, Taimi is a fully inclusive LGBTQ+ dating app designed for people across the spectrum of sexual orientations, gender identities, and relationship preferences.
The journey to profitability was not without its challenges. Initially, the company aimed to create a social network for the LGBTQ+ community, but this idea failed due to a lack of knowledge on how to execute it. The company then decided to go back to its origins and focus on creating a dating app for the LGBTQ+ community.
## Focusing on the LGBTQ+ Community
Taimi serves a huge range of gender identities and sexual orientations, making it a complex platform to manage. Vygnan admits that this makes things much more complicated compared to Hily, which is predominantly focused on heterosexual dating.
With Hily, the company's North Star metric is increasing the proportion of women in the user base. While many dating apps have a ratio of 20% women to 80% men, Hily is currently at 20-23% women, which is something the company is working on.
Taimi, on the other hand, has a much more diverse user base, with many different cohorts of people looking for different people. The platform's largest audience is lesbian users, and it's also very strong among transgender users.
## Balancing Safety with Privacy
Safety, moderation, and fraud detection are major priorities for Taimi. However, Vygnan emphasizes the importance of balancing these concerns with user privacy. The company uses automated processes to detect and prevent harassment and explicit imagery, while also providing users with tools to protect their privacy.
## Diversifying and Supporting Ukraine
In 2024, Taimi launched appflame, an initiative focused on developing new products and nurturing the next generation of founders. The company currently has four products, including three apps and one content-based business.
Beyond its business initiatives, Taimi is also committed to supporting Ukraine. The company's appflame Foundation has partnered with various initiatives to support prosthetics and military leadership education in Ukraine.
## Gen Z and Dating Apps
Despite the sentiment that Gen Z is abandoning dating apps, Vygnan believes that online dating is here to stay. He points out that dating apps provide access to a wider range of people and make rejection easier to handle.
Taimi also sits on a significant body of data about LGBTQI+ dating, which the company uses for research and analysis. The company's research points to why LGBTQI+-specific dating platforms can serve a function beyond matching.
| App | Main Focus | User Base | | --- | --- | --- | | Hily | Mainstream Dating | Heterosexual | | Taimi | LGBTQ+ Dating | Diverse LGBTQ+ Community |
| Metric | Hily | Taimi | | --- | --- | --- | | Women in User Base | 20-23% | N/A | | LGBTQ+ Users | N/A | Strong among lesbian and transgender users |
| Survey | Participants | Findings | | --- | --- | --- | | 2026 Survey | 1,200 LGBTQ+ Adults | 57% said dating apps reduced the burden of repeatedly coming out | | 2025 Survey | 2,503 US LGBTQ+ Users | 85% had recently been ghosted, with 74% experiencing it more than once |
