Category: 2021

Meet Lolly, The New Gen-Z Dating App Combining TikTok And Tinder

Emma Jilavian
Forbes Mag
Jan 17 2021

Rachel SandlerForbes Staff

If there are two ways people are spending time in the pandemic, TikTok and online dating top the list. TikTok, the short-form social video app, was among the most downloaded apps of 2020. And dating apps have seen a spike in users as virtual interactions become the norm. So it feels almost inevitable that an entrepreneur would attempt to combine the two. 

Lolly, a new dating app that launched last month, is looking to do just that. A cross between TikTok and Tinder, Lolly asks users to upload short videos to their profiles for potential matches to scroll through in a vertical feed that feels strongly reminiscent of TikTok. The idea: Short videos allow users to show off their humor and creativity more than regular dating profiles. Because users see videos based on their interests, they’re more likely to make connections based on more than looks, founders Marc Baghadjian and Sacha Schermerhorn tell Forbes.

“We saw this disconnect where people couldn’t tell their story on Tinder. Gen-Z felt like we weren’t heard,” Baghadjian says. “The world has changed since 2012, and the platforms to support us have not. Pictures are so old—it’s an old, outdated mindset.”

Baghadjian, 21, and Schermerhorn, 24, are relatively inexperienced founders, but they’ve managed to land early investments from big-name backers. Former Ticketmaster CEO John Pleasants, who oversaw the ticketing firm when it was briefly the parent company of Match.com, is a preseed investor and active advisor. Former Apple CEO John Sculley is also an early shareholder. And on Friday, the company closed a $1.1 million seed round from the likes of SV Angel, So-Fi cofounder Daniel Macklin, Wired Ventures cofounder Jane Metcalfe, former SV Angel General Partner Kevin Carter, Correlation Ventures and Next Coast Ventures.

A $1.1 million war chest, of course, looks like peanuts compared to the lofty valuations and budgets of Tinder and Bumble. But Lolly’s investors are betting that TikTok dating will be a smash hit with Gen-Z, and they say they are particularly impressed with Baghadjian and Schermerhorn.

COURTESY OF LOLLY

“They think about this space deeply and use their own experiences and pain point as users themselves to scrutinize every element of the product experience,” Topher Conway, co-managing partner at SV Angel, said in a statement.

The biggest difference between Lolly and other dating apps: the absence of a swipe left function. Users can scroll past videos they don't like, or they can “clap” a video up to 50 times, which is the app’s equivalent of a “like.” Clapping a video feeds Lolly’s recommendation algorithm, all but guaranteeing that users will see videos from that person again. “On any other platform, you basically have one chance to say yes or no to another person before getting to know them,” Schermerhorn says.

Baghadjian started what would eventually become Lolly from his dorm room at Babson College in 2018. He was FaceTiming a girl he had a crush on when he was struck by an idea: Video is the future of dating. Soon after, Baghadjian hatched plans for a video dating app called Skippit.

Baghadjian credits his entrepreneurial mindset to a difficult upbringing in what he describes as a “tenement” in New Jersey. His family immigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon when he was 4; Baghadjian says his mother worked three jobs to support them. Baghadjian started his first business in high school after he patented a new design for airsoft ammunition cartridges. Before he graduated, he sold the company, and says that with the proceeds, he bought his mom a car.

Skippit never really took off. It couldn’t compete with apps like Tinder and Hinge, which started introducing their own video chatting features during the pandemic. Abandoning his original idea, Baghadjian began thinking about what dating would look like years from now. That’s how he landed on TikTok. 

“TikTok was just starting to get a lot of hype. And I saw that people on TikTok were dating. I said, ‘Wow, people are already using this platform to date.’ We saw that innovation alluding to the future,” Baghadjian says.

Baghadjian brought on Schermerhorn, who had just decided against pursuing his Ph.D. in neuroscience to become an entrepreneur. With a new direction in mind, the pair embarked on a mad dash to get in contact with past mentors and connections to ask for advice. Schermerhorn reached out to longtime family friend Jane Metcalfe, the cofounder of Wired Ventures, who eventually decided to invest, and former Sequoia chief marketing officer Blair Shane, who serves as an advisor.

“I think the North Star for Lolly is to foster relationships that wouldn’t otherwise be seen in the traditional dating space. That was also compelling to me, that it was based on content and community first, not just how you look or where you went to school,” Shane says.

Next Baghadjian went to John Pleasants, the former CEO of Ticketmaster, and former Apple CEO John Sculley. Baghadjian met Pleasants two years prior during a Golden State Warriors watch party at the longtime tech executive’s house. Baghadjian wasn’t technically invited, but he tagged along with a friend of a friend who was. Once inside, Baghadjian pitched Pleasants on Skippit, and they’ve kept in touch ever since.

It’s a similar story with Sculley. Baghadjian approached him at a Babson College recruitment event. “I was intrigued by Marc because he had the chutzpah to come up and introduce himself and tell me his story,” Sculley tells Forbes. While Sculley isn’t actively involved with Lolly beyond his small investment, he says he considers Baghadjian a friend. “He’s riding the wave of short-form video and focusing on Gen-Z. But timing is everything. And I think his timing is good here,” Sculley says.

Even with star backers, Baghadjian and Schermerhorn will face some of the same challenges dogging other social media companies. Lolly’s videos don’t have comments, which they hope will cut down on trolling and harassment. There’s also the risk that other dating apps or social networks, even TikTok, could eventually copy their idea. When it comes to content moderation, the duo says Lolly will have similar community guidelines to TikTok regarding nudity and hate speech. When videos are flagged, a human will review them, even if Baghadjian and Schermerhorn have to sit down and do it themselves. But they’re still figuring out how to scale those efforts.

“We’re hopeful that in the early days, this will be enough as a defense mechanism, but it’ll be a never-ending battle,” Schermerhorn says.

   

Newspaper: Armenia prosecutor general says there are all legal grounds to arrest PM Pashinyan immediately

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
Jan 19 2021
  

YEREVAN. – Past daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: According to the information of Past newspaper, the RA Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan has recently been frank in a narrow personal environment regarding the events unfolding around him.

In particular, according to our source, he noted that the reports of high treason [regarding PM Nikol Pashinyan] contain sufficient grounds to initiate a criminal case and prosecute Nikol Pashinyan. Especially invulnerable is the report submitted by legal scholars, which [the report] legally assumes the immediate arrest of Nikol Pashinyan.

Davtyan expressed concern that he could become a scapegoat in this process, but realizing all this, he cannot take any concrete steps for fear of posing new threats to Armenia's security.

Our source noted that Davtyan is not going to take the accountability for what Nikol Pashinyan did, and will take all the necessary actions at the right time.

Armenian Oriental studies expert: There is still a big threat of war in the region

Hovsep Chakrian
News.am, Armenia
Jan 19 2021
  

There is still a big threat of war in the region, and Armenia needs to get ready for that war. This is what Head of the Department of Iranian Studies at Yerevan State University Vardan Voskanyan told reporters today.

According to him, this is linked to the fact that the participants of the Nagorno-Karabakh war aren’t satisfied with the outcomes, and this first and foremost concerns Turkey, which failed to have its presence as a peacekeeper, and now it is trying to ensure its military presence in Ganja.

“Besides that, from the military perspective, Russia strengthened its positions in Azerbaijan (if we take into consideration the fact that Baku considers Nagorno-Karabakh its own). Amid this, Ankara and Baku are planning to hold military exercises in Kars, which is not far from the Russian 102nd Military Base in Armenia. Israel, which de facto participated in the war as well, didn’t get what it wanted,” the analyst stated.


Armenian opposition MP: Authorities afraid of investigation into period before and during war

Arpi Talalian
News.am, Armenia
Jan 19 2021
  

We have offered to set up a committee that will lead a probe into the circumstances behind the war, but yesterday Andranik Kocharyan said now is not the time to seek people who are guilty. This is what leader of the opposition Bright Armenia faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Edmon Marukyan told reporters today.

When told that Kocharyan has called on not seeking traitors, Marukyan noted the following: “The authorities were the ones that said there are traitors and now is the time for revenge. Our faction proposes to set up a committee, but they say we shouldn’t. Basically, the authorities are clearly showing that they are dodging investigation of the situation before and during the war. There is no consensus,” he said, adding that other opposition parties are in favor of exploring the circumstances of the war.

“The authorities are afraid of the investigation of the situation before or during the war. If the authorities aren’t guilty and haven’t made omissions that led Armenia to this situation, they could have agreed to investigate. We offered to investigate and give a conclusion to the National Assembly and all institutions so that criminal cases could be instituted,” Marukyan said.

Azerbaijanis murder 44-year-old Armenian captive and bury him in Karabakh’s Hadrut

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
Jan 19 2021
Azerbaijanis murder 44-year-old Armenian captive and bury him in Karabakh's Hadrut  

The 44-year-old man from Hadrut Province of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) who was found dead yesterday in the territories of Artsakh that are now under the control of Azerbaijan was the son of Sasha Karakhanyan, who is from Hadrut and had returned about a month ago after being in captivity.

Vrezh Karakhanyan, Sasha Karakhanyan’s grandson, told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the body of his uncle Arsen Karakhanyan was found by people who were conducting a search in Hadrut. Azerbaijanis had murdered Arsen and buried him in one of the villages of Hadrut.

Arsen’s family definitely found out that he was a captive on January 6 when the Azerbaijanis disseminated a video of him on social networks.

Resident of Hadrut Sasha Karakhanyan was captured from his home in October and returned to the homeland along with 44 persons about a month ago. The family didn’t have any news from Arsen and assumed that he was a captive, after which they saw the video on the Internet and became convinced that he had been captured.

Opposition MP on Armenia ex-education minister’s statements on loss of Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute materials

Alex Nanijanian
News.am, Armenia
Jan 19 2021
Opposition MP on Armenia ex-education minister's statements on loss of Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute materials  

The anti-national and shameful statements that the former education and science minister made in parliament and that still haven’t been refuted must not go unnoticed. This is what deputy of the opposition Bright Armenia faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Anna Kostanyan said during today’s parliamentary session.

According to her, last year former Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan reported the loss of certain materials from the stock of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. “Based on my statement, I am preparing to submit an application-proposal to Speaker of the National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan,” Kostanyan said, adding that, in response to her statement, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport sent a letter according to which the ministry has launched inventory of the museum stock in order to clarify the reasons behind and amount of damage incurred and that the process wasn’t complete as of May 2020.

CivilNet: Turkey and Azerbaijan to Conduct Joint Military Exercises in Kars

Emil Lazarian
CIVILNET.AM

03:16

From February 1 to February 12, the Turkish and Azerbaijani Armed Forces will be conducting joint military exercises in Turkey’s Kars Province. The exercises are to be the most comprehensive winter drill in recent history and will feature Turkish-made weapons and equipment.

According to the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Tofig Zulfugarov, the winter military exercises in Kars are meant to prepare the armies to conduct operations in severe weather conditions. Tank divisions, heavy artillery operators, sniper teams, special forces personnel, helicopters, and commandos will all be part of the training.

Turkey and Azerbaijan conduct joint military exercises regularly. The last such exercise was held in the summer of 2020, primarily in Baku and Nakhichevan, two weeks after Azerbaijan Armed Forces unsuccessfully attacked Armenia’s Tavush Province. 

After the completion of that joint military exercise, Turkey left military personnel as well as equipment, including fighter jets, in Azerbaijan, which was used during the eventual full-scale war on Karabakh launched on September 27, 2020.

On November 9, a trilateral ceasefire statement was signed between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, which effectively ended the Nagorno Karabakh War 44 days after it began. The agreement granted large amounts of territory inside and around Karabakh to Azerbaijan.

CivilNet: Russian TV Portrays Karabakh Move as Humanitarian, Political Success

Emil Karabekian
CIVILNET.AM

06:15

By Emil Sanamyan

Russia’s Channel 1 dedicated roughly eight minutes of its hour-long Sunday news show to Karabakh, which included interviews with local residents, Russian personnel in Karabakh and selective citations of Western media commentary.

“Big thank you to your president Putin, he saved us, and stopped the war,” says Inessa Safaryan, living in temporary housing for internally displaced in Stepanakert. “If it wasn’t for Russia, for Russian soldiers, none of us would be here.”

The report continues by highlighting the work of Russian de-miners clearing unexploded ordinance and military medics providing health services to locals. “People here haven’t seen doctors of this qualification for a long time,” says the narrator.

The report continues with description of the Russian peacekeeping deployment and mission to safeguard the cease-fire along the line of contact and the link between Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia.

“Had Russian peacekeepers come earlier, this war would not have happened,” says an elderly man in Stepanakert’s main square. The narrator adds: “Putin’s role in securing the cease-fire saved thousands, if not tens of thousands of lives.”

“Western media, which is typically not very sympathetic to Russia had to recognize our country’s accomplishments,” the narrator continues, presenting a quote from an article in the Wall Street Journal calling Russian peacekeeping in Karabakh, a “geopolitical triumph.”

“Russia used this opportunity to win internationally and to increase its regional influence,” reports an Eastern European publication. “The West is losing its regional influence,” adds a German newspaper.

“It is hard to remember another conflict that would stop so quickly after introduction of peacekeepers,” the narrator continues. “This became possible with Putin’s mediation.” The report concludes with Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan making positive comments about the cease-fire and its implementation at their January 11 meeting in Moscow.

This piece was originally published in Focus on Karabkah.

Emil Sanamyan is a South Caucasus specialist based in Washington D.C.. He is the editor of the University of Southern California Focus on Karabakh platform. 

You are getting worse’, opposition MP tells Armenian authorities

Ani Basmajian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 18 2021

Back on November 14, the opposition Bright Armenia Party presented a road map on how to get Armenia out of the crisis, but all problems outlined by the opposition party have remained unresolved, Edmon Marukyan, the head of the Bright Armenia parliamentary faction, said at the National Assembly on Monday.

The lawmaker reiterated the call for the country’s “defeated leader” to step down, adding Nikol Pashinyan cannot achieve pro-Armenian decisions during negotiations.

"Our claim was dismissed and condemned by the authorities, but on January 11 our assertion turned into a reality. The issues of internal solidarity, tolerance, social and economic problems … humanitarian crisis are not resolved. The political crisis also persists in the country," the MP said.

According to Marukyan, the authorities do not want to use any opportunity to show the world that they do not agree with what is happening today, that “in the 21st century our brothers and sisters are being kept in Azerbaijani prisons. "Accepting and discussing our agenda was a chance for you to show that you are against the current situation,” he stated.

Marukyan says now the parliament has to discuss the points of the road map proposed by them, even if MPs vote down the bill in the end.

"You continue to silence the opposition, relieving an opposition MP of the post of a committee chairman. You are getting worse, instead of learning lessons and getting better. Let's discuss the steps to take the country out of the crisis," Marukyan noted.