A Tyrone entrepreneur is developing a new AI-powered dating app designed to challenge endless swiping and “surface-level matching” by helping people discover romantic compatibility before the first date.
Lee Mullen, 29, is the founder of TUGG, a new dating platform currently in development which aims to help users better understand themselves, communicate more openly about what they want and connect with people who are genuinely compatible.
The idea came from Lee’s own experience of being single and becoming increasingly frustrated with the familiar formula offered by many existing dating apps.
He said: “Like a lot of people, I found myself single and endlessly swiping through the existing dating apps. It became pretty obvious to me that so many of them followed the same formula and didn’t really address what many people were actually looking for.
“You swipe, you match, you start talking, but very often nobody is really clear about what they want or whether they are genuinely compatible beyond what they see in a couple of photos.
“That made me think there had to be a better way of doing it.”
Lee has an established background in business and entrepreneurship and has always had a strong interest in psychology, human behaviour and understanding what drives people and their decisions. Building something in the technology space had long been an ambition, but he said he was determined that any app he developed should solve a genuine problem rather than simply adding another product to an already crowded market.
Lee continued: “I’ve always been interested in how businesses can be built and scaled, but I’m equally fascinated by psychology, human behaviour and why people make the choices they do. TUGG really came from bringing those two interests together.
“I didn’t want to build another app for the sake of it. I wanted to create something that addressed a real frustration and offered something genuinely different.”
TUGG is being developed around an AI-powered, compatibility-led approach to dating, looking beyond photographs and swiping to consider factors including dating goals, relationship intentions, communication styles, emotional connection, attraction, values and intimacy preferences.
While TUGG is being developed in Northern Ireland, Lee’s long-term ambition is to build the app into an internationally recognised dating platform with the potential to scale well beyond the home market. One area Lee believes has been overlooked by much of the mainstream dating app market is romantic compatibility.
He said: “There has been a huge shift in the way people talk about intimacy, relationships and preferences. Things that were once considered taboo are now discussed far more openly.
“It made me think there was room for something different. Instead of treating intimacy as an afterthought, why not build an app that acknowledges it from the start in a respectful, mature way?”
The wider ambition is for TUGG to use AI to help people understand their own dating and communication styles, while making matching more meaningful than traditional swipe-based apps.
Its current pre-launch compatibility assessment takes around five minutes and gives users a personalised compatibility archetype based on how they connect, communicate and form relationships.
Lee said: “Other apps are largely built around swiping. With TUGG, I want the focus to be on understanding how two people genuinely fit together.
“It’s not about taking the human side out of dating. It’s about using technology to help people make better human connections.”
TUGG is currently in its prototype and discovery stage, with Lee now developing the platform, building the brand and opening conversations with potential strategic partners, collaborators and investors who can support its longer-term growth.
He is also working with specialists across branding, design and marketing as TUGG moves towards beta testing and launch.
Lee added: “The ambition is to build something with real scale and create a platform that can become the go-to place for people who value openness, honesty and compatibility from the outset.
“At this stage, it is about building the right foundations around TUGG and speaking to people who understand the potential of what we are creating.
“I want to work with partners, collaborators and investors who can see that there is room in the dating market for something genuinely different, and who want to be part of that journey as the platform develops.”
Although the full app is still in development, an early waitlist is already live for people who want to discover more about the concept and take the initial compatibility assessment.
Lee said: “If you’re tired of endless swiping and curious about what genuine compatibility might look like before the first date, I’d encourage you to sign up and have a look at what we’re building.”
People can complete the TUGG compatibility assessment now and join the early waitlist at
www.jointugg.com
