OUT App Aims to Create Hub for LGBTQ Friendships, Queer Events, and More

Anna Harissis and Jen Farmer faced the same dilemma many others shared as the pandemic pressed on: Following months of isolation, especially as two people fresh to Denver, they were looking for a way to safely build their group of friends with other queer folks. Ironically, the two friends and business partners initially met on a dating app (though neither were necessarily looking to date), further highlighting the lack of an app explicitly for queer friendships.

Thus, the Out App was born.

The idea started as a series of hypothetical conversations. Farmer has a history working in growth marketing, while Harissis has a background in mental health advocacy, queer community building, and social work, and the pair finally decided, as innovative thinkers with entrepreneurial spirits, they could create something special. 

Farmer points out that, as of right now, queer folks looking to expand their community are often limited to two options that regularly end up with more wasted time than new friends.

“It’d be like, out yourself everywhere you go, basically sit alone at a bar and hope someone talks to you, or basically go on dating apps,” Farmer says. “It’s weird to be on a dating app for friends only and then there’s all these—you hang out with someone, and they actually want to hook up and it’s like, ‘Well, I was actually looking for friends.’”

Bumble is one app that started as a dating app before introducing a “BFF” component focused on friendship, which Harissis says, in her experience, can be hard to disconnect from.

“I sometimes find myself swiping based on how I would (on the Bumble dating app), and I’m like, ‘Oh God,’ because it still has the dating app association. So, we wanted something that was totally removed—friendship focus—there’s no question what you’re coming to that for.”

Farmer agrees, “I felt like, whether it’s true or not, they all kind of came across as dating apps first that are shifting toward friendship, and I’m seeing that across the board. Everyone, even the major brands, are trying to shift into friendship making, but they already have that brand, and I think it’s sometimes awkward.”

The app will have a friend-finding feature that they say is most similar to Hinge, with a profile in which users can fill out information about themselves and someone else can essentially hit yes or no, though the founders want to move away from the swiping culture of other apps in favor of a more search-based system. 

Essentially, there will be a matchmaking system running in the background that can help users find other people based on compatible interests.

In addition, they want the app to be a resource where people can find community events, and they plan to include a resource section, with opportunities for users to vouch for businesses and areas that are queer-friendly around the country and one day, the world. 

“This is our end goal, to have it be a massive resource for the queer community,” Harissis says, “not only a place to find friends, to create and find events and groups, but also to create a safe place and a place to find safe spaces for our community.”

Another issue with the current market is that many apps are not affirming for all people in the community, like nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people; a handful allow people to self-identify their gender, including nonbinary options, before asking them to select who to be shown to (people looking for women or men), effectively placing them back into a binary they aren’t a part of.

Harissis and Farmer assert that they want the Out App to be for everyone, and as they continue forward in the development stage, they want to have different voices in the room to ensure they are including everyone in the LGBTQ community.

“That’s that last thing we want, is to put this out there and have there be anything that would upset people,” Harissis says. 

“I definitely think of this as like an app like created for and by the community, and that people who want to be a part of it–I’m sure we can find places for them,” Farmer adds.

The Out App is currently moving forward following a successful soft launch and news that it has received funding to begin the next stage of development. To start, the pair are looking solely at the United States, though they are dreaming big, already receiving interest from countries around the world.

From here, the co-founders will move forward with a UX developer to build the interface and hope the app will be ready to launch by Pride 2022. 

“The soft launch and people’s excitement is actually what is making this app possible, because that is what spawned the discussions with possible investors suddenly wanting to give us that money that we need to get going, take all those features, and actually start building the app,” Farmer says. ”That was a huge, huge milestone that was, frankly, due to the community and their response.”

Harissis echoes, “When our community backs something, I feel like …” she pauses to add emphasis with her hands and a beaming facial expression, to suggest the power of the LGBTQ community’s support. “But if they don’t? All this momentum is for nothing, so we’ve got to do it right. We are very aware of that.”

Keep up with the Out App and launch updates on their official website, outqueerapp.com, and on Instagram @out.theapp. 

Images courtesy of Out App