David Golightly, Siren CTO, Susie Lee, founder and CEO; and  Katrina Hess, COO.
David Golightly, Siren CTO, Susie Lee, founder and CEO; and Katrina Hess, COO. Joe Freeman

In my experience, the world of online dating is a weird place. As a woman on a dating app, at the best of times, scrolling through long-winded OkCupid user profiles or swiping right on Tinder users' faces felt like a bizarre form of human window-shopping. There was little payoff, to boot.

Siren, a dating app in which users answer daily questions to spark conversations, has been trying to change that game. Artist and Stranger Genius Award recipient Susie Lee founded the Seattle-based company in 2014, which recently brought in $500,000 in seed funding. The money will go toward further developing the company's platform, GeekWire reports.

The lead investor was [investment platform] Blackrun’s new women-focused investment arm, Half the World Holdings.

Half the World Holdings will invest $225,000 in the dating app, said Siren co-founder and CEO Susie Lee in an e-mail about the funding. The investment was announced as part of Half the World Holdings’ debut on March 8. Four to five other angel investors are joining in the round, for a total of $500,000.

“Siren strongly resonated with the directors of the fund [Half the World Holdings], who saw the investment opportunities in businesses focused on women at the critical stages of their lives. My first conversation with [Blackrun director] Debra Langley, a total bad-ass, felt like I was talking to a long-time friend; she immediate recognized the pain points but also the immense business opportunity in a relationship platform that wasn’t just another twist on the basic dating swipes.”

This most recent round of funding builds upon a previous $410,000 round of convertible notes, Lee said.

But here's why its especially exciting that Siren is picking up steam:

The app also prioritizes women’s safety, Lee says, by letting women make the first move. If they see a man whose answers they like, women can make a connection, and things go from there. Women can also send out a “Siren Call” on the app, which puts out notifications to a select group of men who are willing to meet up at that particular moment. Lee says that by making the app explicitly focused on women’s safety, women are more likely to stick around as users, knowing that their information is protected.

BCyas.gif

Women already have to deal with enough bullshit when it comes to online dating. Safety shouldn't have to be part of that.

Update, 1:53 p.m.: A previous version of this article stated that Siren requires women to make the first move, which is incorrect. (Clearly, some things have changed since I tried out the app shortly after its launch!) From a Siren rep who got in touch in the comments:

Our earliest version included some asymmetrical aspects that made the app work differently for men and women, but this has not been part of the design for quite some time. We eliminated the gendered asymmetrical model because we wanted the app to be more queer-friendly and inclusive of all genders and identities. ...

There are still safeguards in place to make sure our members are free from harassment, such as requiring a mutually established connection to chat and an option to blur a photo until a connection is made, but men, women and gender nonbinary people are treated identically within the app and are all able to send connection requests to whomever they please

This post has been updated.