With its signature pink hearts, chocolate-covered strawberries, and red boxes of chocolate, Valentine’s Day is designed to appeal to our willingness to spend a penny or two on anything love-related. Whether you’ll be spending your coins on a gift for your sweetheart, a friend, or whether you’ll be treating no one but yourself this February, consider upping your game with these five equally sweet as spicy VC-backed startups.
This list is as extraordinary as the times we’re in, and so we’d like to invite you to change things up a bit and go for the more techy vibe for your V-day gifts this year. Check out the cupid-approved startups below!
Blueheart – Digital sex therapy
Sex! Don’t tell us you didn’t see this one coming. Communication is key to relationship happiness, but talking about sex can be challenging. Today can be the day this changes. Test your psychosexual education, reduce sexual anxiety with touch exercises, and improve your sexual communication. Blueheart, a sex therapy app, takes the stress out of sex and does so by using a technique called Sensate Focus. This is a combination of exposure therapy and mindfulness – two techniques known for tackling many different problems. The team surrounding CEO Sach Raoul has turned the real sex therapist experience into a step-by-step program anyone can do wherever it makes them feel comfortable. Take your Blueheart assessment here; it’ll take less than five minutes.
Kalda – LGBTQIA+ community mental wellbeing app
Love is love. No matter the sexuality. The LGBTQIA+ mental wellbeing community Kalda uses the latest evidence-based techniques to improve your mental health and was developed with LGBTQIA+ therapists. The platform was built to empower you through mindfulness techniques and cognitive behavioral therapy. Most of all, Kalda provides you with a space to share and give support within the LGBTQIA+ community. The aspiring love stories we are shown especially around Valentine’s Day used to be almost solely between men and women. This has fortunately changed for the better. Kalda is part of exactly that monumental shift and is proud to be contributing to one day live in a fully inclusive world.
Urban Swan – Unique date experiences for the modern relationship
Dates done differently – The Australian startup Urban Swan is here to reimagine dating experiences for the modern relationship. No, this is not a dating website. Yes, Urban Swan works with Sydney's hottest vendors to provide date-hungry individuals with unforgettable date experiences. Urban Swan lets you trade the quadrillionth Netflix & Chill sesh on the couch since the beginning of your relationship for an affordable evening at the Openair Cinema by the Sea. No two relationships are the same, so no two dates should be either. If you happen to be located in the Sydney area, you’ll from now on be able to experience the kinds of dates that energize relationships and mediate meaningful connections. Pssst… Urban Swan also makes for a pretty good Valentine’s Day gift. Browse from their curated collection of Valentine's Day experiences to book a gift that lasts forever here.
WIRL – Mental wellbeing app fuelled by food
The go-to gift for Valentine’s day are – who would’ve thought – flowers. More often than not you see the gift bearer with the bouquet in one hand and – correct, you guessed it – heart-shaped chocolates in the other. A big chunk of some people’s waking brain space is consumed by food – prepping, shopping, cooking, eating and then worrying about its impact on our bodies. So while traditional diets focus on weight loss and perpetuate this mental health problem, WIRL is creating a new consumer category of 'nutritional psychiatry'. WIRL stands for Wellness In Real Life and is the world’s first mental wellbeing behavior change app fuelled by food. Think of Chocolate Mindful Eating Meditation or sessions on Why Setting the Mood at Dinner Time Matters. ‘What’ we eat is as important as ‘how’ we eat. And today is a pretty good day to stop feeling guilty about eating and to start a journey where we stop blaming our cravings on a lack of self-control.
Atium – Building human connections in remote teams
The Amsterdam-based startup Atium offers a library of original games and activities designed for remote teams to build connections, topped by integrations making it effortless to choose, schedule and join activities. Wait a second, we can hear the question marks popping up in your head: But what does this have to do with Valentine’s Day? Well, not all connections you make today have to be romantic, do they? The best part is you can mingle regardless of being single. Play fun virtual activities with your team and with it build an inclusive remote culture. Having friends at work is an indicator of higher levels of retention and job satisfaction. So we suggest you let Atium bring the love to your workplace. Find the library of games you can play online with your colleagues here or directly book a demo today. Disclaimer: we can’t guarantee you won’t fall in love… with Atium.
Pssst… Did you know? All of the startups mentioned above are Antler portfolio companies that were built in different cohorts in different locations. We invest from the pre-seed stage and continue to be a long-term partner as your company grows; in other words: Antler has recently expanded its investment activity to invest up to Series C.
