In the world of entrepreneurship, a familiar way that product developers start up their company is by answering the simple question “What problem in society can I fix?”. For Michael Belkin, that problem was a lack of a social network for the LGBT community, and thus Distinc.tt was born.

According to Michael, interactions in the LGBT community was a problem. The LGBT apps previously created were thought of as a “hook-up” and he wanted to approach social network at a completely different angle. Distinc.tt is not a hook-up app, instead it is a way for the LGBT community to connect and interact with other people. There is a social issue in the LGBT community. It is hard to find other people who are LGBT and this app makes it easier. His idea goal was to make it easier to find others. He provided the following scenario to show how his app would work:

“A gay man walks into a bar and checks based on his location which other LGBT members are in the area based on his app. Based on the profile information, he can approach the person and connect with them”.

However, the interesting part of dinner with Michael Belkin was that, his whole company changed based on a few articles which twisted his words during his app test. When the app was first launched to Apple, the age was restricted to 18 and over. He wanted to make sure that the consumer would not envision their product as a inappropriate application and wanted to steer away as far from the basic “tinder, hookup” application. So he proposed to lower the age down to twelve and stated that just because the description had LGBT in it, does not make it unsuitable for teenagers.

This app was the first LGBT app to be approved for all ages, and thus, headlines spun and called this company, “the LGBT app for 12 year olds”. There are countless articles criticizing Apple for allowing this app to be for children. Although this fame is not what they wanted, it spun their controversial app in the right direction.

Their main consumers are now teenagers who help each other come out in the LGBT community. It is hard for teenagers to decide when and how to come out to their friends and family, especially in a society that can be unsupportive. The company exploded and built world class technology that connected the gay community. It even has gained the support and raised over one million dollars from Peter Thiel, and other investors. Not only has this app solved a social problem, but it has also connected teenagers and help them know that they are all alone.