This single mum created a dating app that goes beyond match-ups by learning coding from scratch
CNA Women turns the spotlight on women who have faced challenging times and overcome them. In this first story in our True Grit series, Singaporean Minna Lim tells how she created the Lovpipo dating app after her divorce to provide for her children.
When Minna Lim was 37, she found herself in an impossible situation: She was going through a divorce with three children in tow, had insufficient funds to support her family’s expenses and was at risk of losing the roof over her head.
“I was in a sales job and had limited savings. With no further household help, I was unable to afford an HDB flat after my divorce was finalised,” Lim said.
She found relief in playing games on her phone and came up with an idea for building an app. “Everyone is playing with an app these days – whether you’re communicating on WhatsApp or Telegram or gaming. It got me interested in building one too,” she added.
While trying out online dating apps after her divorce, she realised how lacking they were – dating apps were a dead end after people paired off. So she decided to create an app that went beyond match-ups – her Lovpipo is more of an online relationship management app.
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BUILDING A DATING APP WITH HER OWN HANDS – LITERALLY
Without any background in technology or coding, Lim decided to take things into her own hands. She had stumbled upon Angela Yu of London App Brewery, a self-taught developer and former doctor in the United Kingdom who’s also one of the top instructors on Udemy, an online learning platform.
Lim watched her course introduction on YouTube and took up Yu’s online courses via Udemy. Over the next six months, she learnt app development skills, starting with Hello World, the basic line of code that most programmers learn, then moved on to Python programming.
Next came Flutter – a user interface toolkit by Google for creating applications on desktop, web and mobile devices. Lim also learned iOS app development and UX (user experience) design fundamentals.
“I hold a degree in Food Science and I’ve never learned any programming or coding before. I learned all the basics I needed to know in six months, in order to build an app from scratch,” she said.
A DATING APP THAT GOES BEYOND DATING
With newly acquired skills, she brought Lovpipo from concept to (virtual) reality from 2021 to 2022. The name is play on the words “love people”, she told CNA Women.
Lim resigned from her sales job and in 2022, managed to get investor funding to develop Lovpipo. “An app is just a tool – the real power lies in its concept, the very idea that keeps it alive and ongoing,” she said.
Her idea with Lovpipo was that singles would be able to sign on to connect and build meaningful relationships. And for those who didn’t find love, she wanted Lovpipo to go beyond dating – so she made sure that the app also offered a way for people to meet socially.
An app is just a tool – the real power lies in its concept, the very idea that keeps it alive and ongoing.
Lim even found a way to allow introverts to meet new people, without the awkward introductions: Lovpipo has a function which enables up to 20 potential matches per time for a single meet-up.
One compatible match can be made and a meet-up arranged each time but users can search for unlimited matches and meet-ups using this function.
The app even allows users to keep track of the new connections made, by making notes and capturing details on one’s friend list. “This way, there are new opportunities beyond dating. Whether it’s someone who shares a similar hobby or a possible business connection, you essentially create a wider social circle for yourself with Lovpipo,” said Lim.
With the rise of online scams where people are on the apps under false pretenses, Lim saw a need for Lovpipo to be in a secure environment.
Her solution? The app authenticates its registered users via location and this is matched with their mobile number, which is registered with their country code. This way, overseas scamming is deterred, giving users a safe and secure environment to make meaningful connections.
Like apps that need constant updates, Lim views her life as a technopreneur to be similar. “While being an entrepreneur comes with challenges, it also allows the freedom to explore many ways to solve problems. The main key to success is maintaining laser focus on a single objective.”
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MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS
It was not easy to build her dream. When she quit her job to pursue developing Lovpipo, Lim, now 39, faced pressure from family and friends to be practical. “They viewed me as a dreamer and kept telling me to find a job. I spent nine months working without a salary on my app before I started to pitch it.
“I was confident in my app concept, that I could persuade investors to support this – and I did get my funding,” said Lim. She launched Lovpipo in Singapore, in mid-2023.
Born in Malaysia but now a Singapore citizen, Lim calls herself an ordinary woman. “I don’t have many hobbies and I don’t like to cook. I prefer having my meals at the kopitiam and spending time with my children.”
When her divorce upended her living arrangements, Lim found she was unable to buy another flat on her own. When the thought of her children – two sons, now nine and six, and a daughter, now eight – being homeless hit hard, Lim sought the help of her Member of Parliament for assistance to continue staying in her current flat while awaiting an opportunity to buy a new flat.
She also receives subsidies for her youngest child who is in preschool childcare. “I am grateful for these subsidies that single mums can apply for. It was, and continues to be, instrumental in helping me manage my cost of living,” Lim said with relief.
Before her divorce, Lim used to eat out a few times a week with her ex-husband and their children. Since 2021, her father has been living with her to help with her kids and together, they prepare meals at home to cut down on expenses.
It wasn’t just the financial decisions that were tough. Emotionally and mentally, the divorce triggered fears and uncertainties which also rankled her young children.
However, the fear of the unknown made her step out to create her own future. Lim describes the defining moment when she had to give up the security of a job to chase her dream.
“It was the moment that I realised, no matter how much effort I put into the sales job I was in, I couldn’t secure this bright future. It triggered me to step out of my comfort zone and learn app development, and bring my app to life,” she said.
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LEARNING ABOUT HERSELF
Lim continues to spend time with her children playing online games and learning about their respective gaming apps.
“I’m learning from them each time because they often regale me with stories about the game’s characters and their unique abilities in the game. I’m considered a ‘noob’ to the gaming world.”
I realised, no matter how much effort I put into the sales job I was in, I couldn’t secure this bright future. It triggered me to step out of my comfort zone.
“I learned that I could push myself to become a better version of myself, learn new things, and make my company successful.
“During my nine months creating Lovpipo, I also read lots of self-help books to gain a deeper understanding of my purpose in life – the learning has given me clarity to know who I am, where I am headed and trust that I can find a way to get there.”
Building an app is just the first step - Lim knows she needs to continually improve it.
With the Singapore launch of Lovpipo under her belt, her goal now is to roll it out to the rest of Southeast Asia and expand on her matching services. She even has plans to introduce an in-app robot to help with account registration, scheduling dates with preferred users and even creating topics in the chat rooms to connect.
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CNA Women is a section on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern woman. If you have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg.