Lex, the app inspired by vintage lesbian personals, has recently secured $5.6 million in seed funding, leading to a leadership shuffle. Co-founder Jennifer Lewis has been promoted from COO to CEO, while founding CEO Kel Rakowski now takes on the role of chief creative officer. Additionally, former Hinge product executive Michelle Parsons joins the team as the chief product officer.
Lewis expressed pride in the team’s achievement, emphasizing the significance of raising funds for women- and queer-led startups, which often face challenging funding prospects in the venture industry.
Though Lex, at three years old, may not be on par with giants like Reddit, Tinder, or Twitter, its influence is growing as more individuals publicly identify as LGBTQIA+. In the U.S. Apple App Store, Lex ranks around No. 350 among social networking apps. However, for LGBTQIA+ individuals in its key cities, such as New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, it has become a valuable resource.
In Los Angeles, for instance, Lex is used to find roommates, sell concert tickets, engage in discussions, and even share personal experiences. The app’s text-only posts cover a range of topics, resembling a local LGBTQIA+ publication, Craigslist missed connections, a poetry subreddit, or trans Twitter.
In February, Lex underwent a redesign that expanded its focus on community, sparking mixed reactions from users. While some preferred the app’s previous emphasis on dating and hookups, Lewis stated that the redesign aligned with the desires of the majority of users, offering “a social app for all things queer.”
Regarding the fundraising, Lex disclosed that Peter Boyce of Stellation Capital led the seed round, with contributions from other firms and individual investors, including Slauson & Co., Hope Lab Ventures, Best Nights VC, Great Oaks, Graph Ventures, Manuela Rios, Melanie, and Lila Steinbach. Previous investors in Lex’s pre-seed round, such as Female Founders Fund, Alpaca Ventures, Red Swan, and Gaingels, also reinvested.
Lex intends to utilize the newly acquired funds for expansion, although doing so while maintaining user satisfaction poses a challenge. Lex’s commitment to serving marginalized LGBTQIA+ communities has influenced its approach to monetization and growth, which differs significantly from typical VC-backed businesses. Lewis believes that the business and monetization strategies for an LGBTQ company must be nuanced and tailored to the community’s needs.
Lewis emphasized that Lex’s monetization plans will diverge from models employed by companies like Meta (Facebook) or TikTok, which rely on ad-based models to keep users engaged within the app. Lex is experimenting with various paid features, including charging users who wish to post more frequently than the app’s typical allowance.
