“The whole strategy was purely a marketing ploy. We thought there was no way we would be able to get a deal on there. However, we tried to be as professional and as well-rehearsed as possible – we must have rehearsed that pitch 200 times,” says Gould. “We were concerned about appearing foolish, in terms of the dragons tearing us apart. We had to get our numbers down and have an answer for everything.”

By the time the trio had appeared on the hit television show, McDonough, Greenock and Gould had already had a number of years’ worth of business experience to go by. Gould was working in public relations and his former flatmate MacDonough had called regarding a business attempt selling Christmas jumpers – something he’d begun with Greenock. This collaboration eventually led to the conception and funding of the dating app called Double.

Double App: Entering the Dragons’ Den

Wearing striking-but-garish heart-patterned suits, the three men stepped out of the lift onto the set of the Dragons’ Den, ready to promote Double. The entrepreneurs that waited looked understandably worried: the audience undoubtedly felt that a cringeworthy pitch was about to follow!

The idea for such an app came about in 2014. A female friend of MacDonough explained that she used Tinder and ‘would never go on a date’ through the site. “She turned to her friend and said – if only you could come with me,” Gould recounts.

Taking a look at what was available on the app store, MacDonough discovered that there were absolutely no double-dating apps available. This was what gave birth to the service he and his co-founders now offer.

“We took the profits from the Christmas jumper business and our personal savings and pulled that together,” Gould explained. “That allowed us to bootstrap Double before going on Dragons’ Den.”

Development and Testing

August 2014 saw the team developing and testing the app. “Testing is quite difficult because you need four people,” Gould proclaims. “We decided to just put it out on the App Store and get friends and family to do it.” Double finally had its official launch in the middle of January, just before St. Valentine’s Day. They were also featured in The Sun and Mail Online.

So, why is it that people would prefer to go on a double date, rather than just meet up with the person that they’re interested in? A third of those who date online, according to Gould, have never actually dated someone they’ve spoken to over the Internet. This makes safety a hue issue. Another advantage to double dates is that they can help to make everyone feel a little more comfortable.