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Interview with the founder of Batemates: The challenges of building an adult industry platform.
Interview with the founder of Batemates: The challenges of building an adult industry platform.
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Ten days after Batemates's launch, cum deep into a real conversation with Johan, also known as B8tem8te. He opens up about building a platform like Batemates in a world of regulations, technical challenges, and compromises. His vision? A dedicated place for the bator community.
Ten days after Batemates's launch, cum deep into a real conversation with Johan, also known as B8tem8te. He opens up about building a platform like Batemates in a world of regulations, technical challenges, and compromises. His vision? A dedicated place for the bator community.
What is it like to build a platform like Batemates?
It is extremely hard. I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm really tired. It's probably the hardest challenge I've faced so far in my life as a professional. It takes a lot of will, a lot of patience, and mostly, a lot of confidence in your project. Mostly coming from where I'm from, in France. There are so many obstacles I had to go through before even starting the development of the platform. Today's product is the result of one full year of work. And the building of the Batemates brand in itself, the user experience, and the user interface are only a few pieces of this complex puzzle I had to complete to create such a product. Having an idea is the easy part. So many people have ideas for all sorts of projects. It's making this idea a reality that’s extremely hard. That's when you realise you're stepping into something big. Then you’re finding a bank that will only even open its doors to you, partners for security, privacy, a development team, and so on. And I'd say, in France, despite all appearances, the system is doing everything it can to shut you off when you try to do anything outside the norm. But I hate norms. I hate control. So I fought for my project and for the bator community.
How have things been going since launch?
Well, so far, we have nearly 2,500 people on the platform. At the time that I’m answering this question, it’s been 11 to 12 days since launch. I'd say it's nice, but things have been extremely hard still. We are a very, very small team, you know. I've had to turn myself into a whole 24/7 customer service! You know, of course we launched and we had many bugs, ha! But you know, launching a platform to thousands of people around the world, all using different machines from very different brands and hardware, with different operating systems which are more or less up to date, it's actually crazy! So I had to deal with all that, bator by bator, and take the feedback and see what's possible to solve as many problems as fast as possible in a very short amount of time. I think we have updated the app about ten times since launch already.
Speaking of feedback, how has the feedback been?
Oh wow… The feedback has been, I'd say, over 90% really good! Bators seem really happy that the platform even exists and is out, despite a few bugs here and there that we are fixing. Of course there are a few critics, and some of them are pretty harsh but I guess that's part of it… Not gonna lie to you, some of them are pretty hard and they sometimes prevent me from sleeping at night. There are many things on the platform I had to compromise on for reasons that most people ignore because they have no idea how things work for this industry with regulations and laws in Europe or technical complications. You can't just do whatever you want.
Like what?
Like, you can’t just pick any payment providers for instance. Most mainstream providers for every type of service will shut their doors as soon as you explain what you're working on. Or, like for the age verification process, for example. In Europe, nowadays, you can't just drop your porn app and be like, "Ok it's here, cum on." No, you have to follow very strict regulations to even have a bank open their doors to you. And this will also come to America, specifically the US, too, at some point. Some people come for me like I decided overnight to ask for them to scan their passport to masturbate hahah… No, you can't just do anything you want. With our partner Pleenk, which we are very lucky by the way that they accepted to follow us on this crazy adventure, we are working hard with compliances to be able to process driver's licenses and state IDs for people in the US, as well as all the countries in Latin America.
So many things, like the fact that the United States has fifty different types of driver's licenses and state IDs for one country are completely out of our control, and we are doing the best we can to go around this point while still allowing protection for all inside and outside the platform. Like for minors, for example. So yeah, some are giving me a hard time for this, for example.
But most of the time, the feedback is positive. This community is beyond amazing and patient and understanding. I have people telling me everyday they meet like-minded or local bros because of the app. And it's an app that is constantly going to improve as we are listening to our users with bug fixes in the works, and many new features. It's an app for bators by a bator, so again, it's only in the community’s interest. I just opened a "What's new" section on our official website where people can keep track of what we do with 100% transparency.
So how many people do you have right now as we are speaking?
Like I said, we’re over 2,500 bros at the moment. It's growing by the day. I'm really excited to see where we'll go.
The important thing is not to focus on quantity, but quality. Especially among the Premium bator bros we have. These are bros who are really committed to bating, and it changes everything in the relationship you build there. You have less randos.
About Batemates Premium, what are the perks of your Premium plans?
With Batemates Premium, you get access to the rooms, first of all. We made the decision to keep this part of the app for the Premium members because I'm not gonna lie to you, this cums with a cost and it is only sustainable if bators in the community contribute to it. And it also gives you access to the thousands of bators on the platform, through the bator finder without restrictions. And to chat with all of them as well. Our Premium members will also get to enjoy the continuously cumming new features and improvements we are cooking for them. And we have quite the load, haha!
What is it like to build a platform like Batemates?
It is extremely hard. I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm really tired. It's probably the hardest challenge I've faced so far in my life as a professional. It takes a lot of will, a lot of patience, and mostly, a lot of confidence in your project. Mostly coming from where I'm from, in France. There are so many obstacles I had to go through before even starting the development of the platform. Today's product is the result of one full year of work. And the building of the Batemates brand in itself, the user experience, and the user interface are only a few pieces of this complex puzzle I had to complete to create such a product. Having an idea is the easy part. So many people have ideas for all sorts of projects. It's making this idea a reality that’s extremely hard. That's when you realise you're stepping into something big. Then you’re finding a bank that will only even open its doors to you, partners for security, privacy, a development team, and so on. And I'd say, in France, despite all appearances, the system is doing everything it can to shut you off when you try to do anything outside the norm. But I hate norms. I hate control. So I fought for my project and for the bator community.
How have things been going since launch?
Well, so far, we have nearly 2,500 people on the platform. At the time that I’m answering this question, it’s been 11 to 12 days since launch. I'd say it's nice, but things have been extremely hard still. We are a very, very small team, you know. I've had to turn myself into a whole 24/7 customer service! You know, of course we launched and we had many bugs, ha! But you know, launching a platform to thousands of people around the world, all using different machines from very different brands and hardware, with different operating systems which are more or less up to date, it's actually crazy! So I had to deal with all that, bator by bator, and take the feedback and see what's possible to solve as many problems as fast as possible in a very short amount of time. I think we have updated the app about ten times since launch already.
Speaking of feedback, how has the feedback been?
Oh wow… The feedback has been, I'd say, over 90% really good! Bators seem really happy that the platform even exists and is out, despite a few bugs here and there that we are fixing. Of course there are a few critics, and some of them are pretty harsh but I guess that's part of it… Not gonna lie to you, some of them are pretty hard and they sometimes prevent me from sleeping at night. There are many things on the platform I had to compromise on for reasons that most people ignore because they have no idea how things work for this industry with regulations and laws in Europe or technical complications. You can't just do whatever you want.
Like what?
Like, you can’t just pick any payment providers for instance. Most mainstream providers for every type of service will shut their doors as soon as you explain what you're working on. Or, like for the age verification process, for example. In Europe, nowadays, you can't just drop your porn app and be like, "Ok it's here, cum on." No, you have to follow very strict regulations to even have a bank open their doors to you. And this will also come to America, specifically the US, too, at some point. Some people come for me like I decided overnight to ask for them to scan their passport to masturbate hahah… No, you can't just do anything you want. With our partner Pleenk, which we are very lucky by the way that they accepted to follow us on this crazy adventure, we are working hard with compliances to be able to process driver's licenses and state IDs for people in the US, as well as all the countries in Latin America.
So many things, like the fact that the United States has fifty different types of driver's licenses and state IDs for one country are completely out of our control, and we are doing the best we can to go around this point while still allowing protection for all inside and outside the platform. Like for minors, for example. So yeah, some are giving me a hard time for this, for example.
But most of the time, the feedback is positive. This community is beyond amazing and patient and understanding. I have people telling me everyday they meet like-minded or local bros because of the app. And it's an app that is constantly going to improve as we are listening to our users with bug fixes in the works, and many new features. It's an app for bators by a bator, so again, it's only in the community’s interest. I just opened a "What's new" section on our official website where people can keep track of what we do with 100% transparency.
So how many people do you have right now as we are speaking?
Like I said, we’re over 2,500 bros at the moment. It's growing by the day. I'm really excited to see where we'll go.
The important thing is not to focus on quantity, but quality. Especially among the Premium bator bros we have. These are bros who are really committed to bating, and it changes everything in the relationship you build there. You have less randos.
About Batemates Premium, what are the perks of your Premium plans?
With Batemates Premium, you get access to the rooms, first of all. We made the decision to keep this part of the app for the Premium members because I'm not gonna lie to you, this cums with a cost and it is only sustainable if bators in the community contribute to it. And it also gives you access to the thousands of bators on the platform, through the bator finder without restrictions. And to chat with all of them as well. Our Premium members will also get to enjoy the continuously cumming new features and improvements we are cooking for them. And we have quite the load, haha!
What is it like to build a platform like Batemates?
It is extremely hard. I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm really tired. It's probably the hardest challenge I've faced so far in my life as a professional. It takes a lot of will, a lot of patience, and mostly, a lot of confidence in your project. Mostly coming from where I'm from, in France. There are so many obstacles I had to go through before even starting the development of the platform. Today's product is the result of one full year of work. And the building of the Batemates brand in itself, the user experience, and the user interface are only a few pieces of this complex puzzle I had to complete to create such a product. Having an idea is the easy part. So many people have ideas for all sorts of projects. It's making this idea a reality that’s extremely hard. That's when you realise you're stepping into something big. Then you’re finding a bank that will only even open its doors to you, partners for security, privacy, a development team, and so on. And I'd say, in France, despite all appearances, the system is doing everything it can to shut you off when you try to do anything outside the norm. But I hate norms. I hate control. So I fought for my project and for the bator community.
How have things been going since launch?
Well, so far, we have nearly 2,500 people on the platform. At the time that I’m answering this question, it’s been 11 to 12 days since launch. I'd say it's nice, but things have been extremely hard still. We are a very, very small team, you know. I've had to turn myself into a whole 24/7 customer service! You know, of course we launched and we had many bugs, ha! But you know, launching a platform to thousands of people around the world, all using different machines from very different brands and hardware, with different operating systems which are more or less up to date, it's actually crazy! So I had to deal with all that, bator by bator, and take the feedback and see what's possible to solve as many problems as fast as possible in a very short amount of time. I think we have updated the app about ten times since launch already.
Speaking of feedback, how has the feedback been?
Oh wow… The feedback has been, I'd say, over 90% really good! Bators seem really happy that the platform even exists and is out, despite a few bugs here and there that we are fixing. Of course there are a few critics, and some of them are pretty harsh but I guess that's part of it… Not gonna lie to you, some of them are pretty hard and they sometimes prevent me from sleeping at night. There are many things on the platform I had to compromise on for reasons that most people ignore because they have no idea how things work for this industry with regulations and laws in Europe or technical complications. You can't just do whatever you want.
Like what?
Like, you can’t just pick any payment providers for instance. Most mainstream providers for every type of service will shut their doors as soon as you explain what you're working on. Or, like for the age verification process, for example. In Europe, nowadays, you can't just drop your porn app and be like, "Ok it's here, cum on." No, you have to follow very strict regulations to even have a bank open their doors to you. And this will also come to America, specifically the US, too, at some point. Some people come for me like I decided overnight to ask for them to scan their passport to masturbate hahah… No, you can't just do anything you want. With our partner Pleenk, which we are very lucky by the way that they accepted to follow us on this crazy adventure, we are working hard with compliances to be able to process driver's licenses and state IDs for people in the US, as well as all the countries in Latin America.
So many things, like the fact that the United States has fifty different types of driver's licenses and state IDs for one country are completely out of our control, and we are doing the best we can to go around this point while still allowing protection for all inside and outside the platform. Like for minors, for example. So yeah, some are giving me a hard time for this, for example.
But most of the time, the feedback is positive. This community is beyond amazing and patient and understanding. I have people telling me everyday they meet like-minded or local bros because of the app. And it's an app that is constantly going to improve as we are listening to our users with bug fixes in the works, and many new features. It's an app for bators by a bator, so again, it's only in the community’s interest. I just opened a "What's new" section on our official website where people can keep track of what we do with 100% transparency.
So how many people do you have right now as we are speaking?
Like I said, we’re over 2,500 bros at the moment. It's growing by the day. I'm really excited to see where we'll go.
The important thing is not to focus on quantity, but quality. Especially among the Premium bator bros we have. These are bros who are really committed to bating, and it changes everything in the relationship you build there. You have less randos.
About Batemates Premium, what are the perks of your Premium plans?
With Batemates Premium, you get access to the rooms, first of all. We made the decision to keep this part of the app for the Premium members because I'm not gonna lie to you, this cums with a cost and it is only sustainable if bators in the community contribute to it. And it also gives you access to the thousands of bators on the platform, through the bator finder without restrictions. And to chat with all of them as well. Our Premium members will also get to enjoy the continuously cumming new features and improvements we are cooking for them. And we have quite the load, haha!
MASTURBATE YOUR PENIS
MASTURBATE YOUR PENIS MASTURBATE YOUR PENIS
Cum on Bro.
Cum on Bro.
Cum on Bro.
Unlimited masturbation with your bros. Try it for 15 days. Not for you, bro? Cancel for a full refund
Unlimited masturbation with your bros. Try it for 15 days. Not for you, bro? Cancel for a full refund
Unlimited masturbation with your bros. Try it for 15 days. Not for you, bro? Cancel for a full refund
After trial, from €9.50/month. Cancel anytime.
After trial, from €9.50/month. Cancel anytime.
After trial, from €9.50/month. Cancel anytime.
Offer valid for first-time Premium users only. Terms apply.
Offer valid for first-time Premium users only. Terms apply.
Offer valid for first-time Premium users only. Terms apply.
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Join the conversation with bators from around the world.
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