Why I Built Leora
Leora wasn't born from a business plan.
It was born from my own dating experience.
At 47 when I found myself single, like millions of people, I turned to online dating in 2025, believing it was a modern way to meet someone genuine. I expected awkward conversations, mismatched expectations, maybe the occasional disappointment. What I didn't expect was how unsafe, manipulative, and emotionally draining it could be, particularly for women.
Kelly Jones - CEO of Leora Group
Over time, I realised something unsettling:
The burden of safety had quietly been placed on us, the users.
We're told to “be careful”, to spot red flags, to block, report, and move on. We're expected to manage deception, catfishing, coercion, and inappropriate behaviour as if it's simply part of the process. As if vigilance is the price of connection.
I don't accept that and you shouldn't either.
I've spent my career working in the tech space. I understand that if built correctly, Tech can help keep us safe. We have the ability to build systems that protect people, hold others accountable, and don't rely on good intentions alone. Yet no one has done that in the dating world. I couldn't ignore the fact that dating platforms had the technology to do better, but chose not to.
So I decided to build what I couldn't find.
Leora is the dating platform I needed, I wanted!
I believe connection should never come at the cost of safety for anyone.
Leora is redefining online dating by refusing to accept behaviours that have become normalised elsewhere, such as undisclosed violent pasts, fake identities, harassment, and other toxic conduct.
While people seek different kinds of relationships, Leora is intentionally designed for those pursuing meaningful, long-term connections. We do not support misleading behaviour or hidden agendas, and we expect members to be open and honest about their intentions. Platforms for casual or short-term encounters already exist, Leora is not one of them.
At Leora, safety is not reactive. It's proactive.
Background checks are required for every user!
Verification is not optional. It's standard!
Accountability isn't symbolic. It's enforced!
And most importantly, the responsibility for safety does not sit with the user, it sits with the platform.
Leora is designed with safety at its core.
I didn't build Leora because I thought dating apps were broken.
I built it because I know they can be better.
Leora is very personal to me, I designed a platform that I would feel safe using as a single mum, and I want to give everyone, who like me, out there looking for a loving, long term relationship built on trust and connection, without the fear, without the games, in a space where they are safe.
This is the dating platform I really wished was already out there, but it wasn't.
So, with my business partner I built it.
K x
