BlueCity CEO, Ma Baoli, founded China's largest dating app for gay men. — AFP pic
Two decades later, the softly spoken 43-year-old now helms Blued, one of the world’s largest dating platforms for gay men. The office boasts rainbow unicorn mascots, gender-neutral toilets and photos of Ma’s meetings with dignitaries, including Chinese premier Li Keqiang.Ma’s journey to the apex of China’s tech industry began in the early 2000s when he began publishing Danlan.org, a blog about his life as a gay man.
Increasing local media coverage of the website outed Ma to his coworkers and prompted him to leave the police force in 2012.The app today says it has more than 58 million users in China and countries including India, Korea and Thailand. It has opted for a cautious approach in raising mainstream awareness and tolerance of the LGBTQ community.