- Relationship dating app S’More (a.k.a. Something More) announced it raised $1.1 million in a seed round of funding
Relationship dating app S’More (a.k.a. Something More) announced it has raised $1.1 million in a seed round of funding and revealed that it has a waitlist of over 8,000 singles eager to find love.
S’More is aiming to build the biggest disruption in online dating since Tinder popularized the swipe feature. And S’More is designed to prioritize getting to know a person before deciding if you like them and before you even see them. And the more you engage and chat with a person, the more their profile photos unblur and the more their private content unlocks.
S’More makes it easier and fun to get to learn about a person before making a judgement based on little more than a selfie. And while most dating apps focus on the image first, S’More focuses on the person and elevates the standard of online dating.
“Ten years ago casual dating apps made it easy to find people nearby and the hook-up culture was born. Then came the second generation of dating apps with a lifestyles appeal, still for casual connections. However, most of the apps were still based on a ‘Hot or Not’ game, and while fun, left the majority of people hopelessly single,” said S’More Date CEO/founder Adam Cohen Aslatei. “A reliance on dating the perfect selfie hasn’t worked, and today millennials are transitioning to relationships apps that focus on getting to know the whole person, which is critical when you’re looking for a relationship.”
S’More’s matching algorithm recommends the most suitable profiles not only based on location, age, and sexual orientation (like the majority of swiping apps), but also on interests, opinions, values, hobbies, gender identities and more. And the algorithm picks up on what users like (wink at) in other daters’ profiles and accounts for physical attraction when serving daily recommended profiles. Plus it considers the categories of information added to a user’s profile.
Every profile features more than 20 different possible criteria, all of which are (in an industry first) populated with beautiful interactive icons and multimedia options. And profiles are unstructured (and feel like a collage) and can be customized to reflect the personality and priorities of the user.
S’More features many other functionalities that are industry firsts, including required photo verification that reduces cat-fishing and helps prevent under-age users. And all profiles feature a publicly visible rating score, based in-part on user behavior. Plus all of the features encourage a higher quality community and safety with top-notch user behavior.
Aslatei pointed out that the process of getting to know a person should be fun and excited along with actually working.
“S’More moves you right into a conversation. While many competitors will have you believe that relationships are made to order or available on-demand, that’s just not how it works. The process of getting to know a person on these apps has been poorly executed. If you end up finding someone special, that’s the exception not the rule. Everything’s about to change. S’More is a community of like-minded individuals looking for … you guessed it, Something More!” Aslatei added.
Before launching S’More, Cohen-Aslatei spent the past few decades working at top dating apps and advertising technology companies, including, most recently, serving as the Managing Director of Chappy (Bumble’s gay dating app).
Cohen-Aslatei also spent nearly five years at The Meet Group while working in operations, advertising, and business partnerships. And he has consulted for a number of social discovery companies, including for The Meet Group (MeetMe, Hi5, Tagged, Lovoo, Skout) and Spark Network (Zoosk, JDATE, Christian Mingle).
This round of funding was led by Benson Oak Ventures. And Social Discovery Ventures CEO and Founder Dmitry Volkov (investor in Dating.com Group, Roomie and Patreon), venture investor Joshua Black, and SideCar Angels also joined the round. Plus S’More is being advised by industry experts including John Abbott (former CEO of The Meet Group), Hypothesis venture partner Chelsea Burkett, and Bulgari Vice President of Marketing & Communications Josh Gaynor.
“When we met Adam, we were immediately struck by his clear Founder Market Fit, with immense knowledge and experience in market that touches an increasingly massive number of people on a global scale, where the line is blurring between online dating and online socializing. In a short period of time, Adam has thus been able to assemble a team, raise a round from value-added investors and build his vision of a brand and value proposition that meets current market needs,” explained Benson Oak partner Yoni Mindel.
S’More’s public waiting list is now open across the country. You can sign up at smoredate.com.
