Matchmaking service provider Tawkify announced today that it has acquired S’More, an “anti-shallow” dating app that had been experimenting with blurry profile photos and even blurry video chats, in an effort to get people to get to know each other without the focus on physical appearance .
With the acquisition, S’More will retire its app and founder Adam Cohen Aslatei will join the Tawkify team to lead the launch of its first-ever mobile product. Deal terms were not disclosed, but S’More had raised $3.2 million in seed funding, according to Crunchbase.
Tawkify’s new app, which will launch in mid-2023, will give users access to its matchmaking service, new relationship wellness services, as well as “multimedia features, shareable and exclusive content,” Cohen Aslatei told AapkaDost.
Not much else was shared about the upcoming app, except that the new exclusive content would feature matchmakers, romance coaches, dating experts, and even celebrities. Tawkify is also launching its own content studio to produce the content, which will be available on its website and social media platforms.
Tawkify says it plans to work with media companies and organizations to give users access to exclusive benefits, special offers and events.
While S’More will be gone, some features will appear in the new Tawkify app, we understand. The main feature of S’More was the blurring of profile pictures and video chats. The user’s photo or video revealed each time the conversation with the potential match continued.
“From a philosophical point of view [Tawkify and S’More] are very aligned,” Tawkify CEO Kellie Ammerman told AapkaDost. “We actually do blind matchmaking, so we don’t show photos, which is quite unusual in the industry, but it worked for us. We appreciate that [S’More] has the same non-superficial aspect to dating.”
S’More first launched to select cities in 2019. In 2021, the company launched a celebrity dating and relationship show on Instagram, “S’More Live”, which the company says has more than 285 episodes and 10 million views . At the time of the acquisition, S’More claimed to have over 450,000 users.
According to Tawkify, a mobile app is in high demand, noting that the term “Tawkify” sees an average of over 350,000 organic searches on the App Store each month.
“The mobile app allows us to expand the concept of matchmaking to a wider audience and unravel it for many Americans. The current matchmaking mindset in America is based on a limited set of references, mostly fun TV shows, but through the app, millions of people will be able to experience what matchmaking is all about and have the chance to try it,” added Cohen. Ash lintel.
Cohen Aslatei noted that, as a former executive of Bumble, he has seen dating apps fall “out of favour” for quite some time now and believes matchmaking is a more effective alternative.
While dating apps will no doubt continue to be popular, some users have become frustrated with online dating and have turned to matchmaking services to find love. According to the Financial Times, Tinder downloads are down 5% in 2021.
Tawkify was founded around the same time as Tinder and Hinge. In 2012, Kenneth Shaw was done with online dating, so he launched a human-based matchmaking service that doesn’t rely on algorithms and technology. Now Tawkify has more than 245 employees and more than 200,000 matches. The company claims it has an 80% success rate: customers find relationship success within their first 12 matches.
Users can sign up as a Matchmaker Member for $99 per year or as a Matchmaker Client, which offers three different packages. For example, customers can pay $4,500 to be tied into three matches, $7,900 for six matches, or $14,400 for 12 matches. Being a Matchmaker member means that your profile is visible to Tawkify customers, but you don’t get your own matchmaker.
It claims to be the most affordable matchmaking alternative out there, with a mission to democratize matchmaking and make it more accessible to everyone.