SOON: Redefining the Post-Match Journey
SOON is a dating app that looks to redefine the post-match experience with innovative features and a shift of the traditional online dating mentality. Currently operating in the San Francisco Bay Area, the platform has raised around $1 million in funding.
In an interview with Bay Area Inno, Cora Kyler and Alena Titova, Co-Founders of SOON, explained what makes the dating platform unique.
Post-match experience
Daters on SOON are able to send a short video ‘glimpse’ of themselves in response to another user’s prompt, “like an asynchronous FaceTime”, Kyler explained. From there, the first message is always an invitation to meet at a venue the platform has vetted.
Why move to an IRL interaction so soon? The longer that a dater chats to their new match, the more they build up an image of that person. However, when the IRL meetup eventually happens, “there might be a sense of disappointment because they don’t match who you think they’re going to be”, Titova shared.
Therefore, the platform encourages daters to meet sooner rather than later, adopting “a more casual approach to dating in terms of mindset”. Encouraging more of these ‘low stakes’ dates will help reduce the possible disappointments.
If daters are looking for an alternative to the traditional swiping and matching experience, SOON also arranges Group Blind Dates where the platform will bring together a group of compatible people at a venue.
Gender dynamics
When asked about the platform’s resonance with different genders, Kyler made an interesting note about men’s dating habits.
As they don’t talk about their own dating lives as much, men “don’t actually get a lot more feedback about how to approach online dating in a thoughtful, intentional way”, she highlighted.
However, men are spreading the word about SOON as they’re able to secure dates more frequently on the platform, when compared with others.
Demographics so far
Despite being so close to Silicon Valley, SOON has attracted a mix of techies and creatives, Titova shared.
In the case of a woman who’s looking for other women or non-binary people, for example, the platform will ensure that there’s at least 500 people to swipe on or go on a group meetup with.
The platform is currently available on the iOS App Store in San Francisco, but android users are invited to join a waitlist now.
