S’More, a new dating app that aims to go beyond physical attraction for something more, launches in beta today with $1.1M in seed funding

You may be asking, do we really need another dating app? Of course, we do. There’s always room for creative and innovative apps for people looking to build genuine relationships. S’More is a new dating app aiming to be the biggest disruption to online dating since Tinder invented the Swipe. Unlike the current apps out there, S’More is designed to prioritize getting to know a person before deciding if you like them, and before you even see them.

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 easy and fun to get to learn about a person before making a judgement based on little more than a selfie. While most dating apps focus on image first, S’More focuses on the whole person, and elevates the standard of online dating.

Today, S’More announced its beta launch with $1.1 million in seed funding to usher in the next generation of relationship apps. Backed by industry heavyweights, S’More launches private beta this week focusing on Boston, and announces a waitlist of over 8k singles eager to find love.

“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. A reliance on dating the perfect selfie hasn’t worked, and today millenials are transitioning to relationships apps that focus on getting to know the whole person, which is critical when you’re looking for a relationship.“ Adam Cohen Aslatei, Founder of S’MORE

The company’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. The algorithm picks up on what users like (wink at) in other daters’ profiles, and accounts for physical attraction when serving daily recommended profiles. It also considers the categories of information added to a user’s profile.

Each profile features over 20 different possible criteria, all of which are (in an industry first) populated with beautiful interactive icons and multimedia options. Profiles are unstructured (and feel like a collage), and can be customized to reflect the personality and priorities of the user. S’MoreE features many other functionalities that are industry firsts including required photo verification that reduces cat-fishing and helps prevent under-age users. All profiles feature a publicly visible rating score, based in-part on user behavior. All features encourage a higher quality community and safety with top-notch user behavior.

“The process of getting to know a person should be fun and exciting…but most importantly, it should actually work. That’s why we created S’More with a focus on suspending judgement and instead centering the experience on the “getting to know you” stage. 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!”-Adam Cohen Aslatei

Founded by industry veteran Adam Cohen-Aslatei, who spent the past 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 spent nearly five year at The Meet Group, working in operations, advertising, and business partnerships and 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).

Benson Oak Ventures leads the $1.1M seed round of institutional and private investors which includes Social Discovery Ventures CEO and Founder Dmitry Volkov (investor in Dating.com Group, Roomie and Patreon), Joshua Black, venture investor, and SideCar Angels. The founding team includes executives from leading advertising tech, consulting, and consumer goods brands. S’More is being advised by industry experts including John Abbott, former CEO of The Meet Group, Chelsea Burkett YouTube executive and partner at Hypothesis Venture Capital , and Joshua Gaynor, marketing executive at LVMH.

Benson Oak Ventures is a multi-stage fund focused on business to mass market companies (B2M²) with a portfolio of companies in Tel Aviv and New York. The Fund makes early stage investments in Founders having the experience required for competitive advantage, network beyond just “identifying a problem”.

Yoni Mindel – Partner at Benson Oak said “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”

The public waitlist for S’More is now open across the country. Visit smoredate.com to find out more and follow us on Instagram @smoredate