Approach Dating just opened an equity crowdfunding round on WeFunder.
“Our aim is to raise $500,000 through our friends, family and network,” CEO Allison Cousins told the 4thEst8. “Allowing us to develop the premium version of the app, to focus our marketing efforts on user acquisition, and to build some additional partnerships that will enhance the user experience.”
The two-person St. Louis startup was founded in 2020 to address an ongoing problem with other online dating apps: very few virtual interactions lead to face-to-face encounters (let’s call them ‘dates’). Approach is partnering with bars, restaurants, coffee shops and other likely date locations and integrating the idea of a date location into the apps communication process from the start. Cousins says having a proposed meeting location as part of the early discussion moves things to the real world faster. Part of Approaches revenue model includes allowing partner locations to offer incentives for people to meet at their location.
According to CrunchBase the company raised $45,000 in debt financing in July, 2021. The Beta model of the app was made available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App store in June. The startup is headquartered in the Spark! co-working space in downtown St. Louis. Right now the crowdfunding effort is by invitation only but opens to the public Dec. 20.
Why WeFunder?
“We felt this (crowdfunding platform) was the most intuitive, and it’s been used here in St. Louis… it was familiar with some of our community,” Cousins said. The platform offers SAFES to keep everything within S.E.C. guidelines. “One of the biggest challenges for all startups is that you can’t utilize your networks that are not accredited investors, so there’s a lot of people that believe in you and believe in the product but they can’t financially support you.”
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