With endless dating apps to consider, it’s hard to make a splash in such a saturated market. That’s why New Orleans-based entrepreneurs Stephanie Hilton and Bayleigh Frickey launched The Meetery, an inclusive dating app for in-person speed dating that lets users chat less and meet more.
“Where other apps abandon the user after they match, The Meetery encourages users to eliminate that awkward chat phase and get face to face to make a connection,” shared Frickey. “The Meetery wants to make dating fun, relieve the pressure users feel and make it easy to navigate.”
The Meetery team spent months beta testing with hundreds of locals interested in being efficient with their time and making genuine connections. Hilton and Frickey were also exploring the Nashville and Virginia markets. Once there are 1,000 users in any given area, the app goes live and available for use.
Hilton and Frickey are currently looking at all avenues of raising funds to build The Meetery platform, including crowdfunding and connecting to investors. The Meetery has also been accepted into the latest VILLAGEx cohort, a mentor-driven accelerator program for technology-enabled startups in the New Orleans area.
“In the next six months we are aiming to build out our subscription platform as well as a second date feature which will really bring the app full circle,” said Hilton. “We are passionate about the second date feature not only to allow our users to form deeper connections with their matches but by incorporating local businesses we will be supporting local economies.”