A new app headed to Charlotte wants to take the superficial element out of dating.
Hatched, a free dating app founded in Atlanta late last year, is set to launch here on Sept. 18. It's looking to disrupt the industry by matching users based on their values over physical appearances. The app utilizes a unique approach — having users' profile photos covered by an egg avatar. They would then answer personality or compatibility questions, and, if similarly answered, the egg gradually hatches to reveal each user's picture.
Mitchell Alterman, co-founder, told CBJ that Hatched was born following his own online dating experience. He met his wife on Bumble, a women-focused dating app that has users swipe left to reject a candidate or right to indicate interest.
"At a binary level, dating apps really worked for me," he said. "But I just found that experience to finding her really hollow and superficial. So it just got me thinking there had to be a better way."
Alterman began researching dating and dating apps and found that appearance-driven platforms are often linked to mental health issues such as depression or eating disorders. He eventually teamed up with co-founders Sam Lukens and Reeves Kissel to create Hatched, putting the focus on meaningful connections over attraction to build lasting relationships.
"We wanted to give users the ability to showcase some of these amazing traits and showcase their personality, having that be the main catalysts for matchmaking as opposed to just looking at someone's pictures," Alterman said.
Charlotte will be Hatched's second market.
It was the right expansion move for the startup, as Hatched plans to grow to several large Southeastern metro areas, Alterman said. The app is also launching in Charleston, South Carolina, and Raleigh at the end of September. Hatched will be available to download in the three cities on Apple and Google Play app stores.
It's currently only live in Atlanta, where its launch there proved to be successful with about 11,000 users and 7,000 matches a month in that city alone.
Alterman said the Hatched app isn't the only way people can connect. The startup also hosts social gatherings, such as its "Could it Bae" event held in Atlanta five months ago that allowed attendants to mingle with dog lovers as well as meet potential matches or friends. He said Hatched is in discussions with bars and organizations in Charlotte to arrange events here as well.
The startup plans to expand to two other Southeastern cities outside of the Carolinas. Alterman did not disclose those locations. By the end of the year, he said he hopes to launch the app nationwide.
"One of our main goals at Hatched is to be an all-encompassing matchmaking hub," Alterman said.
