Hatched, a dating app launched in Atlanta in 2022, will be available in Tampa and St. Petersburg starting Oct. 23.
The move is the latest in a Southern migration for the app, launching first in Atlanta and strategically expanding across the South to cities like Charlotte, North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina. Hatched founders want the personality-focused platform to find millennial and Gen Z singles in the growing market of Tampa Bay, CEO and co-founder Mitchell Alterman said.
The dating app space is hypercompetitive, especially in cities like New York or Los Angeles, so it made sense for Hatched to launch in the South and try to capture the market here, he said.
“Our whole goal all along was to be very implanted in the Southeast region,” Alterman said.
The app, branded with a purple egg, asks users questions about interests. Users must answer questions to test whether their interests are aligned before each other’s profile pictures are revealed or “hatched.” It’s a way to make online dating about connection rather than evaluating physical traits.
Alterman started trying to build Hatched while attending Indiana University Bloomington and continued trying in his free time after graduating and working in Atlanta. Eventually, he decided to make the app his primary focus and officially founded the app with co-founders Sam Lukens, now COO, and Reeves Kissel, now CTO.
The app has over 20,000 users and closed a pre-seed round in 2022 of $1.2 million from angel investors, friends and family. One lead investor in the app is an executive with the Atlanta Hawks, Alterman said.
The Hatched team has spent the past year marketing, fine-tuning and expanding its user base, Alterman said. The team was focusing on strategically launching in other cities, preparing for a push into Florida's large growth markets, he said.
“We’re pretty bullish on Florida from the sheer size, and it mirrors some of the demographics that we had in Atlanta,” Alterman said.
Alterman has visited Tampa Bay throughout his life and has seen the region grow. He’s also seen it increasingly become a market for millennials and Gen Z individuals. In July, the Wall Street Journal published a story about how Tampa is increasingly attracting these demographics.
“I’ve always loved Tampa Bay. Obviously, the growth metrics speak for themselves,” Alterman said, describing it as a cool area and an enjoyable place with a burgeoning economy.
The Hatched team plans to regularly travel and connect with the Tampa community to grow its digital footprint through social media influencer marketing and in-person events. Eventually, Alterman will focus on launching in Orlando and Jacksonville, and if Hatched can reach a certain user base in the Sunshine State, it will begin to expand nationally, he said.
Weaver, a Tampa-based dating app, found a user base here and went nationwide after seeing demand from influencer marketing. The app is based on connection through “core values,” the unchangeable belief set that governs an individual’s thinking.
