Editor’s note: Welcome to The Pitch, a DC Inno special feature in which we spotlight young local startups led by underrepresented founders. These companies may not have much (or any) funding or revenue, but they do have plans — and they’re taking the initial steps to make things happen. Each month, we’ll highlight a different venture in the D.C.-area landscape, with an intention of following their journeys from this point forward. This is the first installment.
Naza Shelley felt frustrated with dating.
“I was tired of wasting my time swiping on low-quality, incompatible matches, and risking my personal safety to go on disappointing first dates,” she said.
The apps weren’t working for her. The personal matchmaking services “either did not have clientele that looked like me or they were so expensive that, even on my six-figure attorney salary, I couldn’t afford it,” she said.
So when she hit a dead end searching for a dating app tailored to professional Black women, she decided to make one herself. CarpeDM was born.
The pitch: The member-only online dating community caters to single Black women and “anyone seeking a meaningful relationship with them,” Shelley said. People can apply to join the community through the company’s website. The team then reviews those applications, invites approved applicants for a virtual interview with a personal matchmaker — and runs background checks on all candidates who make it to that point. Members can then register and gain access to the app, which provides matches, and enables video chats and text messages with those individuals.
The journey: CarpeDM, based in Woodbridge, was founded in 2018 as Carpe Diem Social LLC and, in 2019, launched as an MVP video-first dating app that grew to more than 10,000 users. In 2020, it pivoted and pulled that app offline to work on the model. The company officially launched its current platform in January.
The team: Naza Shelley, 35, leads the company as founder and CEO with Sali Hama, one of her best friends from Howard University School of Law, which they both attended. Hama joined CarpeDM as chief marketing officer in 2019 and is now co-founder, as well. The team also includes three part-time employees. And, Shelley said, it’s hiring for an experienced dev-ops engineer and a couple of marketing interns.
The business model: CarpeDM is now starting to generate revenue. The subscription model offers six-month and annual memberships, with prices ranging from $250 to $1,800 depending on the number of matches given during the cycle. And the platform’s user base comprises professional Black women: executives, attorneys, politicians, teachers, doctors and more — as well as “any high-quality singles interested in dating professional Black women no matter their ethnicity or gender,” Shelly said.
The challenge: Brand recognition. CarpeDM competes with independent personal matchmakers, services like Tawkify and It’s Just Lunch, and dating apps like Hinge and BLK, “but we are working hard to get CarpeDM in front of as many potential members as possible so that we can share the unique value that we can bring to their dating lives,” Shelly said. She’s leading her startup through a $500,000 pre-seed raise, with about 75% of that closed from investors including Virginia Venture Partners, Conscious Venture Fund, Overlooked Ventures, CAV Angels and Pipeline Angels. And she’s continuing to meet with early-stage backers to finish the round by the end of February, she said. About half of that capital will fuel customer acquisition, and the rest will support ongoing development and operations.
The game plan: Shelley’s to-do list includes bringing on more strategic partners with established customer bases that align with CarpeDM’s target members, she said. That’s in addition to those already on board: The Gathering Spot, 100 Black Men of Greater Washington DC, Black Girl Ventures and The Wave. The goal this year is to reach 1,000 members in Greater Washington and $1 million in revenue, already with more than 300 applications, plus requests from singles in Chicago, Atlanta and New York — the markets on-deck for a future launch, Shelley said. But, she added, “We’re very selective so this process will take time.”
