$3.5M raised for TikTok-style video dating app tailored to Gen Z

Feb 23 2021, 6:10 pm

A new dating app has secured $3.5 million in pre-seed investment, and it’s looking to create an authentic, video-focused approach to online dating.

Snack is a recently launched video dating app. Its founder, Kimberly Kaplan, describes it as “Tinder Meets TikTok for Gen Zs” — minus the “filters and first date let downs.”

The app works through a video-focused format. According to the company, it combines the matching algorithms of dating platforms like Tinder with the ability to stream and share your life in real-time, such as with Instagram or TikTok.

Kaplan is no stranger to successful dating apps, either — she was part of the executive team at Plenty of Fish, which sold in 2015 for $575 million.

Kaplan explains that Snack was inspired by an “evolution” seen across social media, where video-oriented content is more authentic than selfies and photos.

“Tinder is your parents’ dating app,” Kaplan says in a statement.

“Gen Z will use it to match and then immediately migrate onto other social platforms where they can engage in each other’s content without the pressure of starting a conversation.”

Snack App

Snack App

She points that that TikTok guided people in creating short, catchy videos — but the platform doesn’t necessarily work for dating.

“TikTok taught people how to create compelling short-form videos and normalized video-first profiles,” Kaplan explains. But TikTok doesn’t work for dating: you can’t see whether people are single, where they are, or slide into their DMs.”

“Snack was created to be the best of both worlds.”

The app moves away from swiping and into a TikTok-style interface. Singles can engage with each other’s content via stream, without the barrier that comes from sending the first message.

Snack says that it’s already drawing attention from its target audience, which is 18- to 24-year-olds. Currently, the user-base skews towards females, which the company says is a reflection of “the video-first appeal to women.”

This round of funding was co-led by Kindred Ventures and Coelius Capital, with participation from Golden Ventures, Garage Capital, Panache Ventures, and N49P Ventures.

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