You can find anything in the jungle — even your soulmate.
New dating app Jungle lets users match when they choose at least one location for an ideal date in the area.
When a user makes an account, there is a list of nearby sit-down restaurants, bars and activities like miniature golf, sunset watching and bowling. These locations or activities can be favourited, and then the user can only swipe on individuals who have at least one choice in common. – Founder & CEO, Sebastian Galindo said.
“The idea came from using other dating apps and being frustrated because you can have 100 matches, but it’s very hard to actually meet the person face-to-face,” Galindo said.
The easiest way to set up a date that follows through is to meet at a local restaurant or a spot that both people love, rather than at someone’s house. He said that having common interests, especially when choosing a date location, is a great conversation starter. Thus, Jungle launched its first beta test on January 18.
“I feel like half of the dating is figuring out where the hell you’re going to go,” Jake Nolan Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer said. “It’s way easier because you already picked a place.”
Jungle’s founders’ credit another flaw of today’s dating apps to matching with people that a user would normally never see out. Jungle provides a solution to this by allowing users to swipe on people who enjoy the same social setting.
“The idea is that once you match, you can break the ice by talking about what do you have in common, Galindo said”
People use dating apps to meet people that they normally wouldn’t, but then don’t end up meeting face to face. Jungle plans to erase the online dating stigma by promoting in-person dates to promote real chemistry that is built-in person, Nolan said.
Nolan said that Jungle makes live dates happen by pairing the person with the place in common, so when you have those conversations there are no awkward cheesy pick-up lines.
Within 2 months since launch Jungle has thousands of active users and it is expanding to major cities in Florida. Jungle executive team plans on going to a fundraise sometime this year and raise somewhere near $15-30M for nationwide expansion. Jungle users have swiped over one million times and their user to match conversion is over 60%.
The mission is to provide daters with a more personal, intimate dating experience. “You can find anything in the Jungle”. – Jake Nolan.
“Jungle will be implementing NFTs to the platform with a unique way of creating in-app utility to them. With NFTs market cap exceeding $80 billion by 2025 we are excited to explore this market”, Galindo said.
Jungle plans to have NFTs with in-app utility and they already have contacted local places in town, so Jungle NFT holders will have the option to have the real-life utility in such places.
“We are going big into NFTs, with a unique and cool way to implementing such in the app, it is going to be amazing”, Galindo said.
Jungle team has declined to explain in details their plans with the NFTs until they release it to their users which they expect to do so by mid-April.
Check out their Instagram at @try.jungle
