It’s a widely recognized fact that dating today is challenging, regardless of where you live. Everyone has their own experiences and complaints about it.
Consider Myles Slayton, who interned at a bank in New York City and witnessed firsthand how he and his peers struggled to form meaningful relationships in the city’s tough dating environment. “We spend more time on our phones than ever before,” he shared with TechCrunch. “I started wondering, ‘What makes dating apps so bad?’”
He realized the issue wasn’t with dating apps themselves, but with how they function today. Many leading dating platforms were designed for millennials, but as he pointed out, Gen Z interacts in a completely different way. He described it as a return to traditional dating: people from his generation often meet “through mutual friends or within our own social circles.”
He joined forces with Willy Conzelman and Carter Munk, and together they launched Cerca a few months ago—a dating app that connects users with people already within their extended social networks. This summer, the startup secured $1.6 million in seed funding and has already generated excitement: the app boasts about 60,000 users, primarily in New York and at various universities.
The company is participating in Startup Battlefield and will present its technology at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in San Francisco later this month.
Image Credits:Cerca
Slayton, who serves as CEO, believes Gen Z’s preference for familiar connections is a result of both the internet and the COVID pandemic. “We just don’t trust people we don’t know,” he explained, noting that fear of rejection is also a major concern.
Cerca aims to tackle these issues. Users set up a typical dating profile and sync their contacts, after which only friends or friends-of-friends already using the app appear as potential matches. “The anxiety around meeting strangers is removed,” Slayton said. All likes are kept private, which helps reduce the sting of rejection. Each user is limited to four swipes per day, encouraging more thoughtful choices and reducing swipe fatigue.
“It doesn’t make sense to scroll through a hundred profiles in a minute,” he remarked. “You should pause and consider each person. These are actual individuals.”
Profiles first display mutual friends, followed by background information, and then photos. “For us, it’s not just about appearances,” he emphasized. Users receive a notification when someone likes their profile, but the identity remains hidden. The Cerca algorithm then promotes the liker’s profile in the other person’s feed, giving them the option to reciprocate.
Matches are revealed every evening, and it’s never disclosed who initiated contact.
Having mutual friends makes it easier to ensure safety, as users can simply message their shared contacts to learn more about their potential date. Users also have control over which contacts they share with Cerca and can block specific people from viewing their profiles. “You can even filter out certain professions, like dentist or doctor,” he added. “Screenshots and screen recordings are disabled. Safety is our top priority.”
Beyond the digital platform, the company has also introduced branded merchandise and organizes events.
Slayton mentioned that he and his co-founders decided to apply for Startup Battlefield after hearing about it from a previous participant. “It’s a fantastic chance for people in the U.S. and globally to get to know us and to showcase a positive side of dating,” he said.
If you’re interested in experiencing Cerca for yourself, as well as watching many more pitches, attending insightful workshops, and networking for business growth, visit here to discover more about this year’s Disrupt , taking place October 27 to 29 in San Francisco.
