As a young professional, dating is fun but it can also be stressful. You can only go to so many bars and parties to meet new single people. Coffee Meets Bagel makes dating easier for you.
Coffee Meets Bagel is an app that was created by three sisters, Arum, Dawoon and Soo Kang, who couldn’t find any dateable guys in New York City. They realized these fun people existed, but they didn’t know how to go about meeting and connecting with them. The dating website launched in April 2012 and the app launched in August 2013.
When creating the name, the sisters thought about what part of the day everyone looks forward to. Most of the people using the app are busy, young professionals and everyone looks forward to daily coffee breaks. And what’s better than coffee and a New York style bagel?
This app is not like Tinder, OkCupid or JSwipe. Coffee Meets Bagel gives you one “Bagel,” or potential match, each day at noon so you can focus all your attention on one person. Accordingly, their slogan is, “What’s happening at noon?” This app makes your lunch break a little more exciting.
The app is most popular in larger metropolitan areas like New York City, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, according to its website. Currently, Coffee Meets Bagel has made more than 25 million matches, according to creator Dawoon Kang.
Once you receive your Bagel, you have 24 hours to “like” or “pass” on them. Once your Bagel likes you back, you are prompted to start a conversation. You have eight days to have a conversation and exchange contact information.
A personal profile is the first thing someone sees when he or she receives a Bagel. The app curates four photos from your Facebook profile, a couple of headshots and a couple of full body pictures, but you can always pick and choose what you want others to see.
There are three written parts to the profile to showcase your interests. The “I am…” section lets you write three things about yourself. The “I like…” section lets you describe three specific passions and interests. And the “I appreciate when my date…” section allows you to further explain your interests and what turns you on.
Every profile is reviewed for quality assurance. Your one match a day is personalized and picked out just for you based on sex, age, ethnicity and religion. Your personal information, such as your name, remain completely private. The algorithm chooses only the best of the best for you.
Coffee Meets Bagel asks you to authenticate via Facebook to pick out Bagels with whom you share mutual friends and to avoid matching you with existing friends. Nothing is posted on Facebook unless you want others to know about your dating life.
The app even has its own blog. It gives tips and tricks from creating the best profile to ditching the date if it’s not going as well as expected.
There are plenty of success stories people share from using the app. A lot of the cute stories are posted on the blog and their Instagram account, coffeembagel.
“I think about the first couple who notified us of the fact that they are getting married,” Kang said. “They are in New York [City] and extended an invite.”
Kang said that it has been a challenge getting same-sex couples to try the app but a couple from Los Angeles has reached out after meeting. She is proud they are finally making it work for all people.
In order to reach more people, the app asks members to follow them on Twitter, tweet about them and send text messages to contacts in your phone. The more people on the app, the more opportunities you have to meet cool singles in your area.
Photo illustration by Megan Maher
