Former Tinder, Match, OkCupid, & Grindr Execs Back New Gen Z Dating Platform Cerca

Introducing Cerca: The Dating App for Mutuals, Not Strangers

NEW YORK , NY, UNITED STATES, June 30, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Today, Corazon Capital, an early stage venture capital firm led by dating industry veterans Sam Yagan, Phil Schwarz, and Christian Rudder, announced its investment in Cerca, “The Dating App for Mutuals, Not Strangers”.

Consumer-focused Corazon Capital has backed over one hundred early-stage companies, but this marks the firm’s first dating bet since its Partners left their prior roles founding and scaling category- defining dating platforms including OkCupid, Match Group, Tinder, and Grindr.

“Our decades tackling the challenges of building successful dating products have raised the bar for making an early bet on a new dating product,” shared Corazon Capital Co-Founder Sam Yagan, whose resume includes co-founding OkCupid, running Match Group, and serving on the board of Grindr. “Cerca’s focus on mutual friends has clearly struck a chord with a new generation who have tired of endless swiping."

Myles Slayton, William Conzelman, and Carter Munk founded and launched Cerca just three months ago. Tens of thousands of users have already joined, including nearly one-third of Georgetown University undergraduates. Slayton and Conzelman watched it spread beyond their senior-year campus launch to other cities such as New York City, where Cerca has grown rapidly heading into a series of summer events.

Cerca’s meteoric success signals that its purpose-built design tackles the frustrations dogging other dating apps and resonates with Gen-Z users who increasingly reject traditional platforms. Over time, daters have watched their odds of success on legacy apps plummet because those services failed to prioritize meaningful matches, leading to a degraded user experience for men and women alike.

“Our generation has grown tired of searching for relationships in a sea of total strangers. We built Cerca on the belief that two people who share genuine mutual contacts likely move within similar social circles and already share a base of common interests and context. Yet every major dating app still presents complete strangers to one another. We set out to build an experience that mirrors how most of our friends in relationships actually met: through mutual friends,” says Myles Slayton, co-founder and CEO of Cerca.

Cerca’s approach tackles challenges that traditional dating apps ignore. “Incumbent apps offer zero accountability, so users endure catfishing, lewd messaging, and ghosting,” Slayton notes. “Conversely, knowing that matches share common connections—and seeing exactly which friends they share— refreshes the dating process. Shared friends create social accountability, motivate good behavior, and launch connections. That dynamic explains why our user base has exploded and now attracts many people who never tried a dating app,” he adds. More than 60 percent of early adopters identify as women, nearly twice the proportion on legacy platforms, underscoring the comfort and safety Cerca delivers.

Cerca built its product from the ground up to deliver a premium, high-quality experience. Because social networks often fail to foster meaningful connections, Cerca anchors every profile to mutual address- book contacts, ensuring authenticity and shared friends that potential matches can reference both in real life and on the platform. Instead of bombarding daters with endless profiles, Cerca’s unique reveal flow nudges users to slow down, skip mindless swiping, and weigh mutual friends. The app also keeps every profile “like” anonymous, shielding users from anxiety and fear of rejection. Additional standout features include a “search-for-mutuals” tab, friend-powered matchmaking, and more.

Unlike users on other apps, Cerca users eagerly invite friends to join, expanding their own social circles within the platform and boosting relevance with a larger pool of potential matches. The more mutuals a user has, the more opportunity they have to find a high-quality match.

In addition to hosting events in New York this summer, Cerca will extend its reach through a series of activations and events across Miami, Los Angeles, and other cities nationwide. Follow along on Instagram @cercadating for updates.

To learn more, check out the app https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cerca-dating-for-mutuals and visit www.cercadating.com. For more on Corazon Capital, visit www.corazon.com.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sabrina Levine | sabrina@sabrinalevinepr.com | (917) 769-4434
Nicole Waldman | nicole@sabrinalevinepr.com | (805) 404-8152

About Cerca Dating:
Cerca is the dating app for mutuals, not strangers. Unlike traditional dating apps, Cerca leverages people you already know or have a mutual connection with via your phone address book to facilitate meaningful, trustworthy relationships. Meeting people online shouldn't feel risky. Cerca keeps it simple and safe. You’re not swiping through strangers; you're discovering people with genuine connections to you. Low risk, high reward.

About Corazon Capital:
Born out of a love for building startups and a passion for backing entrepreneurs with heart, Corazon Capital (Spanish for “heart”), a leading Chicago and LA-based venture fund, brings a coastal approach to Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A investing. There’s no such thing as “too early.” With a rare blend of investing experience and operating expertise, Corazon Capital provides unusually pragmatic, actionable counsel to the entrepreneurs it supports. Corazon Capital believes that the best entrepreneurs and the smartest VCs will intentionally solicit both financial and operating investors in their syndicates, with Corazon Capital recognized across geographies for its deep operating knowledge and reach.

Nicole Waldman
Sabrina Levine Communications
+1 805-404-8152
nicole@sabrinalevinepr.com
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