Joe Feminella (Founder/CEO): “Before I moved to NYC 5 years ago, I always had a more traditional/old school mind set when it came to my interest in women. If I saw someone I thought was attractive or interesting, I would easily, with no hesitation, approach her and say hello. Once I moved to NYC, I saw that most people my age were using dating apps. At first, I thought it was a ridiculous idea, and thought it was mostly for people who did not have the confidence to approach someone in real life. I told myself I would never use a dating app.

Once I started getting acclimated to the city, I noticed it was quite difficult to approach women, and I started realizing that the people on these dating apps were not just people who lacked confidence but it was pretty much everyone, and I started to see it was more of a generational comfortability with the way dating should be. So, I had no other option but to join the crowd and see what this online dating world was all about.

As I started using different dating apps, I realized it was not an effective way to make a real connection. Whether it was matching with too many people and having a long list of endless conversations, or pointless messages with people that didn’t *actually* want to go on a date. Users did not put value into making a real connection. It was always a numbers game and endless swiping. Also, people would message so much back and forth before even meeting, once it came time for the date, it was as if you already knew the person, and you would run out of things to talk about during the date. So, I started asking the women I was going out with with how they felt about the current apps, and they all had the same feedback: frustrated. After realizing everyones’ feedback was the same, and also experiencing these issues firsthand, I realized I had to try and figure out a way a better way for that people to meet! I wanted people to have the comfortability of using an app, but an app that would allow users to experience a real, old school, classic human interaction.

And that’s how I came up with the idea for First Round’s on Me (FROME).”