The League, a dating app claiming to be the anti-Tinder, wants to take you out. Maybe.
The app just launched in Dallas in late June and promises that people who are picky can "date intelligently," according to one of its slogans. That slogan probably helped it earn a reputation for being elitist, a claim its founder disputes.
The League is rolling out across major U.S. markets this summer after operating only in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York for its first two years. It's all about being selective: Unlike with many dating apps on the market, not all Dallas singles will be allowed to join.
The app asks for both your LinkedIn and Facebook information to verify data: where you went to school, what kind of job you have and the like. Founder Amanda Bradford says creators have done their best to ensure that not only MBAs and M.D.s are favored. The app uses algorithms to weed out applicants, but it also employs a team of humans who give the final yea or nay.
If someone is in a creative field, the team might even look up that person's IMDB credits. The process is laborious, leading to long waitlists across its other markets — nearly 200,000 globally, to put a number to it.
It's just like real life, Bradford says: "That's what college does, and anywhere you work: They take you through an interview process, you have to fill out an application. You get screened, and screened, and screened more, and then you're invited into this community. There's something about it that works, so why wouldn't we employ the same methodology?"
Bradford created the app after finishing her MBA at Stanford.
The founder was horrified at the prospect of running into her boss or co-workers on Tinder, so her vision for The League is that it would be classier and safer for women.
Authenticating with LinkedIn and Facebook has another purpose, too: The League users will never run into anyone they're connected to on social media.
The League just launched on June 27 in Dallas, so it's too early to tell what kind of reception it's going to have locally. Of the nearly 10,000 people who downloaded the app initially, essentially "applying" to get in, only 2,000 were accepted on opening day.
Statistics from the first batch of Dallas entrants show that Goldman Sachs, Southwestern Medical Center and PwC are the top three employers. Vice president, partner and consultant were the top three job titles.
A year-long membership for $180, the highest available fee, lets customers skip the waitlist and have more control over what's shown on the profile. There are a number of ways to upgrade, at a number of price points, with different benefits.
The app also has extra features like the ability to rate matches on their flakiness, ghosting or inappropriate behavior.
The app can also be free. Bradford used the free version when she matched with her current boyfriend, a fellow entrepreneur.
Nonpaying users are presented with three potential matches each day at 5 p.m. — the app's "happy hour." Bradford said she wanted to make the process as painless as possible for busy professionals.
"I wanted it to not be a 30-minute chore you have to do every night," she says. "It should take one or two minutes."
Indeed: It took no longer than that to go through my first three prospects on opening day, a trifecta of eligible men, handsome and professional. It took several days before I had a match; Bradford explains that even though they were in my stack on opening day, it doesn't mean I was in theirs.
Communications director Meredith Davis likens the app to a matchmaking service rather than a dating site. The people in my stack, for instance, were handpicked by an algorithm based on the maximum chance that we will match.
Bradford stresses patience over a quick fix, too — more language that separates it from the common Tinder experience.
Bradford hopes The League is a modern take on partnering, one that could shift "the paradigms of modern relationships ... trailblazing the 'power couple,' a 50/50 equal partnership."
"In our parents' day, you didn't have as much selection, so you couldn't get as deep into matching. But with this platform and these algorithms, we theoretically have the ability to make the best matches of all time."
If interested, start by downloading The League app from your smartphone's app store and follow the step-by-step prompts to create a profile. Long waitlists are normal, so either be patient, or pay a $180 membership fee via credit card to bypass the line.