Leigh Issacson and her sister Casey got the idea for Tabby Dates from their other business: Dig Dates, a dating app for dog lovers. The sisters both love dogs and got the idea for the Dig app because Casey broke up with a guy who just wasn’t a dog person. They made Dig Dates to get that type of “deal killing” information out in the open up front. That app was a big success, so they thought it would work for cats, too.
Since they weren’t cat people, they needed to find some. Enter Nathan “The Cat Lady” Kehn and Sterling “TrapKing” Davis. Kehn is an actor and cat lover he has about half a million Instagram followers. His account features him and his four cats. Davis is a well known, life long cat lover who started Trapking Humane Trap Solutions, an organization that traps, neuters and releases feral cats. With these two aboard, Tabby Dates got their “cat cred.” Davis and Kehn will pitch the dating app with Leigh in Shark Tank episode 1303.
Apparently, men who like cats are stigmatized in the dating world and these three hope to change that. Apparently, guys with cats don’t get as many dates on traditional dating apps. Tabby Dates is free, but it costs $19.99 per month or $49.98 for 6 months to unlock the premium features like unlimited messaging. Since a lot of people got cats in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, response to the app has been strong. They probably want a Shark’s help growing their technology along with their customer base.
My Take on Tabby Dates
I am not a customer for dating apps. As I like to say, my wife and I met the old fashioned way: in a bar! I would not want to negotiate the modern dating landscape in any way shape or form. That said, I’d be more of a Dig customer than a Tabby Customer. I don’t like cats, but they seem to like me. Any time I go to y daughter’s house, her cat snuggles up around my feet and purrs, it happens to me everywhere there are cats.
Owning a cat wouldn’t be a deal killer for me, as long as I didn’t have to clean the litter box. I can see how it could be for some people. As a “dog person,” I immediately get the vibe when I encounter a non dog person. If I were dating, I’d go for a dog woman.
Do Sharks Like Cats?
Dating apps don’t have a history of success in the Tank. The only way Tabby Dates has a shot is if they have a solid grasp of their customer acquisition cost and the lifetime value of a customer. If they have that information and the numbers work, the could see offers, otherwise I’m afraid they won’t get a deal.
Maybe, just maybe, Nirav Tolia will bid on this. He basically makes his living helping tech start-ups, so he could see value here. I think that’s their only hope.
