New dating app Weaver launches in Tampa Bay

• It's designed for long-term partnerships, founder Mara Rudolph told Axios.
• Rudolph lives in Delray Beach, and the company's chief technology officer, Matt Spaulding, is a Tampa Bay native who still lives in the area. That, along with the area's growing population, inspired the launch location.

The intrigue: Rudolph said her app is different from other relationship-focused ones like Hinge ("the app designed to be deleted") by connecting users via their core values, such as religion and views on money.

• Other apps "muddy the water because they also have a lot of personality- and interest-focused questions," she said.

How it works: Weaver has 26 "pillar questions" split into five categories: religion, politics, life attitudes, money and emotional maturity.

• Users answer the questions for themselves and indicate what answers would be acceptable from potential matches — and which answers would be considered red flags or dealbreakers.
• Then, as a user is browsing profiles, a banner will flash at the top indicating if that person's profile triggered a red flag or dealbreaker. From there, the user can peruse the rest of the potential match's answers.
• Users can also add photos and a bio, similar to Tinder and Bumble.

Why it matters: Yeah, yeah, we all want to have a serendipitous, "locked eyes at the grocery store" story. But the reality is that more couples are meeting online, said Arielle Kuperberg, a University of North Carolina Greensboro sociologist who specializes in romantic relationships and who met her husband on OkCupid.

• The #MeToo movement and the pandemic shifted social dynamics in workplaces, one of the more common ways to meet your match in person.
• Even before the pandemic, less drinking and more states legalizing cannabis have pushed people away from nights out at the bar, Kuperberg said.

Yes, but: Online dating doesn't work for everyone, she said. Racism, particularly anti-Black sentiments, is rampant on apps. Men outnumber women, so it can be more difficult for a straight male user to meet someone.

What they're saying: Weaver's "overall approach I think is actually a really good one," Kuperberg said. Research shows that people with similar values — especially religious and political views, and desire or not for children — are more likely to get and stay in long-term relationships.

• "On the other hand," she said, "you may end up limiting yourself a little too much." Having a long list of what you’re looking for in another person could cut off potential matches.

• "If I was dating, I would just use all the apps because I feel like different people end up on different apps," Kuperberg said.

Between the lines: Rudolph relied on her background in user experience design, interest in relationship studies via experts like psychotherapist Esther Perel and relationship author and podcaster Brené Brown, and her own experiences using dating apps to come up with Weaver.

• Spaulding came into the picture after connecting with Rudolph through the startup networking website AngelList.
• Along with his experience in the Tampa tech scene, he brought long-term relationship experience to the table. He married his Largo High sweetheart, who he started dating "before the word 'app' even existed."

Of note: The free version of the app allows users to see up to three profiles a day, Spaulding said. For around $15 a month, depending on the length of the plan, users can see up to 15 profiles per day.

By the numbers: More than 100 users have signed up since Weaver launched, Rudolph said. She’s hoping to hit 500 by the end of the month.