Miso: Solution to
dating app burnout
An app concept focused on creating spontaneous, in-person connections
Overview
School project: Creating a 0 to 1 product of your choice with a team of 5. (Technical Product Management course, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management)
Role: Product Manager
Mission: My team and I wanted to create a product to solve "dating app burnout." I led the product lifecycle from initial user research and problem definition to defining the MVP, crafting the go-to-market strategy, and building the business case.
“Dating should be fun, but it feels like a chore. Most of the time, conversations online don’t even lead to anything real or lasting.”
Problem: Digital fatigue is killing real connection
Why are users deleting their dating apps? (from 24+ user interviews)
Endless swiping: The core mechanic promotes surface-level judgments and devalues individual profiles.
The "Chat Trap": Conversations often fizzle out after days or weeks, rarely converting to real-life dates.
Lack of spontaneity: The entire process feels calculated and inauthentic, missing the magic of real-world encounters
Solution: A proximity-based, "In-Person First" app
Product vision: To create a dating app that does the opposite of every other app: get you off your phone and into a real conversation as quickly as possible.
Core value proposition:
Real-time & hyper-local: See who is single and open to meeting right now, in the same music festival, bar, or cafe as you.
Low-pressure interaction: Replace endless chatting with a simple, 15-minute "wave" to show interest and meet immediately.
Safety-first: Integrated features to ensure users feel secure meeting someone new.
Onboarding
Onboarding
Turns on signal to indicate she is open to meet others at the bar on Miso.
Browsing profiles who are at the bar.
She sends Alex a "wave". The wave request only lasts 15 minutes for Alex to accept.
Alex accepts Evelyn’s wave! Their match window will last for 15 minutes.
They have a 15 minute window to coordinate a meeting point. AI assistant to help with the initial conversation.
After the meetup, both users rate their experience.
Go-to-market
GTM strategy: A hyper-local launch focused on building density in two beta cities (NYC & Chicago) through partnerships with popular venues and local micro-influencers.
Business model: A freemium model with premium subscriptions for power users.
Bottom line: Developed the unit economics model, projecting a strong 15:1 LTV:CAC ratio, demonstrating a clear path to profitability.
Learnings
From 0 to 1: This project was a deep dive into the 0-to-1 product lifecycle, reinforcing my ability to connect a deep user insight to a viable business model and go-to-market plan.
The power of a tightly scoped MVP: By ruthlessly prioritizing the core user journey, we defined a focused and achievable MVP that solved the most critical user problem first.