Ex-Hinge Execs Raise $8.5M for Gen Z Social App Rodeo
Former Hinge executives have raised $8.5M for Rodeo, a new social app targeting Gen Z. The platform focuses on real-time connections and micro-events, moving beyond passive feeds to let users create and join live moments. The fundraise signals investor belief in apps built for spontaneous, community-first experiences.
Rodeo's founders are former Hinge COO Sam Levy and former Chief Product Officer Tim MacGougan, who both left the dating app in 2022. Their mission with Rodeo is to facilitate real-world connections between existing friends and family, shifting the focus from meeting new people to nurturing current relationships. The $8.5 million seed round was led by Foundry, with participation from 359 Capital and Oceans. This funding is earmarked for product development and team expansion, with the goal of growing the user base from its beta of 20,000 to 50,000. Rodeo aims to solve the problem of social plans getting lost in group chats and social media feeds. The app extracts details like addresses or reservation links from shared content and organizes them into a shareable, calendar-style format to make planning easier. The app's focus on "micro-events" and turning online discoveries into offline activities taps into a growing Gen Z desire for authentic, real-life experiences over purely digital interactions. This generation increasingly uses social media as a search engine for things to do, and Rodeo looks to bridge the gap between discovery and action. While currently pre-revenue, Rodeo is exploring monetization through partnerships with platforms like Ticketmaster or OpenTable, and may introduce a premium subscription tier with advanced features in the future. Based in New York, Rodeo joins a growing ecosystem of consumer and social startups in the city. The raise signals continued investor interest in platforms that address the social needs of younger demographics, a group that prioritizes authenticity and community-driven experiences.
