First Round's On Me

Who owns First Round's On Me?
First Round's On Me is a privately held company founded and owned by Joe and Hannah Feminella. Joe Feminella serves as CEO and Hannah Feminella serves as co-founder and creative lead. The company has raised $5 million in seed funding from investors including Manna Property Group, but the founders maintain control of the business. No institutional investor holds a majority stake, and the company has not disclosed specific ownership percentages.

What does First Round's On Me do?
First Round's On Me operates a social dating app that requires users to schedule an in-person date as the first step after matching, rather than engaging in prolonged online messaging. The company also hosts ticketed dating events, runs a podcast about relationships, operates a cafe called Cafe Social Club in New York City, and has announced plans to launch an alcoholic beverage line called Heartini. The company describes itself as a lifestyle brand focused on in-person human connection.

How many users does First Round's On Me have?
First Round's On Me had approximately 250,000 users as of October 2025, according to founder Joe Feminella's LinkedIn posts. The app had surpassed 300,000 downloads and facilitated over 500,000 date invitations and 10,000 completed dates as of late 2024. The company reported 3.9 million monthly impressions across its social media channels. These figures are self-reported and have not been independently verified.

How does First Round's On Me make money?
The company generates revenue through app subscriptions ranging from $10 to $25 per month, with over 6,000 paying subscribers as of August 2024. Additional revenue comes from event ticketing, advertising on its app and podcast network, and cafe sales at its New York City location. The company has described itself as revenue-generating, meaning it earns more than nominal income from its operations. Total annual revenue is estimated at approximately $2 million (FY2025).

Is First Round's On Me a public company?
No. First Round's On Me is a privately held company incorporated as First Round Is On Me, Inc. It has not filed for an IPO and does not trade on any stock exchange. The company has raised $5 million in seed funding across three rounds, with the most recent $3 million round closed in August 2024 and led by Manna Property Group. There are no public indications of plans for an IPO.

What is Cafe Social Club?
Cafe Social Club is a physical cafe and events space operated by First Round's On Me at 109 West 25th Street in Chelsea, New York City. It opened in March 2025 and serves as a meeting place for app users, a co-working space, and a venue for events including workout classes and podcast recordings. App subscribers paying $24.99 per month receive unlimited coffee at the cafe. Non-members pay approximately $4 for lattes.

How is First Round's On Me different from Tinder or Bumble?
First Round's On Me does not use a swipe-based matching interface. When a user expresses interest in someone, the app immediately prompts them to schedule a date at a specific time and place. Chat between matched users opens only 24 hours before the scheduled date, and only one date can be scheduled per day. This model is designed to reduce ghosting and endless messaging by pushing users toward in-person meetings quickly.

What is Heartini?
Heartini is an alcoholic beverage line announced by First Round's On Me, with a planned launch in December 2025. The product line represents the company's expansion from digital dating and events into consumer packaged goods. Limited information is available about the product specifics, distribution plans, or pricing as of the pre-launch phase. The beverage line extends the company's brand theme of social drinking and first rounds into a physical product.

First Round's On Me was founded in May 2020 by Joe Feminella. Feminella, then 34, had previously worked as a senior account executive at VOX Network Solutions and as a client manager at NTT Ltd. and Dimension Data. He pivoted from a career in technology sales to build a dating app that would push users toward in-person meetings rather than prolonged online conversations.

The app launched in May 2020 in select markets including New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. Feminella moved to Los Angeles in June 2020, where he met his wife Hannah, who became co-founder and creative lead. The couple soft-launched the platform in a limited number of cities and spent two years collecting user feedback and hosting in-person dating events.

In May 2022, the company relaunched the app after securing its first seed funding round of $1 million. A second seed round of $1 million followed in 2023. During this period, the app expanded from 12 cities to nationwide coverage in the United States.

In August 2024, First Round's On Me raised a $3 million seed round led by Manna Property Group, bringing total funding to $5 million. The company also announced a nationwide launch. By this time, the app had surpassed 300,000 downloads and 200,000 users, with 500,000 date invitations sent and 10,000 dates completed.

The company expanded into physical retail in 2025. In March 2025, First Round's On Me opened Cafe Social Club at 109 West 25th Street in Chelsea, New York City. The cafe serves as a meeting space for app users, a co-working location, and an events venue. App subscribers paying $24.99 per month receive unlimited coffee, while non-members pay approximately $4 for lattes. The cafe also hosts workout classes, DJ nights, and podcast recordings.

In 2025, the company partnered with talent agency Gersh to expand its brand consulting and market positioning. Gersh's brand consulting practice provides strategy, creative direction, and audience engagement services to clients including First Round's On Me.

In October 2025, First Round's On Me relaunched its app with a referral-only community model and a new B2B partnership program. The partnership program connects the app with cafes and bars in New York City, offering users a free first drink when they meet at a partner venue. The company contributes $5 toward each drink redemption, with a two-drink minimum requirement.

The company announced plans to launch Heartini, an alcoholic beverage line, in December 2025. This move represents First Round's On Me's entry into the consumer packaged goods market, extending its brand from digital dating into physical products.

In March 2026, Feminella announced that the team had completed a full rebuild of the app's product over six months, describing the effort as executed at startup speed. The rebuild was part of the company's ongoing effort to refine its product and improve user retention.

First Round's On Me does not publish a sustainability report or ESG disclosure. As a seed-stage startup with approximately 10 employees, the company is not subject to the sustainability reporting expectations that apply to larger consumer goods companies.

The company's cafe, Cafe Social Club, operates as a conventional coffee shop. No public information is available about its sourcing practices, environmental certifications, or waste reduction policies. The company has not announced any B Corp certification or commitment to carbon neutrality.

The planned Heartini alcoholic beverage line will subject the company to alcohol industry regulations, including responsible drinking and marketing standards. No information is available about the company's approach to these requirements as of the product's pre-launch phase.

First Round's On Me's core mission of encouraging in-person social connection has been framed by its founders as a response to the negative effects of excessive screen time and digital communication on human relationships. This social mission is the closest the company comes to an ethical positioning, though it has not been formally codified in any published standards or commitments.

First Round's On Me has a limited public controversy record, consistent with its small size and short operating history. No regulatory actions, lawsuits, or significant public criticisms have been reported in available sources as of August 2026.

The company operates in the online dating sector, which has faced broader regulatory scrutiny regarding user safety, data privacy, and the impact of dating apps on mental health. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has examined dating app practices, and several states have considered legislation requiring age verification and safety features on dating platforms. First Round's On Me is subject to these general regulatory expectations but has not been specifically targeted by any enforcement action.

The company's requirement that users meet in person within 24 hours of matching raises safety considerations. First Round's On Me mitigates this by recommending public meeting places and partnering with verified venues. The company has not publicly disclosed specific safety protocols beyond its venue partnership model.

The launch of an alcoholic beverage line will introduce additional regulatory requirements, including federal and state alcohol licensing, labeling compliance, and marketing restrictions. The company has not publicly addressed how it will navigate these requirements.