✉️ This app makes $200,000/month from helping women avoid bad dates.
She asked, “Are we dating the same guy?” — now it’s a $2.4M app.
👋 Hi and welcome to today’s edition of Venture Radar where we uncover real internet businesses making real money, and break down how they do it.
Today’s story? An anonymous dating safety app that women check before they agree to meet. It’s not about finding love, it's about avoiding liars, cheaters, and hidden red flags. And it’s pulling in $200,000/month from women who just want to feel safer dating online.
Let’s break down how Tea built a business on trust and why it’s working.
BUT BEFORE THAT …
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🧠 Quick Summary
Name: Tea Dating Advice (Helping women date safe)
What it does: Tea is a dating safety app that lets women verify potential dates, check for red flags, and get advice from other women before meeting up.
Revenue: $200,000 per month ( ~$2.4M ARR)
Model: Freemium with monthly and yearly subscription plans
Founded by: Sean Cook
Website: www.teaforwomen.com
📝 What Is Tea Dating Advice ? - So what makes
At first glance, Tea might look like another dating app. But open it up, and you’ll quickly realize it’s not built for dating. It’s built for protecting women who date.
Tea gives women a way to check the reality behind a profile before they ever agree to a first date.
Think of it like a private, anonymous group chat where women warn each other about red flags from cheaters and liars to married men pretending to be single.
It’s part safety tool, part support system.
You can post a name and ask, “Are we dating the same guy?” and instantly tap into real stories shared by other women.
You can set alerts for specific names.
You can ask for advice before a date.
And if something feels off, you can find out if anyone else has experienced the same thing.
It’s about women watching out for each other, in a world where dating apps often don’t.
And the experience is built to feel safe and easy. There’s no feed full of noise or pressure to perform. Just a calm, anonymous space where women can share honestly, support each other, and stay informed.
If dating apps are where the game happens… Tea is the group chat that keeps you safe behind the scenes.
Here’s what you can do inside Tea:
Search by name to see if a guy has been flagged or mentioned
Verify red flags like cheating, lying, or being married
Ask for advice before going on a date
Share your experience to help others
Set alerts so you’re notified if someone new posts about the same person
🕵️♂️ So, who’s the guy behind Status?
Sean Cook, a tech product leader based in San Francisco - never planned to build a dating app.
But a terrifying experience within his own family changed everything.
“In 2022, his mother was targeted in an online romance scam. She was catfished by a man who turned out to have a criminal record. Watching it unfold made Sean realize just how little dating apps do to protect women. He decided to fix that, not by building a better Tinder, but by building a safety tool that put women first.”
Sean wasn’t new to tech. He’d led product teams at Salesforce, Shutterfly, and a handful of other Silicon Valley companies. But this time, it was personal. He grew up in Philadelphia, raised by women who taught him to stand up for what’s right. Now, he was building something for them and every other woman navigating the mess of modern dating.
He poured in his own savings, quietly launched the app, and called it Tea, a safe space where women could ask, “Are we dating the same guy?” before stepping into danger.
But Sean knew that to make Tea truly resonate, he needed the right voice.
He found that in Daniella Szetela, a viral TikTok creator known for her unfiltered, relatable dating content.
She wasn’t just popular; she was trusted. So he brought her on as Tea’s “Chief Female Officer,” giving her a key role in shaping the product and telling its story.
The results were immediate.
When Tea launched, Daniella’s audience helped spread the word like wildfire. TikTok clips, real-life stories, and grassroots buzz drive massive traffic. Within months, Tea had hit the top 5 in the App Store’s lifestyle category. It was pulling in nearly half a million users.
But the real reward? Women writing in to say Tea literally saved their lives by flagging a fake profile, uncovering a hidden marriage, or helping them avoid a dangerous date.
Tea’s story is proof that the right mission, the right people, and the right timing can turn a simple idea into a movement. And for the women who use it every day, it’s more than just an app, it’s peace of mind.
📬 Distribution strategy: How they found users?
Again, Tea app has nailed TikTok as a distribution channel. Here’s how they did it.
UGC army posting daily
Almost always the same viral format
They tackle a controversial topic
Organic + paid
Let me show you an example…
Video no longer than 7 seconds
Long text to increase user watch time (boosts reach)
Her in the background (dramatic gestures)
This video reached 200,000 views:
This is just one example, but 99% of the videos posted by the other creators follow the exact same format.
It works well because besides having a high average user watch time, it also sparks debate in the comments.
(They usually mention the app in captions and in their bio)
To access the app you have to go through a review process so they can verify that you’re a woman.
So if you’re a man and just curious to try it out... sorry but you won’t get in unless you throw on a wig and shave really well. They have various monthly subscription plans -
👨🔧 Why it works
Dating apps weren’t built with safety in mind. Profiles can be fake, stories are easy to fabricate, and once you're on a date, it’s often too late to learn the truth.
Tea works because it gives women what dating apps don’t: a second layer of defense.
Here’s why people use it and why many are happy to pay:
It helps you dodge real risks
Whether it’s avoiding a married man pretending to be single or spotting someone with a history of abusive behavior, Tea lets women check red flags before they agree to meet. That kind of peace of mind is worth way more than the price of a subscription.
It feels like a real-time background check, powered by women
Instead of paying $50+ for an outdated background report, Tea gives access to real-time stories from other women. You can search for a name, ask “has anyone dated this guy?”, and get answers based on real experiences instantly.
It’s anonymous, but powerful
Unlike public forums or social media callouts, Tea keeps everything private and anonymous. That makes it safe to share without fear which encourages honesty and community-driven trust.
It offers real advice, not just warnings
Sometimes you’re not sure if something’s a red flag. Tea gives you a space to ask other women for advice like, “Is this normal?” or “Should I cancel this date?” That support system is something traditional apps don’t offer.
It gives you control back
In a dating world that often feels chaotic or one-sided, Tea helps users feel more in control. You're not just reacting you’re prepared. And that emotional security is something people are willing to pay for.
It saves you from wasting emotional energy
Bad dates don’t just waste time they mess with your head. Tea helps you avoid people who have already proven they’re not worth your energy. And that saves more than money, it saves mental peace.
Tea doesn’t promise a perfect date. But it gives women the tools to avoid the worst ones and that alone makes it worth it.
And clearly, it’s working, just look at the numbers.
40k ratings - 4.5 out of 5… :)
💡 Build something like this
Tea works because it combines real stories, trust, and anonymity, all in service of protecting people in vulnerable moments.
If you want to build something like it, focus on high-trust, high-stakes situations where people need help from others who’ve been there.
Here are 4 ideas that follow a similar playbook:
BossCheck : An anonymous platform to report and read reviews on specific managers before accepting a job offer focused on workplace behavior, harassment, and ethics.
Freelance Client Watchlist : A community-driven tool where freelancers flag late-paying or exploitative clients searchable by name, company, or industry.
Mom-to-Mom Sitter Reviews : A trusted network for moms to share detailed, honest reviews of babysitters, nannies, and daycare centers beyond just 5-star ratings.
Contractor Check : A database of verified home contractor reviews from real homeowners covering scams, incomplete work, and pricing transparency for construction, plumbing, electrical, and more.
If you have any other ideas in mind, feel free to reply to this email. We might add in this list. :)
🧐 What you can learn
Solve a problem people whisper about, not shout about
Tea works because it addresses a problem that’s deeply real, but rarely talked about openly. Most dating apps focus on matching. Tea focuses on protection. It became valuable because it gave women a place to share what they couldn’t say elsewhere.
If you're building a product, ask: What are people quietly dealing with, but don’t feel safe talking about yet?
Safety is a feature but trust is the product
Tea isn’t just about exposing cheaters or flagging red flags. It creates trust between strangers who’ve been through similar situations. That trust is what keeps people coming back.
Founders often chase features… but lasting products deliver emotional value. Safety, privacy, trust these aren’t “nice to haves.” They’re the foundation.
Don’t underestimate small networks with strong intent
Tea isn’t trying to be the next billion-user platform. It focuses on a specific audience (women dating online), in high-stakes situations (before meeting someone). And that niche is powerful.
It shows that when users really need something, you don’t need huge scale to build something meaningful and monetizable.
Organic growth still works, if you’re brave enough to build something that spreads
Tea grew by giving people a tool they felt compelled to tell others about, through word of mouth, friend groups, and even TikTok. No flashy ads.
Just usefulness and emotional resonance. If your product hits a nerve, people will talk. Your job is to make something worth talking about.
Monetization doesn’t have to be aggressive
Tea reportedly makes money through subscriptions, but it doesn’t push hard. The core value peace of mind, information, and community is enough to justify payment.
If you’re building in sensitive categories like safety or wellness, subtlety in monetisation can build long-term trust.
📈 Similar businesses on the radar
Most of these apps are solving the same problem and targeting the same audience but still lag behind in revenue. Take RealMe, for example: it has over 300K downloads but struggles to generate meaningful revenue.
The takeaway? To succeed in this space, you need a winning strategy for both active distribution and smart monetisation.
❓ Would you build this?
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