No swiping: The League dating app for professionals debuts in Cleveland

The League, a dating app that recently debuted in Cleveland, sponsors activities where singles can connect with other singles. (The League)

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Emily Davis, a first-year law student at Case Western Reserve University, is the kind of career-oriented woman that the dating app The League exists for.

Davis was among 500 Clevelanders chosen for The League’s inbitious, well-educated men and women looking for the same qualities in a mate. Her reward was receiving five potential dates when the dating app launched here Tuesday.

One of her matches was a doctoral candidate at Case Western Reserve University who described himself as a “British Texan.” Davis, 24, was charmed.

Whether Davis and the British Texan ever meet depends on on whether she sends him a “heart” through the app, and he reciprocates. On this app, there’s no swiping left or right like on other online dating sites.

A handpicked group of 500 Cleveland-area singles, chosen from a wait list of more than 3,000, received full access to The League dating app and were able to receive their matches selected by the app’s algorithm.

“They are drafted into The League,” said Meredith Davis, head of communications for The League Mulheres turco, which is based in San Francisco.

Every day, members of The League – a curated, mobile-based dating app for career-oriented professionals – receive the profiles of two or three potential dates on their phones. Send the most interesting person a “heart,” and if one is returned, the app opens into a chat function so the two people can arrange a date.

Those singles will decide whether to date a “part-time gym-goer, full-time pizza pundit,” or someone whose profile admitted, “I dip my fries in my Frosty and put chips on my sandwich. Jeni’s (Splendid Ice Creams) is the way to my heart.”

The League will add more people to the local dating pool weekly. Users don’t have to be vice presidents or CEOs, but the app does “look for people who are driven,” Davis said. Nationally, 30 percent of League users have advanced degrees, and 20 percent have MBAs.

Lauren Frawley, 27, thinks that her master’s degree in occupational therapy helped make her one of the 500 Clevelanders chosen for The League’s opening day. Frawley just moved back to this area after nearly three years in Philadelphia, and it’s been hard to meet friends, let alone go on dates.

“I got the impression The League is for people who are serious about dating,” Frawley said. She’s looking for a guy who is funny and educated. “Somebody who has their crap together,” she laughed.

The League — which does focus on people who want to date and not just text endlessly — is trying to promote equality in anda Bradford. She got the idea for the app during her second year of an MBA program at Stanford University in 2014.

When she re-entered the dating world after a long-term relationship ended, Bradford wasn’t happy with the lack of privacy and filters on OK Cupid, Tinder and other popular online dating websites.

Bradford also realized she wasn’t interested in men who “didn’t share my same drive to achieve, level of intellect, or desire to be in a relationship where our careers and social lives were of equal importance,” she wrote in an Linked In essay.

In the essay, Bradford cited studies proving what she observed: that many men expect their wives’ careers to be secondary to theirs after marriage, and that a man and woman are less likely to date if her income is higher than his. No wonder some women downplay their intelligence and accomplishments so they don’t drive men away, she said.

“I wanted to build a community where smart, outspoken, high-achieving women are celebrated and encouraged to progress in their career full-time,” Bradford wrote. “I wanted to never EVER hear a woman be worried that her educational achievements or career ambition would be a turn-off.”

Men who really are looking for a woman whose career drive matches theirs are praising The League. “I really think this is such an amazing ecosystem you have created and I have met some amazing people,” said David Yong of New York, who was quoted in the company’s press materials.

“I love The League so far; met some amazing women and being new to San Francisco, it’s really helped me a lot,” Simon Walker was quoted as saying in press materials.

No swiping: The League dating app for professionals debuts in Cleveland

The League now has more than 1 million people on its wait list in 30 cities; it debuted in six cities – including Cleveland — on Tuesday, Davis said. Nationally, the median age of League users is 28. The company does not reveal how many active members it has.

Because membership is curated, the app can ensure an equal ratio of men to women in its dating pool; the pool also tries to mimic the ethnic and racial makeup of its cities, Davis said.

The League app is free to download on iOS and the Google Store, and users can upgrade to paid memberships that allow access to more profiles each day and to League activities and events where they can connect with other singles. Memberships range from $59 for one month, to $250 for one year.

People who want to join The League initially sign up for the wait list, and stay there until they are vetted by The League’s staff. Those who are deemed not up to snuff languish in the wait zone indefinitely, Davis said. The app’s wait list has been open in Cleveland since 2014.

Staffers look at every prospect’s profile and photo, and authenticates identities through Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. Dating profiles are hidden from LinkedIn and Facebook connections.

The League does not ask users for annual salaries, and a college degree isn’t a requirement. Some people drop out of college to start a business, and many app users in Los Angeles forgo college to pursue acting. “We take all things into consideration,” Davis said.

The app’s algorithm gauges the popularity of each League participant based on the number of “hearts” he or she receives, and gives those people more matches.

Just as young professionals invest in their clothes and appearance, “it’s just as important to invest in dating,” she said.

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