NCMO is an upcoming dating app made with the intent to help people go on more dates with people with similar values.
When thinking about the potential of making a dating app, Jonathan Strickland, the app’s CEO and BYU-Idaho student studying social work, said he and his friend “just didn’t know what to call it.”
“I just said NCMO to be funny,” Strickland said. “You know. ‘cause it’s got that slang behind it. And we actually just looked at each other and we’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s it,’ and from there we had to figure out how we wanted to correlate it with our values and changed what NCMO stood for.”
The app will have two sides to the platform, the “NC” is the “Non-Committal” side of the app’s platform, for those looking to meet people without looking for something serious. The “MO” or “Marriage Optional” represents the app’s other side, for those who want something serious, but keep in mind they don’t need to marry the person they match with.
Strickland said the app’s two sides, along with special features that are yet to be announced, will help singles who are searching for like-minded people to date.
“Ideally we want people to actually go meet people in real life,” Strickland said. “That’s the whole goal of the app, which I think is missed in a lot of the apps out there right now. I think I can speak for all of us, the goal is to get people in real life meeting people.”
NCMO’s creators agreed that the app’s design will also help people know what kind of people they will be swiping on, helping create an easier way to date and meet more new people.
“One thing that we found very difficult with dating apps was understanding the intention of the person involved,” said Alex Majatovic, the app’s COO. “They’re heavily geared towards ending with the goal of marriage. And we agree with that principle 100%, but we don’t think that especially when you’re dealing with a less than socially comfortable demographic with Gen Z and Gen Alpha. It’s very difficult to go from zero to trying to get married when you haven’t had a good dating experience.”
The new app was created to eliminate common issues many face on dating apps like “ghosting.”
“There’s a lot of issues when you have a match, but no conversation starts,” said Elijah Baisden, NCMO’s CFO. “That’s so prevalent, especially on dating apps. It would be like in person, if you walked up to someone and say ‘hi’ and then they say ‘hi’ back, and then you turn around and walked away, right? Which doesn’t make any sense, but it only happens on dating apps.”
To listen to the full interview with the creators of NCMO, go to BYU-Idaho Radio’s podcast on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.