Photo via Peanut
A new Tinder-like app for moms is making its official debut in D.C. this week.
Peanut, which lets users swipe their way to a new gal pal, launched in New York and London in February.
Similar to dating apps, Peanut lets women create profiles based on where they live and their interests. Two people are connected if they both swipe up to wave hello. Instead of hooking up for romance, Peanut users go on playdates and hangouts with other women.
Moms in other cities, including D.C., quickly caught wind of the resource, said creator Michelle Kennedy, who recently hosted a party in Georgetown to encourage more local women to join. She said thousands of moms in the District signed up before the official launch.
Kennedy, who was part of the team that launched the dating app Bumble, decided to create Peanut after becoming a 30-year-old married mother who only had single, kidless friends.
“It was that weird thing when we would go to dinner and they’ll talk about a guy they went on a date with last night and I’m thinking about doing a feed,” said Kennedy, whose son, Finlay, is now three. “It was a moment in time when it’s like, ‘I can’t relate to what you’re talking about right now. I love you, but I’m thinking about a totally different kind of world.’”
She said it’s important to have women who understand your stage in life and are available to talk at 2 a.m. if you’re having trouble with your newborn.
It’s also important, she said, “to connect like-minded women, not just connecting women because we have children… Peanut lets users find friends based on similar industries, interests, and outlooks on life.”
When signing up, users can choose to be apart of up to three “packs.” The most popular are “wine time,” “but first, food,” and “powered by coffee,” according to Kennedy. There are about two dozen other categories including “sleep deprived,” “outdoorsy,” “LGBTQ,” and “mom boss.”
They can also show the age of their child or children, educational background, languages spoken, and more.
When two moms wave, the app lets them to chat, as well as schedule times and places to meet. It has a polling feature that lets them choose between three options, and the date that works for everyone goes directly on your calendar.
The app has a group feature that lets up to 20 women chat and schedule meetups, plus it has the ability to toggle locations between home, work, and other cities for moms who travel.
Launching Peanut has been “amazing,” Kennedy said. The best part is when she gets emails from women who said they’ve used it to meet “their new best friend” or that “it’s really changed my life.” Some women have even launched business together.
And Kennedy has made a couple of friends herself. One of them is younger, and so is her child. “So it had more to do with the commonalities that we have… she had watched a bizarre TV series and made me laugh and we bonded over that.”
