Byline: Andrea Joy Dizon
Valentine’s Day arrives in New York City like a dare. The sidewalks pulse with possibility, yet the singles navigating them often find themselves trapped in a peculiar digital purgatory: matches that never reply, conversations that dissolve mid-sentence, and connections that vanish without warning. Sergio Giles watched this pattern repeat itself across millions of screens and decided the system needed surgery, an overhaul that would take dating’s most frustrating ritual and turn it into something collaborative.
His creation, Date Draft, landed on Apple’s App Store this month with a feature unlike anything the dating world has seen before. Android users will get their turn soon on the first week of February. But the idea itself already feels urgent. Rather than letting failed matches pile up like digital debris, the app gives them a second life through its Trade Room—a space where members can scout profiles from other members’ matches and see if they might spark something real with someone else.
Trading Silence for Strategy
The Trade Room operates on a simple truth: chemistry isn’t universal, but potential often is. When a user realizes a match won’t work out, they can trade that profile in the Trade Room anonymously rather than letting the chat trail off into nothing. Members gain access to a roster of matches with other members, treating it like a scouting service hunting for undervalued talent. Someone who seemed wrong for one person might be perfect for another who shares the same hobbies, humor, or hometown.
Giles, who serves as chairman and CEO of Date Draft Inc., calls ghosting “a universal drag on modern dating”. People slip away from conversations because they feel awkward or overwhelmed, leaving value sitting there unused. He explains, “The silent, awkward end of a match is a universal negative experience. We asked, ‘What if there was a better way?'” Through trading, that unused connection becomes fresh energy for another person, turning emotional dead ends into opportunities rather than disappointment.
The app borrows its structure from fantasy sports leagues, where fans study stats, shuffle rosters, and cheer each other toward victory. Giles channels that mindset toward kindness rather than gamesmanship. “With the Trade Room, we’re replacing the passive act of ghosting with the proactive and positive action of trading. It’s like being a fantasy football manager for your love life. You’re constantly strategizing to build your perfect team, or in this case, to help other members find their perfect match,” he says. Members collaborate, draft, and root for one another, transforming what used to be quiet rejection into a social game with real stakes.
Staking a Claim in a Crowded Arena
Dating apps generated approximately $6.18 billion globally in 2024, reaching over 350 million users worldwide. Yet the mood inside those apps feels rough. Approximately 91% of men and 94% of women report that dating has become more challenging, while 46% of single individuals say they feel stuck in their search for a long-term relationship. Ghosting sits at the heart of that frustration, with matches trailing off without explanation, leaving people wondering what went wrong.
Date Draft addresses this gap by refusing to let matches simply disappear into silence. The Trade Room gives every profile a chance to find a better seat at the table, turning stalled chats into potential victories for someone else. Giles positions this as Date Draft’s claim to the dating app crown, carving out a space where rivals like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge have left a void. Those giants dominate home screens across the city, but Date Draft argues they ignore what happens after the match—the awkward fade, the unanswered message, the sense that someone just vanished without a word.
The company remains pre-launch by some metrics, yet ambition runs high. Backed by a global vision from the start, Date Draft aims to rally a worldwide community around the principle that every match holds potential, even if it starts in the wrong inbox. New York City serves as the perfect testing ground—a metropolis where singles move fast, expect results, and value directness over endless small talk. The city’s dating scene thrives on efficiency, and Date Draft delivers exactly that by letting users turn mismatches into assets rather than regrets.
Rewriting the Rules of Rejection
Dating app competition already feels fierce. Tinder alone is estimated to be worth between $17 billion and $20 billion, generating over $7.1 billion in total revenue as of 2025. Bumble and Hinge have carved out their own loyal followings, each claiming a unique spin on swiping culture. Date Draft enters this arena with a different pitch: every stalled chat can be traded into a chance at a “fantasy match” instead of becoming another quiet disappointment.
The Trade Room adds a social thrill that extends beyond romance. Every trade feels like a side bet on happiness, where success means a member walks into a first date with a story—a profile that bounced from one stalled chat into a new, promising thread. Energy inside the app comes from helping someone else score a meaningful match, making friends part of the search rather than passive observers of someone else’s struggle.
Giles built Date Draft around the belief that rejection doesn’t have to sting—it just needs redirection. The app reframes ghosting as a systemic issue rather than a personal failure, giving users a structured way to move on without vanishing. The result feels less like an app and more like a social experiment, one where users act as curators for one another and every connection gets a second chance.
Valentine’s Day approaches with its usual mix of hope and pressure, and New York City singles face the question of what comes next. Date Draft offers one answer: find your match, or help another member find theirs. Either way, nobody has to ghost anybody. The city’s pace demands speed, but the app asks for something different—participation, strategy, and the willingness to believe that a match you didn’t want might be exactly what someone else needs.
