Monet
Shut DownDraw your way to love
Gen-Z dating app where users send drawings instead of swiping to spark authentic connections.
About
Monet was a dating and friendmaking app that replaced the traditional swipe mechanic with drawing. Users sent doodles to potential matches, sparking creative, low-pressure conversations that felt more authentic than text openers. Founded in 2020 by four college friends during a gap year in Portland, the app went viral after a TikTok post hit 500K views in a single day, flooding the TestFlight beta with 10,000 sign-ups in three weeks. Monet's design philosophy drew inspiration from the artist Claude Monet — particularly his late-career constraint of painting with just six colors, which became the app's core palette. Backed by Pear VC and Gumroad founder Sahil Lavingia, the team grew to 20,000 users with a 2,000-member Discord community before shutting down at the end of 2022.
DailyDropout Take
Monet caught our eye as a refreshingly creative take on Gen-Z dating — replacing awkward opening lines with doodles was both viral-worthy and genuinely different. Founded by college friends during a gap year, the team showed impressive hustle going from idea to 20K users in months. While the company ultimately shut down, it proved there was real demand for more authentic, playful alternatives to swipe culture.
Discovery signal: Viral TikTok growth (500K views in a day), strong Gen-Z community engagement, creative product differentiation in a crowded market
What Makes Them Unique
Monet replaced the swipe mechanic with drawings, creating a more creative and authentic way to break the ice on dating apps — appealing to Gen-Z users tired of conventional dating app formats.
20,000
Users
2,000 members
Discord Community
350,000+
Matches
$500K
Seed Funding
Target Markets
Founders
Joanna Shan
Co-Founder & COO
Led fundraising, marketing, growth, and community at Monet. Previously studied at the University of Pennsylvania.
Daniel Huang
Co-Founder & Designer
Led product design and prototyping at Monet.
Jonathan Xue
Co-Founder & CEO
Co-created Monet while at the University of Pennsylvania.
Marc Liu
Co-Founder
Co-founded Monet during a gap year from college.
Funding History
Lead: Pear VC
Investors
Firms
Individual Investors
Founder & CEO, Gumroad