Management Alum's Startup App Offers New Approach to Make Friends and Date

Business school alumnus Tomi Antoljak wants to do for online relationships what NBC's The Voice did for singing competitions.

People using his new mobile app, Hangoo, talk first — and then only get to see each other if there's a match.

"My belief really is that voice is the more authentic way to communicate," said Antoljak, who in 2019 earned a B.S. in business with a concentration in financial technology from NJIT's Martin Tuchman School of Management. He was also a member of Albert Dorman Honors College.

Antoljak grew up in Croatia, was recruited to the University of Nebraska as a tennis player and transferred to Newark after his sophomore year. He brought a keen interest in investing and entrepreneurship.

Antoljak interned at Royal Bank of Canada and several startup companies. After graduation he took a job working on social media for SoundCloud as one of their youngest product managers, while based in Berlin, but soon realized that most social media interactions are shallow. That experience helped form the voice-only idea where avatars come first, pictures second. He contacted investors and managed to connect with billionaire activist Bill Ackman, bonding over tennis. Now, Antoljack is just weeks away from launching his app here in the New York region after testing it in Croatia. He feels that Hangoo can be used for social and networking connections, not only for dating.

Michael Ehrlich, associate professor of finance, said Antoljak excelled at using all of the resources available at NJIT beyond going to class such as taking internships, learning from the mentors at business incubator VentureLink, and participating in business model competitions, along with leading the student investment club and being an athlete.

Ehrlich said there's no doubt that Antoljak will be a successful entrepreneur, whether it's with Hangoo or another opportunity someday. "We spent a fair amount of time talking. One of the things that I advised him strongly, and I would advise any student to do, is if you think there's an area you're interested in then make sure you do an internship or co-op in that industry," he noted.

Although the app can be used for platonic relationships, not just dating, the latter may be a difficult business to enter because of the crowded marketplace. Dating services are challenging because one company, Dallas-based Match Group Inc., owns the majority of major players such as Match, Plenty of Fish, Tinder and OkCupid. Match also partnered with Facebook so no other dating company can advertise there, Ehrlich observed. But what early-stage companies do is try to find a sustainable business model, he added, and Hangoo is doing that by targeting all forms of social connections.

Antoljak agrees that students should try everything they can. "I think spontaneity is hugely forgotten in the way relationships work," he said. "My advice would be not to listen to too much advice. Just do things. Create more than you consume and figure it out on the way."

Students can meet Antoljack and learn more about Hangoo on Friday, Feb. 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Fenster Hall fourth-floor conference room.