We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brownie Marie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brownie below.

Brownie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I came up with the idea of Fox Hunters Club during the COVID-19 pandemic; I had a lot of time on my hands and decided to start a new business. I was also back on dating apps as I was single and couldn’t meet folks IRL during the shutdown. I tried several mainstream apps (most of them owned by one company, Match Group), but found that the selection of older men was limited. The average Hinge user is 25 years old, for example, which is about the average age for dating app users overall. I’m a millennial and preferred Gen X men for dating, so I then searched for age-gap dating sites. To my surprise, all I could find were sugar baby/sugar daddy websites. Even when they weren’t explicitly sugar, they were sugar-coded– referring to “hot, younger women” and “older, successful men.” It was astonishing to find that these age-gap dating apps were only promoting transactional relationships. Once I realized that there was a gap in the market, I was excited to explore a dating app as a business idea.

As I began to share the concept of Fox Hunters Club with a diverse, every single person encouraged me. Even if they were already married or didn’t prefer age-gap relationships, they said it was an idea worth pursuing based on the unique value proposition. I was further motivated when I networked with veterans in the industry at the Global Dating Insights New York Conference! Each of them lit up when hearing about Fox Hunters Club and encouraged me to launch. We debuted last year in NYC and have expanded throughout New Jersey and recently to the Greater Philadelphia Area.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Fox Hunters Club is the first dating app for millennial women seeking serious, committed relationships with Gen X and older men. We aren’t targeting Gen Z so that we further distance ourselves from sugar apps, and because I’m targeting users who are mature and ready to settle down. This isn’t an app for hook-ups or to find a friend. Fox Hunters Club is for those who are tired of dating and want to find a partner. The “Fox” aspect refers to silver foxes, and I encourage millennial women to consider Gen X if they are having trouble meeting a millennial man that is a good match. Personally, I was treated better and had less issues with honesty and communication when I dated someone older. There is something to be said for a man who knows his strengths, flaws, desires, and also what he does not want in a partner. It’s been an incredible journey so far, and I’m excited to continue the work and eventually expand Fox Hunters Club across the country.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There have been many challenges along the way. One example is when I chose to scrap the app and started over with new developers due to dissatisfaction with the design and user experience. At that point I had to evaluate if I wanted to continue on this journey and invest more time, money, and energy into the app’s development. At the end of the day, I knew that Fox Hunters Club was a solid business idea, and that I would be furious with myself if someone else launched it before I did. I couldn’t give up on it; I had to at least get it off the ground and introduce it to the world. I’m also a solo founder, and there isn’t anyone to pick up the slack or relieve me when I need a break. This adds another layer of pressure and stress as I’m building and managing multiple aspects of the business. I own every setback, win, challenge, and decision.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I encourage women entrepreneurs especially to read “Play It Forward” by Gymboree founder Joan Barnes. There are many valuable lessons in that book, but one that significantly impacted me is that we should embrace who we are. Being inquisitive, taking risks, trusting one’s instincts– these are qualities that some may minimize but they empower entrepreneurs. Owning one’s proclivities can become a super power when they fuel your work ethic, thought process, and decision-making.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.foxhuntersclub.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foxhuntersclub
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/foxhuntersclub
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fox-hunters-club
• Twitter: http://www.x.com/foxhuntersclub