Finding Founders

Valentine’s Day. For couples, it’s an event defined by romantic tropes of chocolates, sunsets, and candle-lit dinners. For singles, however, it’s another reminder that those constant “swipe- lefts and -rights” have been in vain. But according to today’s featured founders, Dani Fankhauser and Natalie Frangi, finding romance shouldn’t have to be so agonizing. This episode will have two stories linked by the theme of dating. One story will follow Dani Fankhauser, someone who initially let religion lead her dating life, but after a years-long exploration of self, she recognized the areas where modern dating falls short and founded XO, a revolutionary dating app that gamifies user-matching. As we forge ahead into Dani’s story, we’ll explore the parallels between her journey to XO, and Natalie’s to NUiT. Natalie Frangi, a woman who fought her way from Lebanon back to Texas to pursue a career in Chemistry, has faced challenges in her life, and was even once held up at gunpoint. However, all of this served to stre