Foursquare solved the issue with gamification (badges). For your dating app example, you could add a non-geographically bounded ranking feature, similar to "ho

Foursquare solved the issue with gamification (badges). For your dating app example, you could add a non-geographically bounded ranking feature, similar to "hot or not." Basically, creating any sense of accomplishment within the platform will make it more difficult for people to abandon, giving you time to reach a scale where the core product value can be realized.