There are plenty of reasons why Paul Graham is interested in funding a different approach to the entire online dating scene. However, I don’t know (publicly) if anyone has yet tried to define and approach this problem space from a fundamentally different perspective (I found dating/meeting service ideas/approaches here, here and here somewhat insipid and garden-variety). I personally think that entrepreneurs are missing the huge market potential offered by the LinkedIn et al. professional crowd. Let’s face it: professionals don’t have time to register on Match et al., add/search people, do surveys for a “good match”, write blogs, send “winks,” juggle between various subscription models etc. to find the right person – no matter how “fun” the process may be. And then you have Facebook, but I wouldn’t consider it an appropiate platform (how many really oblige to random stranger friend requests?). The other day, I was day dreaming about this topic and decided to jot down a few notes:
Practicality: My interest in the professional crowd space is purely based on one dictum: they are very practical people (I’ll leave the ageist undertones up to you for interpretations) and always look for simpler, coherent solutions to all kinds of problems. They are successful, financially and mentally stable, looking for genuine long-term relationships and wouldn’t mind shelling out a few extra $$ to find their soulmate the simplest way possible. I’d initially focus on one niche age group (25-30) and restrict the registration (just like the earlier iterations of Facebook) to Fortune 1000 and start-up professionals. This is the crowd where most don’t have a problem dating anyone between ages 25 and 30 (yes, I just made that up!)
Privity: Dating, finding your true love or whatever you want to call it is everyone’s personal business. And that’s what most dating sites don’t “get.” I don’t want a friend/date list, awards, badges or gifts. I don’t want to be advertised or my profile displayed on the search list. I don’t want to answer random questions to find a match. I just want to talk to that one person who could be my soulmate/the one I’ve been always dreaming about WITHOUT going through the hassles of all that extra bells and whistles. So, when I say it’s everyone’s personal business, it should be personal all the way and not just limited to private messages.
Believability: Customers want to believe in your product. To me, Match et al. are like non-OEM chargers or batteries that sometime work but most of the time fails. You buy one of those non-OEM products because they are cheap and widely available (i.e. quantity over quality). But in the end, you end up buying an OEM version any way. Match et al.‘s primary value proposition is their user base. They are basically delivering you a list of people and leaving it up to you to pick and choose (and that’s why many people register and then never return after a first failed attempt). I don’t think the professional crowd has the time and patience for that. A better value proposition would be to just deliver the customer his/her future partner.
Curiosity: PG says that it’s important “to overcome the huge chicken and egg problem every dating site faces” i.e. bring enough people onboard for sustenance. No doubt analytics is important. I believe a good execution of an interesting idea will always bring new people over vs. SEO-ing the hell out of the site. One way to bring new people all the time would be to focus on the primary value proposition: find your potential partner in a simple, anonymous and fun way (see below).
Here’s an example execution of the above notes:
- Adam registers on the site with the following personal information: name, position title, date of birth, company email id (for one-time verification), personal email id and phone number
- He’s asked just one Y/N question: “Does age matter to you?” (Yes= he’s looking for someone of his age)
- He agrees to an agreement that explains that he can’t reveal his name or contact information (plus, no links, pictures or videos allowed) to the other person or otherwise it’s an immediate block/ban based on the company email id. Algorithm will be smart enough to find any discrepancies including clever ways such as “a-d am at geemail.com” etc.
- Based on the answer to the age question, he is immediately assigned to a potential soulmate, Mary. (Mary followed the same registration routine as Adam)
- All they see is a message/email box with no names. It’s totally anonymous. And there’s no friend’s list, no bells and whistles.
- They message each other anonymously for a few weeks/months, develop a strong connection. If they really like each other, they can opt out of this site successfully buy paying a one-time $X00. Either Adam or Mary can pick the tab. The actual contact information will then be displayed and they can then communicate on their own, exchange pictures etc.
- But if they fail to develop an intimate relationship within a few days/weeks/months, they can disable their present connection and either leave the site or pay $Xx0 for a new connection after a few days of break (just as IRL so to speak)
So, how does the above execution provide value?
- It’s simple. You join and immediately get connected to someone based on your age question.
- You are intimate with only one person from the very beginning, so more quality and less effort to impress a range of people.
- You are both professional and successful. Time matters to both of you and thus somewhat pressured to communicate frequently because of “either now or never” thought of finding a soulmate.
- The anonymous environment allows you to focus on the thoughts, character and personality of the other person over looks etc.
Thoughts?