Let's just start it off here... Simone, we'll start with you. Is matchmaking a pseudo-science?
Because is this real? I mean, there's so many companies and they're claiming big things. Is this
a legit practice? Yeah, it absolutely is. I think that's the easy answer. I think that matchmaking
is not a fine science in the sense that there is some magic and a high level of intuition
that comes into play that isn't always easily quantified, which is the frustrating part, and
I think where it sometimes gives a little space for skeptics to pop in. But I think, yeah, it has
legitimate value and there are so many success stories that it's not an accident that this
process really does work for a lot of people. I mean it must because there wouldn't be this
many companies around for so many years. It's like something has to be working there. I've
never tried matchmaking. But I'll tell you... so I have a partner. I have a girlfriend. And
we're not going to be breaking up ever, but if anything were to happen, I would 100%
try matchmaking. I just would be... and the reason why I would do it would be to save time.
But I just wonder... I still would be skeptical. I would do it, but I would be like is this really
going to work? Are they really gonna match me with someone? Because I feel like I'd come in and say,
this is exactly what I want "I want this, this and this. Do you guys get guys who come in and say,
this is exactly what I'm looking for? Well, of course, I think that
one of the ways that we describe matchmaking in terms of how it is beneficial for a single
person who's out there spending... it's a crazy statistic, but 12 hours a week is the average in
terms of what the online dater spends online. When you think about the time that you're investing
into spending time on the apps and swiping or if you're old school and you're on the match.com,
not that that's old school, but definitely there's a lot of different ways to do it. People come to
us and they are quite skeptical at first, but chances are, they came to us because they were
referred by somebody who was already matched by us. And that's really how we get the majority of
our clients and matches. Someone knows someone who has a boyfriend because of us or they're married
because of us. And honestly, if someone came to me and they were so insanely excited and they had
no questions, I would probably be like, back up, what are your questions? Let's talk about who
you are, what you're looking for, and how I can service you honestly and authentically. Because
everyone has a laundry list. And I say it all the time, I wish I could build you the perfect person,
but I can't. I do something that a lot of people don't do these days and that's get to know someone
well and learn about them, values, lifestyles, long term goals, what they're looking for.
And at that point, when I introduce two people, I like to think that there's enough of a foundation
there where it's about seeing if you have fun, there's some attraction, and you can just take
it from there. To answer your question in a much shorter way, we've heard it all for sure
and sometimes we need to take a step back and... be realistic with what is out there. And I think
that's really where we bring a lot of value too. I mean, we're on your team, we're your
wing person. But we're also your marriage that you can't escape. And we're here to tell you take a
step back, this is what's attainable and this is what we need to do to get there. In terms of...
let's say, a guy comes to you and says to you, Simone, this is what I'm looking for;
do you ever go to your database and go listen, I hear what you're saying but
that's not available right now and then they have to wait? How fast can you actually
get someone on dates and start doing it? Or do you go okay, we're looking for that right
now but I do have someone else that you might like, would you want to try going on a date with
them first? What's that first step process when they come to you with what they're looking for?
That's a great question. It's always a little bit of a mix. And you never know because it has to be
a mutual match. The person that I want to set up with my client also needs to be interested
in my client and sometimes someone will get back to me right away and sometimes it'll be like three
weeks and so it's a very organic process. I would say sometimes clients will come with a really
prescriptive list and they'll be very clear and have a very binary sense of what they're looking
for and I definitely honor that. But I think there's also... I wouldn't be doing my job or
operating with integrity if I didn't say well, if this is exactly your type, maybe this hasn't
worked for you in the past and you're single right now, what are some other layers or elements that
maybe you're not seeing that you would do really well with in terms of a partner? I definitely take
into account when people are very particular about their list. And then also I'll say,
so you want someone who's between 5'4 and 5'8 and makes x amount of money and is really into scuba
diving or whatever. But I also have this other person that maybe you didn't wasn't exactly who
you described, but her sense of humor seems really similar to yours, there's an energy that I think
would mesh really well with you, and I want to set you up with her first, and then we'll see your
ideal pick and go from there. Many times people come to us because they're so over the dating
apps and they haven't had any luck by themselves, or they just got out of a relationship, or they're
recently divorced and they don't even know where to start. They're like, what am I doing that isn't
working? And I've come to you with a laundry list and I want you to find me somebody who
checks all these boxes. But what else is there, what can I help you with? And that's where
we come in with that advice and the foundation of just like, listen, you may have been going for
this your whole life and that's great and we're going to work really hard to get this and chances
are we're going to introduce you to a ton of different women or men, whatever the case may be,
who do check all these boxes. But I'm not going to hold you back from somebody who may be a little
bit outside of that if you trust me, and you know that we're partners. I think in reality if you're
willing to put in the work when it comes to being open and giving things a shot, matchmaking is
the best option because you're not doing it alone. You're gonna meet a ton of great people.