
Group Matchmaking Startup The Dating Ring (YC W14) Launches In San Francisco - laurenkay
http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/13/the-dating-ring-sf/
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happy4crazy
Here's what I want: "Study Grouper". Grouper but you go do something
educational, e.g. a wine class, cooking class, dance class, amateur astronomy
class, painting class...

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bobbles
Meetup.com would probably do what you're looking for

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gum_ina_package
"There are better things to waste your time on. Like Facebook. Or Twitter. Or
porn."

The last bit seems off putting to me. I thought the site looked very
professional and the concept seemed like it could facilitate more meaningful
connections, but seeing that puts all those first impressions in peril to me.

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MyNameIsMK
Have you even built the product yet? All I see are a few embed forms and zero
information or screenshots on the product...

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vj44
What's the difference between The Dating Ring and Grouper? The article
suggests a more "personalized" match making, but it seems to me that both use
a combination of human input & some algorithms.

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elecengin
You don't know anyone on Dating Ring dates - compared to Grouper, where you
are going with a couple friends.

I have been on a few Dating Ring dates and I have found that the human input
does help - it filters out people that make for truly horrible dates.
Unfortunately, those horrible experiences are relatively common on platforms
like Grouper and regular online dating.

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hiphopyo
You're gonna get human input the minute the two of you meet anyway, so you
might as well cut out the middleman and save a few bucks.

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gavanwoolery
I had a "pretty good" idea for a dating site, anyone feel free to "steal" it.
It would set up about 6-8 guys/girls in a group dinner (no one would choose
who they group with, but it would be picked by admins on the dating site).
This relieves the pressure of one on one dating, and makes it feel a bit more
natural and less awkward. I'm sure something like this must exist already
though.

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dshanahan
Grouper?

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goeric
The difference in @gavanwoolery's idea is that you don't bring any friends.
The whole group is curated. Which is different from Grouper, but basically the
same as the company OP linked to.

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gavanwoolery
My mistake - I misread the OP as implying that the three dates between the
guys and girls were one-on-one -- so yeah basically the same idea as the OP.

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enewc
I doubt this will succeed. The pricing is enough to turn away most potential
users and the remaining users won't generate enough income to sustain the
company, especially if they meet everyone in person.

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elecengin
In NYC even an affordable first date costs around $25-$50. (2-4
cocktails/drinks at a semi-nice place at $10-$18 each) Paying an extra $20 to
make that experience less volatile in terms of quality is not that outrageous.

Whether this will be enough to sustain the company I have no idea...

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ulfw
From the FAQ: "The initial matchmaker meeting costs $25 (and is free for
everyone initially while we launch in SF) and dates cost $20. It's a real
steal. "

Oh it's a steal alright...

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angersock
Would anybody be interested in a dating site for makers/programmers?

Like, you work on solving a small or fun problem together while chatting?

EDIT:

I've had several "dates" I've gone on that have devolved into business rather
quickly, and I know several friends that have gone to hackathons expecting to
hack and instead have to deal with romantic advances (not unexpected, but
still distracting).

It'd be nice to explicitly set content-type ahead of time so everyone knows
what to expect.

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laurenkay
This is something we've considered doing (and that a few dating companies have
tried in the past). It can be hard logistically to coordinate for
compatibility, scheduling and similar interests, with a reasonable price
point. On the other hand, doing activities like this can make for much more
successful dates. So it's something we're thinking about adding on over time,
once we have a big enough pool.

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angersock
Oh, I'm not talking about anything crazy like in-person meetings.

MVP would be a prompt ("How do would you implement a Valentine's Day card?")
and matching service (W4M seeking Angular expert), and then links to a shared
code editor with chat screen--could even use somebody else's product. Minimal
buildout.

Way too easy to overthink this product.

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hiphopyo
Are all these new age dating sites / apps really that much better than
Craigslist? I understand people want to make money, but I've had it up to here
hearing about a new "next big thing in dating" every damn day!

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rhizome
_Are all these new age dating sites / apps really that much better than
Craigslist?_

Um, sort of? I think the only differences between any two dating sites are
vetting and marketing-image. Craigslist has very little of either, and
something like Eharmony has a lot of both. Both of them are niches within the
larger dating-industry morass.

~~~
hiphopyo
Good point. But isn't Craigslist's lack of vetting a good thing (1)? They're
already giving out plenty of safety advice (2).

1\. [http://chrishateswriting.com/post/76431353368/the-
anonymity-...](http://chrishateswriting.com/post/76431353368/the-anonymity-i-
know)

2\. [http://craigslist.org/about/safety](http://craigslist.org/about/safety)

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dubfan
I don't know what it's like in your area but the Craigslist personals here are
just abysmal, full of very low quality mates. I think the anonymity and lack
of entry barriers scares anyone worthwhile away, leaving only the desperate
and those willing to endure the safety risks.

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slvv
The article notes that dates involve 3 men and 3 women. Is this intended
primarily for straight people, then?

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ptnapoleon
Unlike grouper it does not appear that any of the parties knew each other in
advance. So if my understanding is correct, the two same-sex individuals you
are matched with are also potential partners.

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jaredsohn
The other response is better. If it worked this way, you were gay, and the
other two people of your gender were straight, you'd wouldn't have any
potential matches there.

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ph4
What the heck is with that logo?

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kimagure
the logo looks almost exactly like the scala-lang logo

