What happens when the co-founder of an “adult alternative community” decides to develop a dating app? If you’re expecting a blue punch line to some inappropriate bro-grammer joke, know this: Let’s Date is a real mobile App that is really connecting guys to hot dates up and down the country from the comfort of their smartphones and iDevices. It also happens to be the brainchild of Sean Suhl, co-creator of Suicide Girls, the site dedicated to the appreciation of inked, pierced and otherwise non-conventional beauties, and is now being giving the green light on a ton of new geo-friendly features from Adam Huie, co-founder of Hatch Labs. Male Standard caught up with Adam to find out what men can expect from Let’s Date, and what are the biggest mistakes men make when dating online, to give you the advantage.
“Designed to be touched, the app is a thing of beauty, and it possesses the kind of qualities that may make you question your relationship with other dating applications.”
How would you say Let’s Date is different from other dating Apps?
Many dating Apps focus on one of two extremes. You have the “what’s hot right now,” which is the hookup App. The intent is to meet somebody and move quicker than most people date. The other extreme is where somebody wants to get married, or settle down quickly. Let’s Date has positioned itself right in the middle. We’re not a hookup App. We’re not trying to get you married yesterday; we want people to go out on real, physical dates and have fun meeting cool, new people.
That is neat; how do people get started on Let’s Date?
We use Facebook for the login process. We don’t post anything to anyone’s wall, so it’s private, but by clicking on Facebook, we get to pull in a lot of information, which expedites the sign up process. You don’t have to fill out 80 questions or take days to hone your profile. We pull all that in for you and then within a matter of minutes, you’re up and running. It’s easy to use; other Apps stumble on that part.
Why does Let’s Date require you to have at least 50 friends on Facebook?
In online dating, there is a misconception being magnified by the show Catfish and Monty KO. People are worried that the person they are talking to is not real. By using Facebook, we know a lot about you and if you are a real person. As you can imagine, it’s not difficult to create a fake profile and put up pictures to trick somebody. We verify your account to check if it has been in good standing with Facebook for the past six months and that you have at least 50 friends. It’s all about safety.
Let’s Date learns your best matches, like Pandora, how does that work?
We call profiles “Dater Cards.” When you are swiping through Dater Cards, you can say, “Yes, I like this person” or “No, I don’t.” You literally cross out the sections you don’t like. Therefore, if you’re a man who is on the shorter side and you see somebody who is seven feet tall, you can cross out their height metrics. By doing that, we’re going to learn you do not want somebody that tall. Because we do this throughout, it becomes intuitive. You could even cross out their picture. All of this information helps us decide who to show you for a better match.
The location feature is unique, how would you describe its functionality?
What this feature does is pinpoint any location in the world. If you’re familiar with Uber Map, Lift, or popular geo-targeting Apps where you can move the pin around, that’s the approach we took. We’re the only dating App who applied this technology to dating. You can move the map to any place in the world. You can move it to where you are. You can move it down the street. You can move it to the Eiffel Tower. Then you can pin it, and set the radius. If I move the map, pin it, zoom in on the Eiffel Tower, and then set the radius to one mile, it’s going to refresh my feed and only show me Dating Cards that are where I might be.
That’s awesome, how are people using the location feature?
It’s perfect for students who travel from their hometown to college. It’s exciting for travelers, business and personal life, where you’re on the road and want to keep tabs on different markets without losing traction on your feeds. We’ve also realized that many people think that just fun, to move the map to Jabuti or the North Pole and see who’s there. It’s like how people preplan their vacation where they use Yelp or travel magazines to find out where they want to eat and sleep, and activities they want to do. You can use it to find cool people to interact with before you go.
Do you feel that online dating is still a taboo topic for men?
I think we’ve passed that point where less than half of people think its taboo. I think a majority of people are accepting it. There is undoubtedly a subsection of males who feel, “I don’t need that. It’s for geeks or guys who can’t pick up chicks at the bar,” but most people have been welcoming of this new App, and are proud to say they use it.
Why do you think Let’s Date has been such a success?
It’s convenient. For a guy to go meet a girl in the real world, you have to go to a bar, a coffee shop, or meet people on the street. That’s getting harder and harder to do successfully as people are stuck behind desks and working longer hours. With a mobile App, you can be killing that five-minute wait in your Starbucks line, hop on Let’s Date, and go through a couple profiles, get a match, start talking with somebody, and have plans for that night without leaving the comfort of your routine.
How do you feel that Let’s Date is changing the online dating arena?
Some people feel that because you’re online, you can be somebody you’re not; exaggerating or putting up a picture that’s you but, maybe it was your better looking self from three years ago when you were actually working out. With Let’s Date, you use Facebook to verify your dating credentials. There is no window to flaunt because you’re going to be called out and if anything does happen, the other person can track you down. As long as you know somebody’s name and the general vicinity of where they are, with a Google search, you’re going to know a lot about this person, so you might as well take the time, fill out your profile correctly, and not fake it. As such, Let’s Date gives users that added security and confidence on both side of the Dater Cards. You know she is probably who she says she is and how she looks.
What are some of the biggest mistakes you think guys make when using Let’s Date?
I’ve seen guys that don’t give it a fair chance, they might log in for a couple days, and they don’t get a date or maybe they’re in there for a week, and they get one date, and it doesn’t work out. The way Let’s Date works is that it rewards people for coming back. We’re going to surface your Dater Card higher up in the algorithm. When we know you’re a loyal user we can help you out. The more time you put in, the better your profile is going to be.
What has the overall response for Let’s Date been like since it launched?
We get some great emails where people say, “Hey, I just deleted my account. It’s not because I didn’t like the App. It’s because it worked. Now I’m in a relationship, or I’m engaged.” We have had marriages, but as the App hasn’t been out for more than nine months, you do the math. That might be a little fast for some people, but it’s great if people found their soul mate through Let’s Date. We have lots of engagements, a handful of marriages, and thousands and thousands of happy people who have met somebody that they like or love.
What does the future hold for Let’s Date?
We’re going to jump on Android, which is exciting as Let’s Date is only available on iPhone, or iPod, iPad now. We’re also looking to create a culturally diverse App. In places like India or China, people take dating slower. Here in the United States, especially Orange County, LA, everybody has an iPhone or Android and want to move quickly. In the majority of the population of the world, people are only now getting these phones and learning their dating options, so we’re excited to grow with those people.
What’s your Male Standard?
If it’s Monday through Friday, I don’t think, “Oh man, it’s been a long or frustrating day.” I always tell myself “Hey, I can sleep on weekends. That’s what the weekends are for.” It helps keep me motivated and focused on the late nights.
Adam, thank you so much, we can’t wait to set up our next match on Let’s Date!
