Tonight! New York

@eve what kind of tech are you ultimately using and how does this scale? It appears to be a pretty manual process dating service with an app front end? Or am I missing something? Congrats on your launch!

@chrismessina Thanks for the great question! What we're so excited about is that the product is actually very much tech-driven (both front-end and back-end) and therefore extremely scalable. We've built a system that automates what a human matchmaker and personal assistant would be doing for you manually (and charging hundreds to thousands of dollars for each month). We even have a patent pending for it! And, we can do it better than a human because there's no limit to the number of people our automated "matchmaker" can keep track of in its portfolio (its "binder" of men and women, if you will :o) )! Our tech learns who you like and are willing to meet (it's laid out as Instagram-style liking with the tap of a heart), and takes note of when and where you're free (you tap a button to say you're free, then choose a location point and distance radius that you're willing to travel to get to your date that night). Through smart push notifications, the app then goes out to seek reciprocated interest from the people you liked -- for example, if you liked Julie, she would get a notification saying, "Hey Julie - Chris is free tonight and already liked you!" Then she can check you out and like you back, creating a match. If she's free tonight too, our app instantly sets up a date - the app pings both of you, suggests a venue automatically determined through our venue algorithm + tie-in with the Yelp API, and gives you each other's phone numbers so you can be in touch to confirm the details for meeting up. If she's not free that night, the app still saves the match, and will set you up the first night you both become free. Everything is recorded in our database, so that the moment the following criteria are met (in any order), a date will be set up: 1. A must like B 2. B must like A 3. A is free tonight in Area Z 4. B is free tonight in an area that overlaps with Area Z More tech: our algorithm sorts and prioritizes prospects based on how new they are to you, availability, activity, popularity, who you liked, who liked you, your indicated preferences (e.g., height), and of course location. After each date, the app asks for feedback - i.e., how was the date and did the date actually happen. The app will suspend users who are reported consistently to have been disrespectful or to have canceled on their dates. The only part that is not automated at this time is that someone on our team personally vets each new profile in order to ensure a high-quality community. Hope that answers the question, feel free to follow-up with more and thanks for your interest!

@chrismessina P.S. Our tech stack includes: Backend/API: Golang with Docker on AWS iOS: Swift Database: Postgres OneSignal for push notifications Twilio for SMS notifications React for our admin panel

@eve awesome — very clear and helpful! So, it's kind of a like a "Slow Uber for Dates"..! I guess I'm curious how much pre-planning people still need to do though... like, it would seem to me that people browse Tinder when they're bored/at the conclusion of a bad date (lol). So — is this kind of app best suited for Type A folks who plan their evenings earlier in the day, than spontaneously at 6 or 7pm when they're about to go out for the evening? Don't get me wrong — the algorithm makes sense — it's how you address the fickleness of human behavior that I'm curious about!

@chrismessina "Slow Uber for Dates" - that's a cool way to think about it! I like to think about it also as Uber Black Car meets the Fairy Godmother of Your Dating Life :). Fickleness of human behavior (a.k.a. millennials' inability to commit in advance) is one of the greatest challenges for us. Part of the reason we pivoted from Whim to Tonight was that planning ahead by several days proved stressful problematic for today's spontaneous society. On the other hand, if we make Tonight an instant meetup service, then it risks feeling like just another hookup app. Tonight is targeted towards busy professionals who want to go on legitimate dates, but who don't want to waste time texting back-and-forth, scheduling, and getting ghosted by 80% of their matches in the process. One use case is, as you pointed out, the Type A person who's thinking about his/her evening plan earlier in the day. But another use case is the busy person who, as the end of the day roles around, find himself with a free night and feels like meeting someone rather spontaneously. Your comment, as well as feedback from a couple others, leads me to think that 6 pm might be slightly too early a cutoff. Do you think extending to 7 or 8 pm would yield more adoption and success?

@chayacooper Thanks for the question! As an experienced online dater myself, I thought about this carefully. Here's what we do to help people feel comfortable to say yes to a date: 1. Profiles are authentic. You have to validate through Facebook, and you can't change your name or birthday. 2. Profiles are rich. We pull data from Facebook to show where you went to university, where you work, and where you live. Then, users are asked to provide additional information like height, religion, and interests. More importantly, onboarding asks some long-form questions, such as "What are some things you love in your life?" and "What's a story you'd like to tell on your first date?" That way, you can get a sense of a person's thoughtfulness and effort through their answers to those questions (as well as their grammar and punctuation :) )! 3. Profiles are vetted by our team. We have a robust admin panel and are on the lookout for any potential fakes or bad actors, who get immediately suspended. 4. The community helps you. We ask for feedback after every date - so if someone isn't a respectful community member, we'd hear about it and boot them off the system quickly. 5. We always recommend a public venue to meet your date. 6. Once the date is set up, you get each other's real phone numbers. At that point you can chat further, and if you truly feel uncomfortable, you could politely decline following through on the date. Of course, barring something truly unsavory or disrespectful, we hope that you'll show up to give most people a chance in person - which is the point of the app.

Thanks Arena! Without your help, the product wouldn't be what it is today, and we are so grateful for your help!

@bluerssen Thanks so much Brian! Facilitating meaningful real-life connections was what we were all about back in the days at OkCupid Labs :). I'm still passionate about it.

@jamie_ross That is a difficult question. We need to establish critical mass in initial markets before we can take on international expansion successfully. We hope to be able to do this in 2018.

@eve use viral loops that is all