Thursday, April 12, 2012

Maryl tries: Online Dating

I have been looking for a partner for a while now in the usual places and not having any luck. Finding the right match with the ideal background, age, trustworthiness, level of commitment, willingness to be monogamous and whose personality complements mine is quite the challenge. I have to be able to really communicate with this person; we have to “click.”


My family and friends have been very supportive in helping me find someone; my husband especially.  He thought I should just go for it. They understand my need for a partner in order to get my online brand business off the ground and how critical it is for her/him to have the right character traits and skill sets that enhance mine. I had exhausted my network, worked my LinkedIn connections and couldn’t join one more Meetup group. So I turned to online dating.

Start-ups are on the rise and great business ideas and the resources out there to help get you going are endless. There’s a growing recognition that this all begins with a great partner or co-founder. Just go to meetup.com and search under “co-founder” and take your pick.   For that matter, go to Google and search the same.

I’ve already found www.CoFoundersLab.com, which is an online and in person matchmaking service for entrepreneurs who want to launch a startup together. “Think eHarmony for entrepreneurs.” There’s also www.PairUpNYC.com that leverages “advisors’ experience and expertise to create pre-screened matches between founders.” And www.women2.org (founding startups) has a personal account of one women’s quest for her ultimate soul mate.

But I went to www.FounderDating.com first and completed a profile. “FounderDating brings together super talented entrepreneurs with different backgrounds” and attributes and helps you find someone who will complement yours. They conduct in person sessions in various cities and, sad to say, I didn’t make the cut off for last month’s event closest to me. I was told not to think of it as a rejection as the selection process is based on assembling the right number of candidates together with the most complementary expertise. So there may have been too many applicants with brand marketing experience like mine last time and I’ll try again next month.


The marriage metaphor is the right one for this step in building my company. So I’ll keep on dating until I find “the one.” Do share any similar challenges you’ve had in the Comments below but please no fix-ups. I’m too old for blind dates.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Maryl: I had no idea such things existed. The internet is fascinating, helpful and frustrating.

    You had me worried at the beginning. I was thinking, "But Maryl's married. What's going on?" Glad all is well.

    Good luck finding a partner.

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    1. Thanks Georgia. I'm kind of waiting for someone to alert my husband about this post after only reading the opener. He has no need to worry although maybe getting him to a little wouldn't hurt!! Let you know how I make out.

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  2. I have an intern joining me in may and I am super excited. The high school graduate will be off to Columbia in the Fall and I know it will be great having someone to talk about ideas and to bounce things off each other. I intend to keep her busy!
    pve

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    1. That sounds promising, Patricia. Interns can also help with your success although I haven't had as much luck with them as others. That could have been more my error. Where did you find your intern and what do you plan to have her do for you? Can you share that?

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