FILTER OFF - GREAT NEW DATING APP - INTERVIEW WITH CREATOR ZACH SCHLEIEN

Hi guys, welcome to Cat on the Loose and I am super excited because today I'm here with the founder of dating app Filter Off, Zach Schlane.

I hope I'm pronouncing your name right, Zach.

Am I?

Yeah, Schlein.

You got it.

Schlane, Schline.

Thank you so much for doing this and being here with us.

Yeah, thanks so much for having me.

Let's just jump right into it.

Obviously, the first question that a lot of people send me is, can you explain how FilterOff works?

Yeah, sure.

So FilterOff is a video speed dating app.

We offer virtual speed dating events as well as a matchmaker service.

So the app is available for Android and iOS and it's completely free.

Oh, so it's, I didn't know that.

So it's video dating.

So it takes like all that picking and choosing and having to go on dates like other apps do.

I see.

That sounds perfect do you think so since you how did you come up with this idea like how did you come up

yeah for years before covet i would say probably last five years

before meeting um my date like a woman in person i would ask if they would be open to video chatting and i saw the value when it comes to just seeing if we connected over video because the last thing you want to do is you meet someone on a date and you don't have chemistry or they don't look like their photos

exactly one of the many reasons so I really wanted to make this the norm and

I started filter off about two years ago and then we got out of beta one month before the pandemic oh wow

yeah and then really took off so yeah this this app was pre-pandemic but really started with the pandemic.

Oh wow.

So for people that are afraid of dating out there because of COVID, that's a fantastic solution, right?

Because you get to meet people and you're safe and you decide if it's really worth getting to know them in real life.

Yeah, for sure.

And you could think of it as kind of the first date before the first date.

You get to see if you have chemistry with that person in a time-bound structure.

So that's a challenge with...

video chatting in general.

Let's say you're on a dating app, you video chat, it could be very awkward if you want to jump off after five or ten minutes with filter off the dates are time bound so if you like each other after you could say that you give them a match after your live FaceTime

and then we put you in a match where you could then video chat again or message each other so everything is done within that I see.

So, but who picks the partners?

Do like, let's say I'm using it.

Is it like other apps, like let's say like Tinder?

I pick who I want or Filter Off matches it based on what we say.

So for the events, we will match you with other people that attend that event based off of your age preference and gender interest.

Then our matchmaker service, that takes into account your radius and then a bunch of other preferences.

So it's basically your preferences feed our algorithm and we give you really curated dates.

And we're just getting smarter and smarter.

And we really believe it's quality versus quantity.

Absolutely.

We want to find you your perfect match.

So you're not just a dating app.

I guess you're like a dating slash matchmaker app, right?

Yeah.

I mean, I think even matchmakers, yeah, I think when it comes to events and it comes to this matchmaker service, we take these offline paradigms and we bring them and make them virtual.

So we have this like the intersection of offline and online and they work and

it's fun and it's

really efficient and authentic.

It sounds fantastic.

I want to give it a try.

I mean, I logged in and I register and everything, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

I wanted to ask you these questions first.

But it sounds like something great, like a step up from other dating apps out there that we've been talking about, and everybody's tired.

Because, like I said, it's all quantity, quantity.

And you have to spend so much time just going through all of these things to find one person that you actually think is worth meeting.

I think that's the number one complaint of everybody about other dating apps.

So it sounds like you just do that for the person, you just do the filtering.

Yep, you just show up.

You just show up.

An experience.

Sounds amazing.

A glass of wine.

Yeah.

And it's all makeup.

And it's all over the United States, or is it all over the world?

So it's all over the U.S.

Our biggest cities are New York, London, LA, and then followed by Miami and Chicago.

So we are global and we're growing.

So yeah.

Yeah, sounds amazing.

And do you think the people that you see on your app, there are cities that are easier to meet people?

Like, for example, I meet in Miami and everybody tells me from experts to matchmakers to just normal people that it's one of the worst cities in the United States to date.

Do you agree or you don't see that at all in your app?

I mean,

I think when it comes down to it, when you say worst city, you have to unpack what that means.

I mean, when you look at the data, cities such as San Francisco are very skewed to men.

Many more men than women.

Oh, yeah.

Cities like New York, there's more women singles than men.

So I think that is a fact that it does, if you are a guy in San Francisco, it is much more challenging to date, given just the pure quantity.

So I think there is some truth, but I think when it comes down to it, the goal that Filter Off is achieving is just making it efficient.

We send you the dates and you just show up and you see if you vibe and they vibe with you.

So, but let's say if I'm picking, you're picking my dates.

Is there a way that I can put on the app or tell you guys that I'm open to meeting people from anywhere in the United States or do you pick local dates?

Yeah, so that's actually a feature we're rolling out very soon, a global matchmaker feature, given the fact that we believe it's quality versus quantity.

So if there's someone that's

making this up in Washington, D.C., that's your perfect date, like let's give them to you.

And then you can decide what happens.

If it's worth going to DC or not, right?

Yes.

Sounds amazing.

And who are your clients in general?

Do you have like

an age group or they're all over the place?

So our median age is 34 years old

um so it does skew um older than i expected i thought it'd be a lot of college students joining but i mean we do but it does skew with kind of that young professional that is just sick and tired of online dating that's just looking to meet people and that's kind of what felt our off is delivering so well and do you have a good balance between men and women

yeah i mean it's it's a good ratio and our algorithm what it allows for is let's say there's an event and let's say there's more women than men at the event.

Women may get four dates at night and men may get six or seven dates at night.

So it just depends.

Some nights you could get nine dates.

It really depends on what your preferences are, your age preference.

and gender interest for a specific event.

Can you explain a little better how these events work?

Is it like a bunch of people there?

Yeah.

So how it works is you go the app, you go to the events tab, and based off your location, you'll see events.

Some are location-based, some are theme-based, some are global.

And you RSUP to the events you're interested in.

Once you RSUP,

you're confirmed.

And an hour before the event, we send you a text.

It says, hey, we want you to confirm your attendance for this evening's event.

Once you press confirm, we schedule your dates.

So your dates will be scheduled from up until an hour before up until five minutes up until the date so like we will start scheduling your dates

and you may have eight dates that night and you could see like their fun facts their bio beforehand

and then when the date begins you press start date and you're in a video chat with this person and it's time countdown and at the end of the event At the end of the date, you say whether you like each other or not, and then you go on to the next date.

And then at the very end, you'll see who you you matched with i see so like in one night i could do like let's say i don't know how long the events last but like an hour half an hour i could meet like two three four different people yeah yeah exactly i mean you can meet seven people that is freaking amazing

oh my gosh wow i really liked one or two oh that's amazing i can't believe during all these months i just found out about you like what a few weeks ago and i mean all of my girlfriends all these months that we've been sitting home and all the single girls are like where are we gonna date are we gonna meet people this is just a phenomenal idea because you can do it.

Like we're doing the Zoom meeting, where you can sit here, and like you said, you're safe, you're not wasting your time.

It eliminates like catfishing.

That's one great thing that I like because, like you said, people can lie about their picture and then show up there and be somebody else.

That is fascinating.

I'm so happy I found you.

I'm going to tell my single girlfriend about.

Also, add, we allow organizations to run their own events.

So, for example, let's say you are a brand or a non-profit, and you want to allow your members to meet one another.

We actually allow organizations to run private events.

So, you'll see some events require a code, and that's because it's through an organization.

Ah, I see.

So, you have like people's events, and you have businesses, private businesses' events.

Well,

it's for, I would say it's more so community events.

So, like, for example, let's say,

let's say you're Catholic, and there is this

church or some religious organization is running an event for its members.

So the members are still dating, and you could learn about it through a friend.

You could learn about their Facebook page.

What's nice about it is you know that everyone who's joining this event are they have that content.

Yes.

Wow, that's amazing.

So if anyone wants to run an event, exactly.

So how do if somebody's interested in setting up their own event, they send you a message through your app?

Yeah, just contact me.

Through your app.

Yep.

The Insta is the same name as the app, right?

I think this idea is fantastic.

Yeah, I love it.

And the name is perfect because you are literally filtering people off.

Last question before I let you go.

What would you say to a lot of people out there who are very jaded about dating through dating apps?

Oh, I don't know if I'm going to try it.

I've tried so many before.

What would you say to convince them?

So I understand and I

feel the pain and how long of a process it is.

And sometimes you feel like you meet the right person and

it just doesn't work out.

And it is a process.

And the beauty with FilterOff is we really humanize this experience for you.

And it doesn't require much effort at all, except showing up.

And there's really nothing to lose given it's free.

And you may meet the right person.

And

since launching, since getting really started in April,

we launched in February at a beta, but really

ramping up in April, we've already had three marriages.

Are you serious?

Oh, my God.

Yeah, you never know who you're going to meet out there.

Never know.

That's amazing.

So it's free for

men and for women.

It's a free app.

And to participate in all these meetings and to do all these dates, it's free as well.

All through the app, yep.

exactly all through whatever event you want to join so we have Jewish events we have Catholic events we have a cannabis event coming out coming up in LA in New York City so like we do all different types of events and then the matchmaker service that's amazing so if I'm in Miami and I want to participate in an LA event and maybe meet somebody in LA that's okay too Yeah, you could change your location.

We also give people the option to change their location.

Thank you so much, Zach.

Well, congratulations.

This finally, somebody comes up with a smart idea in terms of a dating app.

I'm super excited.

I'm definitely going to give it a try.

And then I'll tell everybody in a new episode how it went.

And then maybe we'll bring you back.

Thanks a lot.

I really appreciate your time.

Okay.

Thanks a lot.