Who are you and what business did you start?
I am the CEO & Co-Founder of So Syncd, the dating app that matches compatible personality types. I launched the company last year with my sister, Louella.
What’s your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
The idea for So Syncd was sparked by a break-up up with a long-term partner. I started using personality types to help me understand what went wrong. The break-up coincided with me leaving my job at an investment bank and I decided to take a year out to travel and learn about personality type compatibility. It was clear that some personality type combinations worked better in relationships than others.
After my year of travelling, I was having drinks in Soho with my sister and she was telling me that her friends and colleagues were going on these terrible dates with people they’d met on dating apps. I explained what I’d learned over the past year. Louella, while being skeptical at first, became convinced of how accurate the personality-matching concept was when we applied the matching concept to our friends and her own successful relationship. It turned out that she’d been in a long-term relationship with her perfect personality match.
The next morning, I went to my sister’s flat and we started building So Syncd, our dating app that matches compatible personality types.
Describe the process of launching the business.
We launched So Syncd last year and it has been a huge learning experience. In that time we have given up our office jobs, raised $1m and grown So Syncd to over 100,000 users. We have now had over 1,000 couples find relationships through our app which is just incredible. We didn’t have tech backgrounds so understanding the nuances around that has been fascinating. Every day we are learning something new which is one of my favourite aspects of founding a startup.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
We have an engaged community on social media which helped us grow, particularly in the early days. Our exceptionally high success rate of couples finding partners through So Syncd has meant that we’ve grown significantly through word-of-mouth. Plus, we have had a lot of press coverage.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
We now have over 100,000 users and over 1,000 couples have found relationships through our app. Our goal is to become the ‘go to’ platform for finding meaningful connections of all kinds. We aim to reach one million users by the end of next year.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that when it comes to startups, nothing goes to plan. By their very nature, startups are risky. There are an infinite number of uncertainties that lie ahead when you launch a business. It still helps to have a plan but it will definitely change, and probably quite drastically. Being adaptable and responding quickly to new information is key to the success of any startup.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
– We use Canva to make social media posts, videos and presentations.
– We use Trello as our main project management tool.
– We use a number of Google products including Google Analytics and Google Firebase.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
– Podcast: How I Built This by Guy Raz
– Book: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
– Book: Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Focus on building your network early on. It will be so important as you grow, whether it’s sourcing talent, advice or raising investment, your network will be invaluable.
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