Video-First Dating, "Filter Off" │ Zach Schleien, Founder

Wise Millennial

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Zachary Schleien, Founder of "Filter Off" sits down remotely to discuss his newest venture, a video-first speed dating app (events + matchmaking), swiping vs video advantages/disadvantages, his journey from growing up in New Rochelle, attending Syracuse as a history major, founding top romp, tedx talk and his passions for mental health, marketing, fundraising to why he's so fascinated by dating apps; Facetiming pre-date, Why are there so many beautiful, motivated, single people? (Have we become too picky?), video-game superficiality of swiping, Spending money, super-swipes, “endless scroll”, KPI (key performance indicators), the importance of making mistakes, putting yourself out there and who you should listen to when receiving unsolicited feedback

LEARN MORE ABOUT FILTER OFF: https://getfilteroff.com/
INSTA: @getfilteroff
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

• So Zach, tell us briefly, what is filteroff?
• Talk about lucky timing with COVID huh?
• Who’s your target demographic? Who’s the right or wrong person for filteroff?
• Why video first as opposed to swiping? Is it more about removing catfishing, or preventing endless text conversations and ghosting? Or both?
• Let me ask the opposite question, Why swiping over video first? Are there any advantages?
• How are you curating? What if I prefer specific types? Blondes? Etc. We need to be physically attracted to our partner. At what point do we get too granular and superficial?
• Why events? It’s an interesting branding strategy? Do people get more excited emotionally when they’re signing up to an event?
• Lets talk about you for a sec,
• You’re a very impressive guy Zach. Correct me if any of this is wrong. You grew up in new Rochelle, in upstate New York. Then went to Syracuse for undergrad and majored in history, then got your masters there as well. You are a serial entrepreneur, and have started several different businesses, including top romp which was dating related. You seem to have several passions in mental health, marketing, fundraising, and starting companies. You gave a tedx talk. How do you land at online dating? Have you always been focused on finding love? Or did you just see an opportunity there to do something different?
• Let’s talk about Millennials and dating. It’s always a fun topic, because we all want to find love in our lives, but our quest can often lead to awkward moments along the way.
• What’s your theory on why there are so many beautiful, eligible, smart, motivated, individuals who are single? Men, women, and everyone in between. Have we become too picky?
• I would be embarrassed to admit the amount of money I’ve spent over the years on dating apps, including super likes, super swipes, etc. A little here, and there, it all adds up to well in the thousands. And I’m still not married or engaged. Why is the ROI so bad? And how do we fundamentally fix this problem in our generation? What’s really going on here?
• How do you measure success? What are your KPIs? Is it dangerous to promote # of relationships formed?
• Briefly, What’s the best romantic story you’ve heard from the app?
• What’s the hardest part of your job? You work at Johnson and Johnson. How are you able to do this on the side in terms of time management?
• What’s something you wish someone had told you five years ago, or you had told yourself, that you had to learn on your own, but would have made life so much easier had you known?
• Lastly, how can we get involved with your community and learn more about it?