Organising my first speed dating event in India | Speed Meet
“It was fantastic”
“In one word..Awesome!!”
“Hey, I wanted to come for the next event as well. Could you put my name on the list?”
I have been working in the online dating space for quite some time now, and as a step further I decided to organise my first speed dating event in January, 2017.
Learning about previous speed dating attempts in India was not encouraging, as I got to know of multiple negative factors, including the presence of creepy guys and a not-so-safe environment.
The Basics: What happens at a Speed Meet?
Over 10–15 singles guys interact with 10–15 single girls for 4–6 mins each (with a strict 1:1 ratio), marking a yes/no on a sheet. The individuals are connected post the event only when there’s a mutual match on the sheets. Post the timed interaction, the house is opened for networking and interaction, and I saw people chatting up till late.
Time to organize one.
Before making the event live on the internet, I remember calling up a very popular venue in CP, New Delhi, in December, only to hear a ‘no’ because they found the meet controversial and not suitable for the Indian crowd. It was an anxious moment, but then I spoke to one of my channel partners, who assured his help in finding a venue. Soon, I met another cafe, who confirmed the venue, only to bail out without a notice at the final minute. With over 40+ applications promising a balanced sex ratio, I was eagerly looking forward to the Meet. A friend suggested me to not put in further efforts since it was not going to work out in India! But with the help of my channel partner we had Office Canteen Bar as a venue for the event, which was prettier than what we had before!
I started interviewing the potential participants- interviewing is important to avoid creeps! Many women were apprehensive, and raised questions like “What if there are creepy guys?”, “Is the venue safe?”, “What’s your credibility?” etc. These gave me the outline of all the things that needed to be taken care of to make the Meet credible and comfortable for the participants.
The response for the event was phenomenal; with a 13:13 male-female ratio, we had 5 matches per person on an average. People stayed back till late, chatting up over beer. The venue also made good sales. Quite a win-win for all! The participants’ appreciation of the initiative was heartening, and they were already recommending upcoming Speed Meets in their network. One of the participants sent this really cute blog in less than 3 hours from the event. Needless to say, I was chuffed!
So why Speed Meet when there’s online dating?
Online dating is an amazing way of exploring potential dates but let’s face it, it’s virtual. Consider Tinder, where there’s no due diligence of the profiles, and the presence of scammers and fake profiles is high. Even with genuine profiles, a virtual conversation just does not make the cut in establishing a connection.
You should check out lovestruck.com where all the profiles are curated manually.
What’s next?
Speed Meet 2.0 for 21–27 year olds on 12th February.
Speed Meet 3.0 for 26–35 year olds on 25th February.
Feel free to make requests for more!
Outside Delhi
I’m looking to work with people who can host the event in their cities with the help of our playbook. If you think you’re one, feel free to write to me on rahul@aawproductions.com.
Special thanks to Rajshree Sharma for editing this!
