Filteroff CEO on Building Real Connections Through Video Speed Dating

I had the pleasure of interviewing Zach Schleien, the CEO & Co-founder of Filteroff, a video speed dating app that has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, and hit #1 on Product Hunt.

Schleien started his online dating career by launching Top Romp, a dating publication that covered dating hacks and apps for the modern dater. After selling the blog, he launched Hinge’s subreddit.

He then pursued his Masters in Information Management from Syracuse University and soon after joined Johnson & Johnson as a Product Analyst, where he built a number of online communities.

When Zach Schleien founded Filteroff, he wanted to create an app that helped people connect on a deeper level, beyond just swiping through profiles. And it’s been a huge success! Filteroff has facilitated over 400,000 video speed dates, and in October 2021, they received a $2.4 million investment from a Fortune 500 company.

Zach is passionate about technology, health, and helping people build real connections. When he’s not working, he loves to travel, catch up on his favorite podcasts, and workout.

What motivated you to launch your startup?

Thank you for having me, Jason! The reason I created Filteroff is that I was fed up with going on bad first dates. So, before meeting up in-person, I began asking my matches if they’d be open to video chatting.

In the past, I would have tried to build a connection over text, but I found that I had no text game. Texting can create assumptions about a person that might not be accurate without hearing and seeing them. It’s easy for things to get lost in translation.

Instead, I started asking my dates if they would be willing to FaceTime instead. I believed that video chatting would be a low-pressure way to see if we clicked and if there was an attraction before meeting in person, and it worked.

Using video chatting as a first step was much more efficient. I didn’t have to waste time commuting to meet someone or spend money on overpriced drinks only to discover quickly that we were not interested in each other.

What is it that excites you about what you’re building?

Filteroff is the quickest and most efficient way to move from an initial connection to a video chat in the online dating space. It’s incredibly exciting to build a product that can make such a difference in people’s lives. We’ve even had marriages and “Filteroff babies” come out of it.

I would like to share a story about one of our users, Rob, who is an avid online dater. Despite being good-looking and intelligent, he had no luck with online dating because he is in a wheelchair. On other dating apps, women would often swipe left as soon as they saw his wheelchair in his profile. However, when Rob came to Filteroff, he was able to chat with women over video, and they got to know him for who he truly is. When you take the swipe out of the equation, Rob was able to make genuine romantic connections.

What has been the biggest challenges when growing your startup?

Before the pandemic, many people doubted the viability of video dating and believed it was strange to go on a video chat with a complete stranger. However, once the pandemic hit, online dating transformed overnight as isolation fueled a yearning for connection.

We quickly realized that video dating became the solution to many of these problems during the pandemic. Filteroff users sought meaningful connections instead of swiping for hours, and video speed dates allowed them to make real face-to-face connections. As the pandemic subsided, video has now become the standard way to date before meeting in person.

Another challenge we faced was scammers, who harassed our users for money as Filteroff grew. Initially, we deleted their accounts, but they quickly reappeared with a new phone number and a new account. They were determined to scam our users.

To tackle this issue, we developed a Scammer Detection System that placed scammers in a separate Dark Dating Pool, which was filled with other scammers and bots! We built a bot army with fake photos and GPT-3 (a tech that lets computers talk like humans) to chat with scammers. We wrote about it here and highlighted some of the funniest conversations. Our strategy was also picked up by TechCrunch and Gizmodo.

How do you plan to grow Filteroff’s user base since New York City is currently your largest market?

We will continue to advertise by hosting in-person singles events in NYC. We also plan to expand to two new markets this year. Since our fundraise in Oct. 2021, we’ve put together a playbook of what works and what doesn’t work.

If you had to share, “words of wisdom,” with a Founder who’s about to start their own startup, what would they be?

In my experience, my advice to other founders is to just start. It’s difficult to anticipate what will work and what won’t. Remain open to pivoting and adapting to changing circumstances. For example, Filteroff had to pivot due to the pandemic and the post-pandemic world.

Another critical aspect of running a successful startup is listening to your users, obsessing over the data, and trusting your gut. By actively seeking feedback from our users, we were able to make changes that improved their experience. And by constantly analyzing our data, we were able to spot trends and make informed decisions.

But, perhaps most importantly, trusting your instincts is essential as a founder. So, if you’re starting a new venture, remember to take risks, trust yourself, and keep pushing forward.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Readers can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

This was very insightful. Thank you so much for joining us!