Another Dating App?! A Kellogg MBA Thinks So

MAKING A DECISION OFF A CONVERSATION AND NOT A PROFILE

This is where the video component comes in with SneakPeek. Where other similar platforms have recently imposed communication time limits, Naim believes live video is the answer.

“The decision was made off of a few asynchronous text-based messages and profile that you’ve probably spent about three seconds on,” Naim says of ‘swiping’ competitors. “In most cases, you’ve never talked to them on the phone or Facetimed them.

“The concept of SneakPeek is to make the decision off of a conversation and not a profile,” Naim continues. SneakPeek works by taking user demographic information and dating preferences. The app will take that into consideration and match you with someone to have a two-minute conversation with, based on your preference.

‘TAKING A PAGE FROM KWEST’

When you submit your preferences, SneakPeek will contact you at the beginning of a week with three timing options to speak with someone else. Once you settle on a time that works for you, a link is emailed to for you to click on that during the scheduled time. The link will take you to the webcam room and your two minutes will begin.

“You haven’t seen this person’s profile before,” Naim explains. “You can’t skip to the end of the conversation. And at the end of the two-minute conversation, you’ll vote essentially thumbs up or thumbs down.”

If there’s a mutual thumbs up, you are granted access to their profile and communication with them. If there’s no mutual match, there’s no access to the profile. The other twist, Naim explains, is “taking a page from KWEST.”

“Rather than making it an awkward, quick conversation, Shark Tank-style, where you have to pitch yourself, we wanted people to have fun and be able to have that deeper conversation,” he says. “So we encouraged users to answer a suggested question that we provide, which changes during each conversation.”

An example: If you won $50 million in the lottery, what would you do? “We recommend you talk about that, instead of the small talk, like where are you from, ,” he explains.

SITE LAUNCHED LAST WEEK AND HAS A ‘COUPLE HUNDRED’ USERS

For now, the site, which went live last week and is accepting users from the general public, is desktop only, but Naim says the app will launch soon. While other dating apps have received substantial VC money, Naim says he is bootstrapping SneakPeek while beginning “conversations with multiple investors, including the former founder and CEO of Match.com.”

To monetize the site, Naim says he plans on making the app free for the core functionality and charging users for additional enhanced features” for such things as additional scheduled conversations during the week and access to conversations outside a user’s immediate geographic area.

So far, a “couple hundred” users are active on the site, Naim claims. “We’ve been pleased with not only the number of people, but more importantly, the quality of people on the network,” Naim continues. “We can easily acquire 5,000 or 10,000 users within a week if we look at other mediums, but we want to make sure everybody comes on the platform has a great experience and is talking to somebody who’s going to be a good fit for what they’re looking for.”

And this also involves screening male users. “We know their identity,” Naim claims. “In all of our messages and emails prior to them ever having a chat, we talk about how this is a serious and mature environment and this is for people looking for relationships.”

SneakPeek asks its male users for social profiles and looks at everything from the number of friends they have to their interests and backgrounds. “Ultimately, we want to know this person has their social credibility online, if somebody has put that information out there, we believe they will be less likely to engage in inappropriate behavior,” Naim says, adding that the anonymity of other platforms allow males to become “ultra-aggressive” and “dehumanize the experience.”

‘WE REALLY BELIEVE THIS SPACE IS READY FOR MORE DISRUPTION’

But the question persists. Is this really a good way to use a very expensive degree from a world-beater B-school?

“I think my Kellogg experience has shaped my ability to make an impact in this space,” Naim says. “The network, credibility it gets with investors, allowing me to work at Amazon, it’s all helpful and because of Kellogg.”

And is there really more room in this already saturated market?

“We really believe this space is ready for more disruption,” Naim says. “We ultimately think when you look down the road, two, three, four years from now, asynchronous text-based communication is not the medium that will win in an important space like dating. And live video and the ability to talk to somebody and see them face-to-face and have a conversation will ultimately trump swiping through hundreds of profiles in 30 seconds.”

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