Nibletz Staff
I’m convinced this sentence is either the greatest annoyance or the greatest hope to my single friends (maybe both):
“Oh, I know this guy/girl you just have to meet!”
It’s fun to set people up, and if you’re single, having the endorsement of a friend helps you feel confident about your date. Loveopolis wants to bring those two good things together in one online dating platform.
According to Match.com, 44 million Americans classify themselves as “single.” Of those, 40% of those use online dating services.
Loveopolis will be playing in a big market after they launch, but will they be able to compete against the big companies and against more informal apps like Tinder?
Check out our Q&A with Loveopolis founder Jesse Epstein below:
What is Loveopolis?
Loveopolis makes finding love simple by letting you and your best friends decide who you should connect with.
Loveopolis was created to help people meet and connect online. We found that there wasn’t a way to truly give people an interactive, fun and social experience when it came to finding love…so we decided to build one.
Be sure to checkout our startup video on our Loveopolis.com splash page or view it here: http://www.youtube.com/
Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
Jesse Epstein, Founder & CEO.
A University of Vermont Grad earning degrees in both Business and Psychology. His passion for making things “more better” blended with his fascination of technology has led to some pretty big ideas, most recently Loveopolis.com. Former PGA Golf Professional and 2x World Long Drive Competitor. Lives in Toronto, CA with his beautiful wife, son and two dogs. Follow him at angel.co/jesseeps
Where are you based?
Burlington, VT and Toronto, Canada
What’s the startup scene/culture like where you’re based?
The startup scene is amazing in Burlington and growing fast! You can read more about it here: http://www.loveopolis.
How did you come up with the idea for Loveopolis?
A friend of my wife was always asking her for feedback on her online matches to decide if she should actually meet up with the guy in person. This was facilitated by my wife being emailed her friend’s username, password, dating site she was using, the guys name and how many pages in he was…and then a phone call to chat. I thought to myself, that shouldn’t have to be done like that!
How did you come up with the name?
Polis is Greek for city and our site all about a community for people to find love…throw them together and you get Loveopolis.
What problem does Loveopolis solve?
At our core, we allow you to get feedback from your closest friends on matches before you actually meet them. Layered with some awesome and engaging social features and robust privacy, we think we’ve got something pretty good going!
What’s your secret sauce?
Friends, not ph.D’s.
What’s one dilemma you’ve encountered in the startup process?
Getting a great product to market is challenging when your entire team has day jobs, families, and mortgages and is completely remote…it’s a lot of cranking through all hours of the night. It’s also one of the funnest pieces to it…we’ve got an incredibly tight-knit crew!
What’s one challenge you’ve overcome in the startup process?
Having to build a team capable of building a business, not just a product…then having to do it all over again when the first team fell apart. I look back now and I could have never imagined having such amazing people on the Loveopolis team as we do now!
What’s next for Loveopolis?
We’ve got a working alpha and are almost to beta, just wrapping up our designs and working through the kinks!
Where can people find out more?
You can check us out at Loveopolis.com, follow us on AngelList @ angel.co/Loveopolis and read more about what we’re up to on our blog at blog.loveopolis.com.