Boring small talk, side glances, and an “emergency” phone call from a friend are familiar displays on a bad date. Singletons everywhere know the awkwardness associated with diving into a first date, and when it happens, high-tailing it out of there can’t happen soon enough. With a flurry of dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge, the dating world is your oyster and you’re bound to meet a slew of duds before experiencing a meaningful connection.
Here to be your partner in ditching bad dating crime is PlayNConnect, an app that allows singles to build and strengthen relationships with a little friendly competition and conversation. Men and women connect with partners of interest and play virtual games like Word Snap, Would You Rather, and Quick Picks to help transition into an awkward-free and organic conversation. We recently caught up with Co-Founders Sachin Malhotra and Faisal Zaman to hear how they’re playing cupid with PlayNConnect.
Year/Date Founded:
June 2014
Founders/Execs:
Sachin Malhotra is Co-Founder and CEO of PlayNConnect. Sachin was born in Delhi and delved into becoming an entrepreneur at an early age. He started a handful of small companies before moving to Canada for further education, finally relocating to the U.S. where he launched an Amusement Machines business. Today, Sachin is zealously dedicated to PlayNConnect and hopes to make it a product that changes how people perceive and use online social interactive platforms.
Faisal Zaman is Co-Founder and COO of PlayNConnect. He oversees the strategic direction and vision of the platform. Faisal was born in Dubai and moved to Atlanta as a young adult. His love for psychology and the behavioral sciences supplement his desire to help people connect in a more meaningful way. He has been a serial entrepreneur for years and brings those years of experience to make PlayNConnect the leader in online social interaction.
The Pitch:
PlayNConnect is changing how people make initial contact in a dating app. Our app allows singles to build and strengthen relationships by competition and chatting through virtual games, including Word Snap, Would You Rather and Quick Picks. By connecting people through playing games, we help men and women have an interesting initial exchange, allowing them to transition into an organic and awkward-free conversation.
What problem are you solving?
We solve the problem of the general and overall stigma associated with dating apps and the difficulty of finding and talking to people for the first time.
Please describe the market/industry impact:
PlayNConnect is changing the online dating space. Right now, the only things apps like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge do are connect two people and gently shove them in the awkward space of “hey, hi, what’s up?”. We’ve found that a lot of people struggle with sparking a conversation that both people can instantly jump into, so we want to serve as a bridge to connect two people that also helps guide them into a conversation without the initial awkwardness. Essentially, PlayNConnect helps people make meaningful initial connections.
Funded or Bootstrapped:
We are self-funded.
Revenue Model:
Implementing a set of features available through subscription in the future.
How’d you get the idea for it?
The idea came to us based on our personal experiences as well as observations of others dealing with the difficulty of finding good dates through available options.
Who are your competitors and how do you stand out?
Competitors include Tinder, Hinge, okCupid, Bumble and the millions of other dating apps out there. We stand out because they all do the same thing: match singles without helping them connect, whereas PlayNConnect provides multiple games to play within the platform that unlock chatting capabilities with other singles and help users to continue strengthening bonds with connections.
How does Atlanta weave into your story?
We are proud Atlantans and because Atlanta has a great number of singles, we have chosen it as the first market to launch our app.
Are you hiring?
We are currently hiring Brand Ambassadors.
Take a spin at dating by downloading the PlayNConenct app, and be sure to follow them on Twitter.
