Agarwal also identifies a key problem in the “behavioral flippancy” that often manifests itself in dating apps like Tinder or other swipe-based services. Said the founder, “Guys know that the chances of finding a match are small … so they swipe right continuously. This devalues what a match means, as it’s not clear if the couple truly like each other. Many matches don’t lead to a chat. So the odds of going on an actual date with a person you like are tiny.” Calling standard online dating “colossally ineffective,” Agarwal points out that fewer than 25 percent of online daters wind up in a relationship. “You wouldn’t tolerate such results from any other product,” he says, “So why tolerate it from your dating app?”
By abandoning the impersonal touch of the computer for the judgment of actual human beings, Agarwal says that, “A friend or a community matchmaker has put some thought into each suggestion they send your way, making you think before you swipe. And when a mutual like occurs, you know that the other person really means it, so you’re more likely to get chatting and meet up.”
Agarwal founded the new dating app after experiencing his fair share of online romance (or lack thereof). “I started Spritzr because as a single guy I found online dating to be exhausting. It took up a lot of time browsing, swiping, messaging, and generally didn’t lead to much,” he said. “At the same time, I had this friend, Caroline, who was married and would set me up with friends of hers. I thought if I could find a way to make matchmaking easy and low pressure, many more people would act as matchmakers, and singles would have a quick way to find quality dates.”
Thus, Spritzr was born. A key of Agarwal’s was to eliminate some of the “creep” factor that seems to be an integral part of much online dating (my own experiences have demonstrated this). As the CEO pointed out to me, “42 percent of women report being harassed while using a dating app or website.” But having a mutual friend recommend a potential love interest “removes that anxiety and gets the couple off to a positive start.” And best of all, there’s some guarantee that you’re meeting a real person, and not being catfished.
Even if you’re in a happy, committed relationship yourself, Agarwal is confident that you can use Spritz as a matchmaker. No, this isn’t Ashley Madison 2.0, but as a 2014 Duke study noted, playing matchmaker has actually been shown to make people happier. As a result, Spritz is equally dependent on its singles community and its matchmaker community for creating a more realistic dating environment, even if it is online.
At the end of the day, Agarwal says, “Whether it’s dating apps or some other online tool, digital dating is definitely here to stay. The trick is going to be how we can make it authentic, enjoyable, and effective at the same time.” Spritzr may just be the start of a solution.
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