Let me be frank: this post aims to be much more modest than its title. In truth, we feel lucky to be the stewards of LFGdating. While we came up with the idea, incorporated, built the site, and have overseen and managed every action since its inception, our success is overwhelmingly because of our members. There’s no two ways about that.
Our members’ ideas and suggestions are driving our web development projects right now. Sure, Patrick and I are the gatekeepers of the site, and as such, we press the proverbial “go button” on what to improve, but LFGdating is a collaborative effort. A holacracy of sorts.
2015 was a break out year. We broke traffic, new member sign-up and member-to-member communication records monthly. We ended the year nowhere near where we started. In 2016, we’ve expanded our advertising exponentially and we’ve attended one of the nation’s largest comicons. We’re slated for trips to multiple cities the second half of the year. If the first six months of the year is any indication of the second six months of the year, then we’ll keep growing at record pace as well.
Bottom line: we’re doing everything in our power to make sure our members have as many quality matches as possible. Quality matches lead to meaningful interaction, which in turn leads to lasting relationships. That’s why people join LFGdating in the first place.
We’re in this for the long haul
LFGdating began its open beta in January 2012. We closed our beta in February 2013, and in 2016 I’m writing a blog post like this. Patrick and I work every day (it’s borderline unhealthy and has, at times, led to disputes with our significant others). We call each other and Slack multiple times daily. We run ideas past each other and play devil’s advocate until we hit the launch button on new/redesigned features. January 2017 will mark our 5 year anniversary. I can’t imagine what our 10th will be like.
We’re transparent
Have you read our story page? If you have 30 seconds, you should check it out. We don’t hide behind a corporate banner of anonymity. We don’t have generic email accounts that we email our members from. Sure, we have the standard info@ email account, but when we reply to messages, we reply from our own personal emails. Want to test that? Create a profile with us and find out.
We’re motivated
Patrick is up by 4:45 A.M. Yes – you read that correctly. After a quick workout, he’s working on the site. Coding, responding to members, daily operations, etc. You name it – he’s done it for LFGdating. I like to stay up later. I’m up until midnight-ish each night. I take the lead on email marketing. I respond to members as well. We feel that whoever can respond first should respond first, so with Patrick up early and myself up late – we’re a good team. We collaborate on guides, even. I’m also going to mention that even though we launched our beta in 2012, we started developing LFGdating in 2010. Think of how many people have created lasting, meaningful relationships in that time. That’s what keeps us motivated.
We’re in the habit of connecting people
We have a double bottom line at LFGdating. The first bottom line is how many people are meeting and communicating on a daily basis. The second bottom line is financial, but you can’t be a fully functioning company and not have that not be a bottom line. Remember above when we said we’re transparent – this is us proving that to you as you read this. Our members’ ideas and suggestions paired with the LFGdating work ethic leads to increasing numbers of members creating lasting, meaningful relationships. When we receive a cancel subscription notice because a paying subscriber has met someone, that’s basically every great holiday wrapped up into one email notification. It’s honestly one of the greatest emotions that I personally have trouble describing to friends and family.
We’re here
We’re givers. Pure and simple and unashamedly so. Our members have access to our personal emails. We respond within 24 hours and normally all it takes is 10 minutes. I’ve walked out of a date night to email a member to answer questions about LFGdating. Patrick has given face time to his computer during family holidays to do the same. LFGdating is what it is because our members are so phenomenal. They deserve our time, energy and commitment. Even when we’re busy.
Check us out. If we don’t deserve your time, please let us know why. Chances are your thoughts can make LFGdating even better.
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