Episode 221
#221 - Interview with Nick n' Anukul co-founders of Splash Match
Online dating has changed a lot over the years, and not always for the better. That’s where Nick and Anukul step in. As co-founders of Splash Match, they’re on a mission to bring real connection back to the dating world. Unlike traditional dating apps that seem more focused on keeping users stuck in an endless loop. Splash Match is designed to simplify the process, and encourage real-world interactions. With features like virtual speed dating, and a transparent matching system. They’re making dating less about mindless swiping, and more about meaningful conversations.
In this episode, we dive into their journey as young entrepreneurs. The challenges of creating a dating platform that actually works. And why so many dating apps today feel broken by design? We also explore the broader cultural shift in dating post-COVID. The impact of social media on relationships, and the surprising ways technology has shaped modern romance.
Splash Match launches March 28th—check them out at:
follow them on social media:
@splashmatch
Transcript
Lost in the Groove Podcast
ah come from a time like from the 70s, you know, and like I have this idea in my head of like, oh, my God, like they just met, you know, and they just start talking to each other. And these days, it seems like every single motherfucker on the planet is like finding their husband and their wife and on online dating, you know, but like doesn't seem like that many companies or developers or entrepreneurs that are doing it.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Doing it well, to be honest.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, no, we definitely agree.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Why do you think that?
::Anukul, Splash Match
And I guess that's kind of why we decided to create Splashmatch. um for As to why we think that, I think it's like profit driven.
::Anukul, Splash Match
um Obviously, if people are finding the right people and then deleting the app, then it's not working. or it's it is is's working too well and they won't use the app anymore.
::Anukul, Splash Match
So being able to kind of keep them in that loop and keep them almost finding the right person, but not finding the right person. And then also putting it behind a paywall for like better matches.
::Anukul, Splash Match
um I think that that is definitely the reason why some of the bigger companies are not doing it and ah in like ah a way that's good for the actual people.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah, 100%. So for the both of you guys, um what kind of what kind of roles do you play in this?
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, I can take that one.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Nick, you want to go? Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, happy to hop in here. um We share equal amount of responsibility when it comes to the actual product. Neither of us come from a technical background.
::Nick, Splash Match
I studied finance in university and on a call study data analytics. So neither of us come from that like technical sweet type of background. So it's been a lot of We're 24 years old.
::Nick, Splash Match
We created this idea as like a side project and we jumped both feet in to this point. And i think it's like more of like a testament of what you can learn um about the unknown or what you don't know already.
::Nick, Splash Match
So we've been able to play a role in the actual development, learning about the API integration, how to actually market a product, which is what we're going through right now with the launch coming up on March 28th.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Thank you.
::Nick, Splash Match
And I think from there, it's just being young, taking the skills you've honed in corporate America to a degree and trying to apply that to our dating app.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah, I mean, to your point, Nick, I am 26 and I've worked in the corporate industry for several years, you know, and now I'm you know looking in a career in regards to tech.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know, I'm going to be working for BMW at the end of the year. I mean, regardless of how we look at things, we are and more and more moving to a more technological environment.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
We're more and more integration with tech around us. And that heavily even involves people that have kids already. You know, think about like all the monitoring systems that go into people that have their children, you know, all of the different types of services that are available just for people coming together alone. Like,
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
you know, war game nights and game nights and, um you know, going out Saturday night, you know, or a meetup or something like that. It's just all about knowing and how to approach it the correct way.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Am I right? Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
i i totally yeah yeah I totally agree.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Instead of just monetary.
::Nick, Splash Match
my i would say my background is in ah tech investment banking, so primarily focused on software companies that are looking to be involved in the M&A process. And from there, I've seen so many companies that everything has like a a tech component that can make your life easier in some sort of way.
::Nick, Splash Match
Or you referenced, it's like everything we do is pretty much tech-driven these days. So having features and application, and different aspects to that, I think that's where you're really seeing the rise.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah, 100%. um
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know, in regard to my own perspective, because, you know, being gay and dealing with interactions with people, especially when you're dealing with dating, is, around my age, is extremely difficult, well depending also where you live here in this country.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But then you have like these geniuses ideas like Grindr, for example, right, which came out many years ago, which was is this way of people within the community to be able to interact with each other, maybe be able to get a little more intimate.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Now it's just a straight up porn site. okay It's like DoorDash for porn. That's pretty much what it is. And i mean you could clearly see like all of the ways they could have gone, but that is the the complete direction that they've gone within the past 10 years of existence. Probably it's been a lot longer than that, but...
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
That is also something to take into mind. Like, so their attitude has changed as a business. They started out at something and then completely altered their message and their delivery to something completely different.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Right.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, no, definitely.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
So what is that for you guys? Because, again, when you're developing something like this, and again, it does seem like you're creating a business here. Do you see that level of attitude as we're, you know, this is what we're starting with. We have no idea where this is going. No, this is exactly what we want to stick with. We want to stay with our truth. Like this is our message or that's not even that's not even a factor.
::Nick, Splash Match
No, I think you were totally hitting the nail on the head. I think when we were creating and coming up with this idea, a lot of it was community driven. can we we as a as as as a business, still stick with like our core message of dating apps today seem like they want to make your life a lot more difficult or they kind of run astray from what they really are. like i know Hinge's message is designed to be deleted, but I hear story and story and story and article as well. It's like,
::Nick, Splash Match
you You hear these stories over and over again about people that delete the app, but all a sudden they're on it three days later. So it's not really designed to be deleted. It's designed to put you in a constant flywheel type loop. And i think what we're trying to prioritize with our mission is as a dating app company and dating in general today is very difficult.
::Nick, Splash Match
And dating online is even more difficult than that. We just don't want to be a hindrance in you finding your person. So the way we designed it with the different features that we have.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
so very open So very open source.
::Nick, Splash Match
Exactly, exactly.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
if Okay. Okay.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah. And I think that like the features that we've come up with, it's like, we're trying to attack a different pressure points that have existed in like the current apps and like the current dating market. And it's like, how can we, how can we really make a difference?
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, and kind of building off of that, like like you said, some of these apps are now just porn and Tinder is like a breeding ground for OnlyFans bots.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
i think that's I think that's really important, yeah.
::Anukul, Splash Match
So that...
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Right? Right? Yeah.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, so that right there it's like an opportunity for us to just not do that.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Oh my god, thank you.
::Anukul, Splash Match
And um i mean, we don't really know where we want to take it in the future, but I mean, it's it's pretty easy to just not do that and not allow fake people. And um we have a pretty robust reporting software um or like reporting rules to just kind of remove you from the app if you're doing those kinds of behaviors.
::Anukul, Splash Match
So I think that that at the genesis of our idea is kind of what's going to take it and maybe make people more interested in trying something new ah versus the porn and the OnlyFans and everything else that kind of clouds up all the other apps.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah, I mean, to your point, though, we we are living in an era where less and less people are dating, less and less people are getting married, less and less people are having kids.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And i mean, to each their own. But, you know, I come from ah come from my father's from my father was originally from Africa. He's from Morocco, you know, and he grew up around his siblings and he came to this country and he created a family, you know,
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
in That to me means a lot because my dad gave up a lot coming here and building a family for us. You know, you want to be able to give that back. and when you have to almost deal with the sea of bullshit, that's what I call It's called the sea of bullshit.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You become cumbersome, you know, even for myself, like I, i just want to focus on my school. I just want to focus on my work. like I don't want to deal with interacting with any more people because of all of these bad experiences that's come before.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I'm not the only one, you know, I'm sure you guys have talked and talked to people about this and they've probably said the same thing. Like, yeah, I've i've had quite a few bad experiences.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Right. Yeah.
::Anukul, Splash Match
yeah
::Nick, Splash Match
Totally agree. Yeah, I would say I totally agree. And i i think that kind of segues perfectly into some other aspects of like what we're trying to do here.
::Nick, Splash Match
um i think one of the things you touched on is people having the experience of really not going on dates anymore. And a lot of the applications that are in the way that they're designed, it's very much hookup culture driven.
::Nick, Splash Match
Like, i I remember like going on my first date at 16 years old, and I thought it was an awesome experience. I went mini golfing. i When we were talking about like making ah real change and really creating that, we want to go back to ideas like that.
::Nick, Splash Match
So not to shamelessly segue into like an actual feature of what we have, but...
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
No, go right ahead, man. i love this.
::Nick, Splash Match
we We have designed in a way that we are actually rewarding people for going on dates, like people that are making an effort to get to know the other individual on the other side of the phone.
::Nick, Splash Match
And we are rewarding those individuals that are actually going on dates or we will be when the app actually launches. And then another aspect that we're kind of bringing back the past and ah like almost like a feeling of nostalgia.
::Nick, Splash Match
um i We created this feature in which it's kind of modeled after Omegle minus the nudity and random gentlemen or females just standing there with their private parts out.
::Nick, Splash Match
um We designed it in a similar exactly we designed it a similar way, but we also took the idea of people used to do speed dating.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
People used to go out. Pre-COVID, people used to participate in these events where they got to really get to know each other. So although it's not an in-person activity, we do offer every Friday night at 8 p.m.,
::Nick, Splash Match
a virtual speed dating event held within our platform that'll match you very quickly with a bunch of users in your area. And from there, you'll have two minutes to strike up a conversation. The conversation feels good.
::Nick, Splash Match
Feel free to extend them your contact card. If it doesn't, then just move on to the next one. And these are people that you could potentially see if you went out with your friends later in that specific area. And i think for a lot of our future users, the the biggest thing that we were, or one of the biggest things we were hearing was users just feel like they're not getting matches.
::Nick, Splash Match
Like everything's like on such a, like a weird scale on the like super popular ones, whether you're paying enough, whether your activity level is high, like we don't want that.
::Nick, Splash Match
Like we, we want to connect, people we want to connect as many people as possible because that human or interaction is lacking since COVID.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
no
::Nick, Splash Match
And we really feel like we can really make a difference there.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah, I mean, it almost it almost feels like TGI Fridays back in the day. you know
::Nick, Splash Match
yeah
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
People forget like back in the day they were there was this concept, you know let's create a singles bar. and That doesn't exist anymore, which is bananas.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I mean, and know people that like out to go out to drink and there's definitely tons of DJs that can use the money for gigs. And there's not a single single bar anywhere in this country.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Like the idea like happened and then it just died. But to your point, it's almost like creating a virtual pool You know, a virtual like singles bar, if you call.
::Nick, Splash Match
Exactly.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know, you you touched on something, which is everything's like after covid. You know, before that happened, our world was completely different.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
you know, interacting with people was a lot more common and was a lot more normal. And then all of a sudden, like this just year and a half, just bam, completely changed everything.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
worse now than they were pre-: ::Lost in the Groove Podcast
This is going to keep on getting bigger. I feel like the problem is that there's not enough people that give a shit. You know, there's people that, yeah, we want to care about mental health.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But then, you know, you're paying through the wazoo and you have to be able to afford it, you know, or. Like we were talking over here, like sometimes it is hard for people to interact with people differently.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
in real life to be able to date. I mean, you know, got you got you got hectic job, you can have projects you're working on, i could be a billion different things, but like not everybody can just go out whenever they feel like it and just start talking and start meeting people.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
guess, you know what, I guess you just gotta start from somewhere, right?
::Nick, Splash Match
Definitely. Definitely. not Not to pipe up again on a call, but i I wanted to add on to your point.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Mm-hmm.
::Nick, Splash Match
I think definitely the younger individuals that experienced COVID as like a precursor to their college experience, specifically younger men, I i feel like it doesn't get called out enough.
::Nick, Splash Match
behavior and how to operate and act around the same sex or even the opposite sex, it's really different. And i think losing out on a whole year and that experience where you would have those constant interactions with people in your classes or on campus or wherever it might be, like at a restaurant, you you kind of lose out on that and I don't know. like it's It feels like it's almost like a hindrance or of setting us back in some sort of way.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah. What are you thinking about, Anacle?
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, I think that I was going to say that plus a plus like almost like a judgment first culture where it's kind of become the norm to look at what other people are doing and like have an opinion. and it's usually negative on someone enjoying themselves or enjoying life or whatever.
::Anukul, Splash Match
So that plus what Nick was mentioning and everyone kind of being in their screens. Um, I mean, they had to be for a time period, but then that has now also shifted and become the norm where people are always on their phones, always online.
::Anukul, Splash Match
You'd almost rather be home.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Even when they're driving.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah. Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Let's have that.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Even when they're driving, I mean, when they're doing anything like, like I bet more people are on their phones right now than are not. So, um,
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Anukul, Splash Match
those two things I think has kind of diminished the community and like the, the feeling of togetherness that we had. I mean, it was kind of dwindling before COVID, but I think COVID definitely made it happen a lot faster and a lot more extreme for sure.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
In your own personal experience, if you want to deep dive in this, how has your own dating experience has been up until this point?
::Anukul, Splash Match
Um, definitely. I would kind of agree with you in terms of non-existent and because of other things that I'm working on and just like a ah lack of a desire to go out and even try because like i was mentioning, people are judge first.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Right. Yeah.
::Anukul, Splash Match
You never know if if you go try to do something, if you're going to end up on TikTok or Snapchat or whatever and go viral for the wrong reasons, um which is another,
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
and knew a friend I knew a friend like that. It was
::Anukul, Splash Match
it's it's the worst.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It was bad. bad.
::Anukul, Splash Match
But like another ah another shameless plug to our app is that you can't you can't screenshot on there.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
so bad
::Nick, Splash Match
you
::Anukul, Splash Match
So if you, if like I've definitely used the other apps and been mindful of what my profile looks like, what my messages look like, because it could I could see it on Twitter later against my will.
::Anukul, Splash Match
But on our app, you can't screenshot. So people can be more true to themselves and put themselves out there. There's definitely... a negative area there where people can put themselves out there in the wrong way.
::Anukul, Splash Match
But um like I mentioned, we have a pretty robust report functionality and you can't upload pictures that are, I guess we have a genitalia scanner in our picture uploading.
::Anukul, Splash Match
So, um
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
We're going to talk about this after the podcast because, yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
Grindr, feel free to call us.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
a Damn, bro. It's like, we got a janetilia scatter.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, I actually, I totally agree with him.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, for lack of better terms.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Uh...
::Nick, Splash Match
Definitely different experience with dating, but I like what he did. articleical I like what you touched on when it came to like the small, it's such a small version of a safety feature, but I think so many people are worried about how they they have to present themselves. And this is kind of going back to what we just talked about, that they are almost afraid to be themselves because 10 seconds later, they might end up in someone's group chat getting made fun of. And that that's an unfortunate thing.
::Nick, Splash Match
Everyone is quick to jump to be negative.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I really would love for somebody to try to make fun of me to my face.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, but but it's always behind the ah behind the screen and in their own group chat.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, no, for real.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Like... Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
and it's like that's super unfortunate because you have people that are posting genuine genuine pictures of themselves where they feel like they might look their best.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
yeah
::Nick, Splash Match
And if you agree as the individual on the other side, your first reaction is to go throw it in your like guys or girls group chat. That's unfortunate. And again,
::Nick, Splash Match
The shameless plug to the actual feature being unscreened and shotable is something we find exciting on the like the safety aspect.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's finding, to your point, it's being able to find the right balance because when it comes to freedom of speech, okay, there is a cost, there's always a cost with anything, right? Whenever you give freedom, but there's a reason why we have these freedoms.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's not only our right, but it is our responsibility as American citizens to hold true to those things. and holding people back, telling people, well, we're gonna ban this, you know we're gonna ban that. Oh, well, cause this is you know this is like, this is insane.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Okay.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Right.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You gotta let people be people. you know People are like, oh my God, the shit that's going on on X. That's what happens when you give people freedom. but It doesn't make it fully negative.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It just is what it is because of what it takes to have that, you know? And you've got to make a choice.
::Anukul, Splash Match
right
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You either want to be but like behind the iron curtain Or you can choose not to be behind the Iron Curtain and be able to speak your own truth and be like you said, like be able to actually show who you are.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Again, like I can only speak to my like same sex, like in regards to the gay community. The amount of two-faced fucking bullshit that exists is insane.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Okay? These guys will post the cutest pictures. They're adorable. Their life is shit. They're on so many drugs. They don't know how to be vulnerable. They don't know how to communicate.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
They don't know how to be normal when they're not drunk. Like, do you even have a job? I work at Walmart overnight. That's not a job at 28 years old bro
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Like, seriously, like, like, how do you expect anybody to take you seriously? But like, you're showing yourself to be Mr. Perfect instead of being who you really are.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, definitely. ah i Just to kind of add on to your point, and my roommate for the first two years in college and also one of my best high school or one of my best friends from high school who also went to Indiana with us, um he is part of the gay community in Chicago.
::Nick, Splash Match
And he tells me the same types of stories. it's It's so two faced. and It's unfortunate. Because like but he's like a very like driven, hardworking individual.
::Nick, Splash Match
And it's like, this person may look perfect on paper, but once they truly reveal themselves, it is something completely different.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I mean...
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
the craziest part is, like... Gay marriage has gone completely down. ah was reading an article last year. it's down, like, 30%.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Okay?
::Anukul, Splash Match
Oh, really?
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
So, out of all of the marriages that take place in this country... Like, male-to-male marriages are the lowest.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And that's, like... There's no reason for it. There really isn't. There's no reason why, again, anybody, anybody should have that ability and lack to have that connection. And, and you know, I've found that you sometimes meet people, even if it's not sexual, and you developed a sexual relationship with them.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Sometimes you go into relationship thinking it's gonna be sexual, and then it's just, but just you know, friendship.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But being able to have that opportunity so like, maybe this is a friendship. And then seeing where that goes. You know, you have like Facebook dating, which by the way, is probably the worst.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
it It does the friends thing, but it does the friends in the more genius way. It makes the friends are all people that are in your area. And then all the people that you like or like you on the dating side, they all live thousands of miles away from you.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Interesting.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
What? How does that make any sense?
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, maybe they should offer a...
::Nick, Splash Match
They just want to show you what you can't have.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah, I want that expensive candy. I want that Tobarone. want the giant one they got in the airport by Duty Free.
::Nick, Splash Match
you
::Anukul, Splash Match
maybe ah Maybe Facebook should offer ah flight service too, kind of in tandem with that.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's a lot of striking zero. It really is.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
has it Has it been honestly like for the both of you, because you both seem like very passionate people, have you always had a ah dream of creating something? Or like this just came out of nowhere, you know you guys just met and you're like, hey, I got an idea. No, I got an idea.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, no, definitely. I think that we both have had a dream of creating something. um Whether it be this or anything else that may have come across our minds. I think after we graduated college and then lived in two different cities, we'd be on the phone a good amount, kind of bouncing different ideas back and forth across FaceTime.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You do this long distance.
::Anukul, Splash Match
And this is... Yeah, yeah. And this is kind of the one that that stuck. um And we thought that it not only had the biggest opportunity for us to be able to kind of leave that corporate world, but more importantly, I think the opportunity to solve a real problem that we both either were facing or had faced or just had a good amount of viewpoint into having just graduated from college um and kind of seeing where
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Sorry.
::Anukul, Splash Match
everyone was like struggling and everyone had the same complaints across the board. And then on TikTok, you see everyone has the same complaints. So that's kind of why I think this idea stuck out to us the most. But I think that we, we both were on the same wavelength of, you know, we want to create something and see what we can do.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Um, especially when we're, when we're young and like with the internet and everything, it's, it's almost, yeah, yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You gotta have fun with it. You gotta play around.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Like exactly.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Get in the sandbox. Or Roblox. Or Fortnite. I can't keep up. yeah can't I can't keep
::Nick, Splash Match
So many new things.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
um There's so many new things, man. It's insane. You know, speaking of corporate, ah there's a TV show that was made by Ben Stiller.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's called Severance. Has any of you guys watched it?
::Anukul, Splash Match
I've not watched it, but but I've seen the i've seen it the premise and kind of some of the memes that have come out.
::Nick, Splash Match
I have not checked it out.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
ah
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I said this before. i watched this show when it came out while I was having a corporate job.
::Nick, Splash Match
Mm-hmm.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And i started to lose my mind because if you really think about it in a corporate environment, you're basically severing your mind for eight hours.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You have to be somebody that you're completely not. You have to line yourself up to ideologies that you don't even give a shit about, bro. You know, like, I don't care about any of this.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And you do that every single day, five days a week, eight hours, every day.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Right.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And you you have this TV show that's literally like breaking it down to the amount of abuse that takes place. You know, it's not that independency matters.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's the fact that there is a problem with corporate America of how they run things and how they control people. And I'm going to be very honest. I think that they're trying to control the dating industry, too.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, I mean, I would agree. i think Nick has some more detailed information into this, but...
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Ooh, love some good shit.
::Anukul, Splash Match
I mean, i was just going to say, mainly because, like...
::Nick, Splash Match
Well, yeah, I mean, just, I mean, just, yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Spill some tea, please.
::Anukul, Splash Match
I was just gonna that that like match group controls like 70% of the dating market. um And they have like any app that blows up, they'll buy it and usually kill it.
::Anukul, Splash Match
um Or it'll, it'll kind of take the Tinder um playbook, which obviously no one, it doesn't work and no one likes it. So it inevitably, like it might still exist, but it it kind of dies out.
::Anukul, Splash Match
um But what were you gonna say, Nick?
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, I was going to say match Group owns Match, Tinder, i think the only I think the only one that I know is like still like privately not even privately owned, but owned outside of like the ah match group umbrella is, I think it's Bumble, who was also started by a former Tinder co-founder.
::Nick, Splash Match
um And it's just like super interesting. There's there's actually ah like a monopoly taking place. um So you're you're you're seeing the same amount of content. You're probably seeing... ah big overlap in user base.
::Nick, Splash Match
But anytime you see a little competition to any of their apps, you you see them start to get a little little active in the space and try to make acquisitions, which is like, understand from like like a business perspective. But like, if that is like, everything's falling under the same corporate umbrella, and people don't like that corporate umbrella,
::Nick, Splash Match
something has to give at a point. And I think that's kind of where we're hoping to to disrupt. It's not like we're reinventing the way people date, but we're definitely looking to make it easier and simplify the process and actually show you people that you really want to show.
::Nick, Splash Match
Another shameless plug to another one of our features, but um it kind of just rolls into that. It's like you are seeing this feed on Tinder, Match,
::Nick, Splash Match
um plenty of fish. I think they own OKCupid as well.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Thank you.
::Nick, Splash Match
ah And in that situation, you're seeing a very similar feed over and over again. And you're like, how how the fuck do I keep seeing this? like these type Like, who are these people? Like, why are they being shown to me?
::Nick, Splash Match
So, like, The first thing that we kind of took a stab at, Anikla and I, was let's develop a simplified version of the algorithm that gives users like complete and utter transparency into why they're being shown the individuals on their feed in the first place.
::Nick, Splash Match
So we will it essentially put people in front of you that you kind of match on like-minded characteristics.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
are
::Nick, Splash Match
We do have a... Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Are you guys integrating ai like artificial intelligence, within the platform or no?
::Nick, Splash Match
Yes.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Barely, like not not in the matching criteria at all.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Barely.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Like our algorithm is so simple, it's basically like an Excel formula. Like it it is not, it's it's barely an algorithm. um The AI is only included when you match with someone and ah have like you know jitters trying to figure out what to send them first, because that's kind of the most important is seeing or kind of deciding what they're gonna see first from you.
::Anukul, Splash Match
um So the ai is integrated there where it'll scan your account, scan their account and come up with three pickup lines that are kind of a little bit fun, a little bit flirty.
::Anukul, Splash Match
But, you know, you don't have to use them. Obviously, you can kind of use them to come up with an idea of your own. But after that, the AI gets turned off and you don't it's not like you're messaging an AI bot. um But yeah, I think AI definitely has like a ah big opportunity, but not when it comes to like finding your soulmate or like finding someone who you want to share your life with.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, we, sorry.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah. Sorry, Nick, you going something?
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, I was going to say, we we essentially just call it an AI suggested tool. Like it's giving you suggestions to, when you get to that stage and you get that match and you're like, you kind of look a little closer and you're like,
::Nick, Splash Match
how the fuck did this person like click on me or swipe on me or whatever it might be? And you're like, damn, did they make a mistake? And you're kind of having that moment of like feeling a little lack of confidence.
::Nick, Splash Match
we're We're just there to give you a suggestion to maybe kick off your conversation or at least inspire an idea because I am so tired as like an individual that was on all these different platforms of seeing, hey,
::Nick, Splash Match
hi Like, tell me something about you. like but Like, tell me something that you see on my profile that, like, kind of interests you or, like, what I should be saying to you in, like, response.
::Nick, Splash Match
You know, if that makes sense. Like, have a little more depth.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
i i got to i got in I got to a point where I started writing a message and I just kept on copying and pasting it.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's like, if you like me and are interested to go out for coffee sometimes, please call me or text.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
yeah
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And then i just put my phone number. I sent it, you know, like Ghost in Post, sent it, and just left. And...
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Most of the time nobody responded, but like the random times that I did get like those few people that did respond, like it's just almost like when you go, like you go out to fish having the right hook, you know, having the right bait.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Heh.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I'm not trying to compare dating to like fishing, but i mean, that's kind of the best analogy, right? You know, yeah if you're going to go out there and use the wrong equipment, you know, you're not going to use the right skills for yourself. Because again, this is something for yourself and for someone else.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know I think that's something that people forget.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's like, you're not just doing this for yourself. You're doing this for someone else. So like, if if you like somebody and you're interested in them,
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, that's a good point.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And then you respond, you know, don't you think it would be the common decency to kind of see if how the other person see if you just ghost them? You just ignore them?
::Nick, Splash Match
yeah
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
or is it Right?
::Nick, Splash Match
It's ridiculous. it At least your message had like a little bit of depth. But like what we're harping on is just like like, what do you learn from someone when they shoot you like a like a hey? It's just hey, hey, hey, over and over again. it's like You're not really learning anything about the and the individual on the the other side of the phone. like The experience is supposed to be a shared experience.
::Nick, Splash Match
And your takeaway is, like how the fuck do i reply to that? You know, like, it but like, where where does this conversation go next? And I think that was just kind of what we were trying to get at.
::Nick, Splash Match
um But I kind of like your approach, like, to be honest, like, if if you're serious about, like, going out and like a date or grabbing coffee really quick, like, you if you're serious about getting to know me to a deeper level or a different depth, like, just shoot me a text. Let's make it more personal.
::Nick, Splash Match
Like, we don't need... the the platform anymore. We've already done the hard part, which was matching in the first place.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
i totally I totally agree with you. I mean, i was raised where, you know, I went to, was raised in a Jewish background. and i went to all-boy schools, and I've been around straight men as long as I can remember.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
So I've almost come to a point where
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yet it's sexual desire. and i I spoke to so a friend of mine while back, and she kind of told me the same thing. It's like you kind of want to find somebody that you just you connect with and you can start to get to know and then develop that along with it.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
you know, just being able to just connect with people as friends and getting to know people like. that gives you that extra boost. you know i think, again, a lot of it is in the hands of the user. You know you could make all of the fucking tools, you know as a mechanic, you could have the toolbox that it has $70,000 of Do you use five of them?
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
No. You use one. So what the hell? Why do you need $70,000 worth of tools? It's like, look through the fucking tools. See which ones you need and which ones the most important. Make sure they're taken care of, right?
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
These are just basic fucking skills that people should have. You know? I'm not trying to put down people. But you get what I'm saying. It's like, you do your due diligence, like, as an application, as a platform.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And then it's the responsibility of the individuals.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Right. And that seems like a like a larger problem that i think Nick and I have definitely talked about how we can try to solve, which is kind of going back to that community that we're trying to foster.
::Anukul, Splash Match
um But I think that that's something that kind of comes with the notoriety and the credibility that a Tinder, a Hinge, a Bumble has, where when they post something or they talk about something, people are...
::Anukul, Splash Match
actually listening and paying attention. um So I think that that's definitely a good point of view for something that we can consider, you know, after we get users and and followers and people on the actual platform.
::Anukul, Splash Match
But that's a good way to put it.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah. I, I also liked what you said, like at the end of the day, you have the dating apps and they can give you hundred different tools to use, but like half the problem is the individuals that are making up this platform.
::Nick, Splash Match
And I think at that point you have to start looking at altering like this, this like trained behavior that people have become accustomed to. like, You can say the individual might just be using these different platforms in the wrong way, but who's going to help change that behavior?
::Nick, Splash Match
And I think we definitely can eventually.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
We can't eat, you know, as a as a podcaster. When i was introduced to Podmatch, you know I e I got introduced to Podmatch about two years after it was developed.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And I've had Alex on the podcast and I've talked with him. What he has created. is incredible because for the longest time, again, the same attitude with podcasters, okay?
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
podcast has been around since: ::Anukul, Splash Match
Right.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know you have to be able to learn on how to communicate and talk with people and learn from people And not just that, it's understanding what your mission is and why you're doing this.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I have had people on this podcast, God forgive me, I wish these motherfuckers the best of luck. I don't want to ever see these motherfuckers again in my life. But is that going to stop me from doing this?
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
No, because I'm having like an interaction with you guys that... Fucking like Jesus Christ. Finally, somebody gives a shit about dating. Like, yeah, I like to go out, but sometimes having that app is great.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Bye.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But having those apps, I'm sorry, like I understand Bumble is independent. The add-ons, the upgrades, the packages. Dear God, do you think I make $180,000 a year? don't have $78. $78 a month for what? What I paying $78 for?
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
eight dollars a month for for what what am i paying seventy eight four
::Anukul, Splash Match
Right, yeah
::Nick, Splash Match
yeah Yeah, that that that is the perfect segue.
::Anukul, Splash Match
but
::Nick, Splash Match
And ah I'll let Anikol kind of attack this one, but we are thinking about exactly that type of user in mind.
::Anukul, Splash Match
yeah. Yeah, 100%. First of all, like you don't need a subscription to succeed on our platform or to use it. If you have a subscription, like you're... experience will not be that much better, which I mean, like you said, it is a business.
::Anukul, Splash Match
So i don't know if I should be plugging that, but like the point is, is that you don't need a subscription for our platform.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
No.
::Anukul, Splash Match
And there's a couple of like, obviously we have them,
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
yeah but By the way, to your just a shout out, um you know, i know a lot of people are like hating on Elon, but that's kind of how X operates. Like there is a subscription option, but you could pretty much go far without. I mean, you could just have Grok on one side and then have X on the other, you know.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But the purpose of a subscription is i feel like not to like, haha, you're better than everyone else. It's like, hey, I have the extra money. Like I can get a little bit more. I'm okay with that. That's fine.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Like I'll do that. That's cool.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, yeah, no, definitely.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
That kind of added. Okay. Okay.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Exactly. Because like all we basically offer with a subscription is like being able to see who's liked you. You can send more likes a day. And one thing we didn't touch on yet was like the category alignment.
::Anukul, Splash Match
quiz that each user takes, but you can see the categories that you've aligned on, um, and maybe fine tune it more if you want.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
here
::Anukul, Splash Match
And those are all things that you can get for like, I mean, it's, it's like $4 a month or $9 a month. And then yeah, the price of a coffee.
::Nick, Splash Match
It's that, yeah, was gonna say it's actually less than my cold brew this morning. I got 545.
::Anukul, Splash Match
ah Or like, um, I think, I think a key.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know what? You know what?
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I want to point this out because I think this is important. Netflix charges between $8 to $14 per like per subscription per month.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Okay. They make multi-million dollar movies and TV shows. Okay. If a company like Netflix can make that kind of money with monetization and subscription-based platform.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Right. It's like what's stopping us. It's all volume.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Anukul, Splash Match
And I guess that that's like the reason why we made it so simple, so easy. And like Nick said, targeting that exact user experience that you were describing as like the obvious kind of solution and answer to the problems that everyone is facing.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, i the only thing I want to add to that is, like Onycle said, someone at the most basic tier on our platform, we wanted to make it that they would have the same amount of potential access to someone with a premium subscription, which again, really doesn't cost anything. We looked at the prices of the other ones and we're like, holy fuck, like that is ridiculous. It doesn't even make any sense.
::Nick, Splash Match
um But we were, when we were talking about the idea, we actually gamified the platform. So by being on the platform, You are actually earning coins by doing simple actions like signing up. You receive a certain amount of coins and whatever.
::Nick, Splash Match
These coins, although like non-fungible like tokens, like they don't really exist in the ether. You can use these within the platform to purchase the premium features regardless. So the user that's at the most basic tier and the user that's at the premium tier, their experience can be exactly the same.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Well, just throwing out an idea have you guys thought about cryptocurrency?
::Anukul, Splash Match
I can't say that we have
::Nick, Splash Match
like accepting it as like a form of payment.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Well, there was a... Oh, my God. There was a company in Europe. I forgot who it was. They're a um They're in the car industry. I was watching a couple of videos on YouTube the other day. They created a cryptocurrency that is monetization. So it kind of acts as like a sharehold for their company.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
So as like the company like grows and people using their... Now I remember this. it's um It's a company in Europe that they developed um an app that helps people working on their cars.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
So they have something here in the States like Tinkered, but there's also one that they have in Europe. and they kind of like created a cryptocurrency with like a share joint it's like really cool i mean it's like okay that's a nice way of making monetization but again i mean crypto is kind of like gotta be gotta be careful with that but yeah
::Anukul, Splash Match
yeah
::Nick, Splash Match
maybe eventually accepting it on the platform for sure. Like it could be super interesting. I guess our our tokens within the platform don't actually hold any real value outside of the platform, but what you're putting them towards is only stuff within the platform.
::Nick, Splash Match
So if that makes sense, I know kind of, I kind of said that in such a confusing way.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
No, no, no, not at all. It's just Sometimes like again to your point you guys are not only being cautious You're being smart You know though the thing that is the number one killer is when you start over complicate um over complicating things You know, being able to stick to the roots and being able to work with that.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Like, again, to your point, like being able to use coins within the app. Like giving people an incentive, right? That's the idea.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Exactly.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Sorry, Nick, interrupted you.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah. No, no, not at all. Like, yeah, it should be that easy because user experience shouldn't change because you're willing to spend a couple extra bucks compared to someone else on the thing. It's like, we don't care if you don't want to purchase a subscription. We we still want to give you the opportunity to interact and find people that, again, that ah you want to interact and find, or sorry, confusing.
::Nick, Splash Match
We want to give you the opportunity to find someone even though you're not going to be spending actual money. Like, again, we're not a hindrance. We just want to be there as support.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Um, has this, I'm asking because I kind of like do a two-parter where I have something on the side, like I'm in the tech school, like in the tech industry in regards to automotive, and then I'm doing this.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Are you guys kind of doing the same thing or you guys are just fully invested in creating platforms and applications? Or do you guys have like a side hustle that you do besides this?
::Anukul, Splash Match
um For me personally, that this is my side hustle. It's my side project in addition to my corporate job. um And I'm very fortunate in terms of It's my job is hybrid so I can, uh, avoid the commute and be at home.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Um, and you know, not feel weird kind of talking about this during the workday, um, and working along with Nick. So it's, it's definitely a side project looking forward to seeing where it goes in a couple of weeks and making my decision on my, my permanent employment then,
::Anukul, Splash Match
um But yeah, it's it's definitely something that we've been focusing on on the side. Maybe we could have been a little more efficient and productive if we were both in it kind of two feet in, but
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You gotta be responsible.
::Anukul, Splash Match
um
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You gotta be able to survive. It's completely understandable, my man.
::Anukul, Splash Match
yeah. Yeah, I was going to say that.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know?
::Anukul, Splash Match
I need to survive and and eat and and live somewhere. So yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Anukul, Splash Match
um
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Sadly, sadly we cancer we're not like camels, you know?
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah. Yeah. Totally, totally agree.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
that That would be weird.
::Nick, Splash Match
i it's too funny.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
If we were to look like camels with two humps. Jesus. ah Yeah, sorry, Nick.
::Nick, Splash Match
No, not at all. um Yeah. Similar, the similar story as Onical. I, I, I recently just left my corporate job, um hadd eyes on like different opportunities where I can be little more like a strategic role when it comes to what I was doing previously.
::Nick, Splash Match
rted probably ah the January,: ::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, yeah. yeah
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
so a year. so a year
::Nick, Splash Match
March: ::Nick, Splash Match
But we kind of see this as being like a stepping stone to eventually starting maybe like a venture capital fund where we can invest in like very similar ideas when it comes to like people that are just going out there that are young, that don't have all the right answers, but are just building and trying to figure it out and just willing to risk and start their own thing.
::Nick, Splash Match
And I think that's like the the longer term goal, like definitely want to be involved on like that side of the creation process.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah. a You know, a lot of people don't want to admit it, but we are the new generation, and we are old enough to start literally taking on different things within – I mean, regards to the tech industry, the automotive industry, like we both know this. These are industries right now that are in dire need of people. And it's not because there's a lack of.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's just there's not enough people that are willing to make change. You have so many people within the tech industry that just want to do the same shit over and over and over again.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know, it's like going to the arcade, you know, and just keep on getting those tickets. Want more of those tickets.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, that's actually a good example.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But where does where does that get honestly where does that get you? where That gets you to be in your 60s with tons of money. Let's be real. Honestly, miserable.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
So you have tons of money and like, what did you do? You never made anyone happy. You just made people miserable. You didn't help society. you just did the opposite.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, the the tickets example is a good one because usually you can only exchange those for for shitty things unless you kind of go back a bunch of times and then like you can get like a PS5, but it would cost you a lot more time and money than you if you were just like, hey yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
so like, yeah, it's like 4 million tickets. It's like, what? Damn. um
::Anukul, Splash Match
that I think that is actually a really interesting analogy for like the the traditional corporate route that's been set up by generations in the past.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I mean, the the automotive industry is honestly, I'm going to be straight up and honest, is insane. It's corrupt as fuck. It's completely run by corporate America.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know, a lot of people think, by the way, this is, I'll throw this out to you guys. You probably don't know this. You know, a lot of mom and pop mechanic shops that you see around, they're owned by corporate America, like a lot of corporate, particularly dealerships within the area.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
So they'll buy out mom and pop shops because they won't have room in the dealerships. And these shops can't survive on their own. they're You go there and you you know you you see ah you know Ralph and his wife and you're just like, oh I'm helping support my local... No.
::Nick, Splash Match
You
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
No. Yeah, they're getting corporate checks, they're owned, they're bought. like Why? It's because they've created an environment where it's too expensive to be able to run the company. With all of the technology that we have available...
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
They cannot afford to buy those products. So like they literally have to sell their soul, literally sell their soul to the devil to be able to survive within this newer industry where you've got electric cars, you've got now things that are running on these monitoring systems. If you don't have the right equipment, you're going to screw a customer's vehicle up.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
fact that it still exists in: ::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Jesus.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, I think barriers to entry, especially for automotive, is like, it's like very clear. And you need a ton of, yeah, yeah, you need a ton of money.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's very similar to the tech industry.
::Nick, Splash Match
You need a ton of capital, human capital. And like, the at the individual level, I think it's a lot more difficult to like make noise.
::Nick, Splash Match
And there's there's just limited competition that exists um by design, of course, but just one of those but it's just one of those situations.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
yeah Of course.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Mm-hmm.
::Nick, Splash Match
Like I can't start the next Tesla or ah volks Volkswagen. Like, I'm 24 years old. i don't i don't have the ability to just go out and build like a bunch of different cars. And it's like, it's unfortunate.
::Nick, Splash Match
And I think as tech evolves and especially like, would say recently, like a lot of the use of no code tools, like Onycle and I have been kind of exploring that avenue as well. It's like, you're giving access to people that don't have really that tech technical background or like a computer science or computer engineering background.
::Nick, Splash Match
type background, you're giving them more access.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Thank you.
::Nick, Splash Match
And I think more access breeds more competition and more competition breeds a healthier like market dynamic. And i think that's just kind of like, it's just like an interesting thing to think about that we could potentially get to somewhere else.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Right. But you remember what I said earlier with podcasting, anybody could buy this. Anybody can go to Best Buy and buy a desktop and buy all this equipment.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But it's not this that makes it possible. What makes it possible is you. you know Even though it may have taken you a year, but you actually did it in a year.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
okay there you know There are people that, again, with the no-code attitude, we're like, okay, I'm going to learn this. going to figure this out. And then you do absolutely nothing with it.
::Nick, Splash Match
Mm-hmm.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
and it goes nowhere.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Right. Yeah, makes sense. I think that also though, kind of like some of the no code tools that allow you to do that. And even if it might be like a bubble currently, but just the ability to kind of lower the barriers entry is something that like people want in our society.
::Anukul, Splash Match
So those companies have like absolutely exploded. um Some of the largest ones have have made like, like they make like $2 million dollars a week. just by allowing the common person to at least have the dream of of doing something with it.
::Anukul, Splash Match
So that kind of ties back into what what you were saying earlier about the the barriers of entry being so high. And they're kind of set like that on purpose, but removing them obviously just creates an opportunity.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It does.
::Nick, Splash Match
and it just comes down to the yeah exactly And then it just comes down to the individual, like you were saying. like If you have a goal or you have aspirations and you are of a willingness to follow through, it's like you open up just a lot of opportunity with the the rise in these tools as well as just motivated individuals that can really make noise.
::Nick, Splash Match
And a I think you kind of said it perfectly. It's like it it really comes down to someone that has to be willing to do that.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I think it also is a level of maturity. You know, I think that something gets washed away a lot of the times is, you know, this attitude of the young mind, you know, particularly when you're in your 20s and 30s.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But young mind also means fresh ideas, and it doesn't necessarily define by age, you know. when Again, you know we've been having this whole conversation tying back to dating.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
you You have those avenues sometimes where people can be dating from different ages and being able to find that connection. Because I'll tell you honestly, I've met i've met people you know like in their 40s and you know they feel like their life is over. And I'm like, honey...
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You got a lot going for you. You're amazing and you're fantastic. And like, if there's somebody that's younger that likes you, go for it. You know, it, it, it's like almost like we said earlier, like breaking that, that mindset.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's hard. It's not an easy thing to do, but once you start getting out of that pattern, becomes like a piece of cake. It really does.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, no, that's an, that's a good point of view for sure.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, I totally agree. i think mindset hinders a lot of progress. And it really stops. I think like subconsciously, it's like your mindset and your fear of kind of just like jumping into things. This can go for anything, whether it's jumping into creating a dating app or jumping into starting your podcast or jumping into a new relationship. It's like we have these like switches in our brain that essentially tell us like,
::Nick, Splash Match
Be mindful, be fearful, just because you're afraid of something not working out, afraid of getting hurt. And it's like, once you break past that, that invisible wall, you are unstoppable as like an individual.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, part of it also too is like when you're starting something, you know, like the steps that you take are, they seem to hold a lot more significance and like they're they're they're just more exciting inherently. But then once you get into the weeds of it a little bit, you could be taking steps, but you don't really no And yeah there's also a good amount of learning that happens, which is inherently boring.
::Anukul, Splash Match
um You know, like with some of the no code tools, for example, um You know, you can you can tell, like, build me an app that, like, works like an email, and it'll create the whole inbox and stuff for you, but then you have to create the back end and where the data goes.
::Anukul, Splash Match
And that's the boring part, which is where a lot of people kind of start to falter and say, oh, and they kind of push, like, push it on the road and, I mean, i think that, but like you were saying, it's the it's the individual and like consistency and just kind of sticking with it is what will enable them even more than like the tools that are ah at their hands.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I think we are almost our worst enemy. We're we figure out ways of breaking ourselves down and saying, you know, like i should work harder. You know, I should be doing things better. And then you have that person that just like, you know, in this case, we have to virtually smack each other.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But it's like. Like, what are you what are you talking about, man? Like, you're hard worker. Like, you're managing to survive. Like, you're taking care of shit. Like, you're being a responsible adult.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
We don't always think like that. We sometimes belittle ourselves because we don't feel that we're good enough. And that is just...
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
what What the fuck? What the fuck?
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah. It's just unfortunate. Like for every 10 I can't, there's that one i can, and you kind of arrive at just like ah different pace.
::Nick, Splash Match
Like you, you, you feel something like it's, it's like almost like an emotional thing. Like once you are like superseding that negative talk, self-talk, self-doubt, and you can kind of find a way to,
::Anukul, Splash Match
Thank you.
::Nick, Splash Match
I guess envision a path forward or speak highly of yourself. It's amazing feeling.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It is.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
i I think I touched on this earlier. I had um had an experience with Hinge where I dated somebody for about a month and a half.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And what's really wild is and i remember this so clearly, when you when you look at the profile, right, and you're looking at all of the pictures, right, and you know, for myself, like, you know, I'm i'm ah um'm an artist, you know, I'm very like creative mindset and like space. And I'm very much like a hippie, like i do smoke weed and do, you know.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's just the way that like, like everything's like categorized, you know, and like I'm deuced down to like a little cut out of like, you know, a marijuana flower, you know, or like, you know, there's like a crib and then there's just like an X over it.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
and Then you're just like looking at the pictures and then you're like reading the words and it's just like getting in your head.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
i spoke to somebody about this. ah She had a very similar experience to this as well. When you go on that first date, it's like as if you don't know who you're talking to.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And then you decide to do the second date. and everything's great, and then the third. And as time keeps on going, like there's just red flags just pop into your head, but for some odd reason, your brain just can't process it.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
She told me, she said that like literally the way that it's set up, it's like programming your mind that this is what you're dealing with, this is what you're interacting with, that anything else that's outside of that bracket is not possible.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Interesting.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah. and don't know. That was weird.
::Nick, Splash Match
ah that's That's a good way to look at it, though. ah yeah
::Nick, Splash Match
I've never thought about it that way.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, no, me neither.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Now that you're thinking about it, what comes to mind?............
::Nick, Splash Match
I think the the way it's set up and, like, designed, how that interaction is, like, initiated, right? It's like, Before all these apps existed and you were out and you were at a bar and you see an individual that you found very attractive and like things stood out, like their cadence and the way that they talked. And it's like, maybe they were a friend of a friend or you knew them through some other way.
::Nick, Splash Match
It's like you make that initial interaction where it's like, Hey, can I grab your number or something like that? Like, Hey, like you look great. Whatever, whatever your first line might be. And you kind of have.
::Nick, Splash Match
like foreground, like set. Like you have almost like a, even though it's not actually like a history, you have a history. You've had that conversation. So it's like that first actual date that you guys decide to go on, it's so different than a dating app because you don't know what this person's voice sounds like. You don't really, unless they have a voice memo, like voice memo prompts, but like you, in reality, you don't know what their voice sounds like.
::Nick, Splash Match
You don't know what they truly look like until you see them on the thing because they could be posing as some other individual. And i think, That's kind of like where, like we're almost like late to the game when we start going on these dates, like date one, day two, day three, because of that missing initial interaction.
::Nick, Splash Match
i don't know. That's kind of like how I kind of took what you said and ran with it.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
No, you you you hit it on the nail. Yeah, exactly. It's that interaction, you cannot create that through FaceTime. You cannot create that through a phone call. as There's just something around like just two people being around each other and like just meeting for the first time.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And then when you meet the first date, you broke ice. That's you You broke the ice. that's what you did you broke the ice
::Nick, Splash Match
yeah
::Nick, Splash Match
And nerves. nervers Nerves is like a huge thing. If you can get over the nerves to go up to someone and like approach them directly and say like, hey, can I get your number? The first date is going to be a piece of cake after that because you've already done the really difficult part. It's like the the opportunity where there's like most likely a chance of rejection or like a positive note.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah, in my case, there's ah there's a lot of rejection.
::Nick, Splash Match
So you go into the...
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah. yes
::Nick, Splash Match
ah But exactly, you're going into the date
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
a
::Nick, Splash Match
the date but just like a totally different individual because you've already experienced that like euphoria that comes from like grabbing that individual's number like you probably feel like you're on cloud nine at that point
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Oh, yeah. what do you but What about you, man?
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, I mean, I was thinking of kind of like the the cost that goes into finding the person. I think before the apps, you know the the cost is relatively low. like You could go up to 15 people.
::Anukul, Splash Match
And like Nick was saying, that's like pretty difficult. So then when you do hit, it kind of feels really good. But now it's like you get 8 million people at your fingertips at all times.
::Anukul, Splash Match
And like the way, at least the state that it's in now, people aren't responding, people aren't getting back to you. You have to like almost work really hard to even get their attention.
::Anukul, Splash Match
And then if you do get a date out of all that work, then you're like okay, I did all this stuff. Let me just kind of figure it out. It's like, if you like go grocery shopping and you buy like some bad fruit, you might kind of try to see what you can cut around for the first few days. And then before going and getting like a replacement.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
God almighty. i don't know if you're like have a security cam Cameron watching me when I go grocery shopping, but dude.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
who you know
::Nick, Splash Match
that's too funny
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But I feel you. it it kind of it It's kind of like that in many ways. It it just...
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
The added benefit is, you know what? At least in your guys' case, you're able to create something together, able to bring something out, regardless of what happens afterwards.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
The fact that, you know, you'd be able to take those steps because, look... You want to change the world, good luck. You're not going to do it. But you can make little changes.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know, you could see what your talents are and what are the things that you're the most passionate about. And it doesn't have to be a viral TikTok, okay? It doesn't have to be an overnight success. Like, you know, were talking about this before.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Podmatch did not become an overnight success. You know, I remember... There were times where I had to heavily rely on literally going out and getting interviews. And I'm i'm not trying to put down the underground artist community out here.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Holy shit. Some of these people would take me like nine months to get them on the podcast.
::Nick, Splash Match
Oh my goodness.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Wow.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Okay. And then some of them would break up before I would publish the episode. So I couldn't even get the episodes out because the band no longer existed.
::Anukul, Splash Match
ah
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
and Finally, people started getting on and pod matches change. I mean, for me personally, I get a lot more people that reach out and I'm able to kind of, in your guys' those cases, be able to reach out more specifically.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
But that happened because somebody said, you know what? I want to do something different. And they did it. And here we are five years later.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Right.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know, that success can be anybody's, you know? It's not where you are trying to revolutionize the world.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You're creating something that is genuinely, uniquely from you, something that you love passionately and wanna share that with the world. That's, right? Like, that's what it boils down to.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, I totally agree.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, no, definitely.
::Nick, Splash Match
you know It all definitely starts with an idea. And I think we definitely touched on it. It's like, we're not looking to, like, we're not, it's, we created a dating app. It's not like this is a new technology.
::Nick, Splash Match
But the way that we've approached it is by learning from the other's mistakes and just looking to improve from there. That's, I mean, that's all you can do. That's all you can do in life. It's like, look at mistakes and then make improvements from there, even as the at the individual level.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah. What about you, Anacol?
::Anukul, Splash Match
i think I think Nick just said that perfectly. like it's Obviously, we're not trying to change the world overnight. like I don't know if that's even really possible, but like you said, the small changes and kind of making Jason Kuznicki- good on all the complaints that people have just kind of putting band days over all those and then, as I was alluding to earlier, you know, maybe once we have that that platform being able to have a voice to make some of those larger changes overall.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I have to say, um damn, we covered a lot over over an hour. And... and First of all, I think it's incredible.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I think it's really incredible what the both of you have been able to create, even though taken you a year. It's an amazing achievement. and And you know what? Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest difference.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
You know, there was a guy years ago that realized the benefits of 3D printing and everybody was 3D printing, you know? and then you realize that like, oh my God, I can 3D print car parts.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
And he's got customers like Jay Leno that needs custom pieces. Tons of people are doing that, but he took that passion and that creativity to make something with what we have available today.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Maybe something better but that that can actually actually benefit people, right?
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah. Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
yeah Totally agree.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah.
::Nick, Splash Match
i think it's a year for milestones. Like this was the, this is the first podcast we've ever been on.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yes.
::Nick, Splash Match
And we really appreciate you having us on. And it's truly an honor. Like you always remember your first, like everyone says. And ah year're in a year of milestones, first podcast app officially launching, I couldn't be happier with the state of, I guess, how life has turned out.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yeah, I mean, hey, I'm just going to say this is kind of a good place to get lost in the groove for your first jive.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yes.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
It's kind of, it's a good jive. It's a good jive.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Haha.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
So, a social website. know you spoke about a release date. Spill the tea, honey. want hear all of it.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah. Um, I mean, you can find us anywhere. I'm pretty sure they're all at splash match, um, Instagram, Tik TOK, Twitter, all of them are at splash match.
::Anukul, Splash Match
And then our website is splash match.co not.com, um,.co. And we are releasing March 28th, which is not next Friday, but two Fridays from now, I guess.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Um,
::Nick, Splash Match
21 days.
::Anukul, Splash Match
21 days.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Oh my god.
::Anukul, Splash Match
um
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
do you have the counter? you know, you gotta get, you know, you gotta to put that, either that app, or get like that clock that just counts for the days.
::Nick, Splash Match
Mm-hmm. You can see on our Instagram. It comes on the post time to time.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Oh my god, are you serious? Oh, that's awesome.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah, it's super exciting.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I love that. boom
::Anukul, Splash Match
I try not to not to think about that because there's obviously still a good amount of stuff we have to do.
::Nick, Splash Match
Yeah.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
For sure. and You know what? There's, there's always gonna be things you're gonna to do along the way. But something I've learned the, oh, okay, perfect.
::Nick, Splash Match
oh
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
I'm gonna, I forgot to mention this. I will put all of the links and everything below. If I'm not mistaken, this episode should be going out before release.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
So this might be a little bit of a teaser for the app before it goes out.
::Nick, Splash Match
Oh.
::Anukul, Splash Match
OK.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Cause I think, ah yeah, that'd be awesome.
::Nick, Splash Match
Amazing.
::Anukul, Splash Match
Yeah, no definitely.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
ah
::Nick, Splash Match
i'm just sure I'm just trying to get lost in the groove.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Yes. And dating world beware. We're about to see a little splash.
::Nick, Splash Match
You
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
all right. Listen, Anical, Nick, it's been an absolute pleasure for you guys being on here. ah For anybody out there that wants check out more of the pod, you could find us literally everywhere at Lost in the Groove pod. So with that, motherfuckers, catch you on the next one.
::Lost in the Groove Podcast
Peace out.
