“There is no concept of a soulmate but there is definitely one of a life partner, and we hope to help you find yours,” smiles Shalini Singh. The former marketing professional, who has worked in the technological and start-up space, has now begun her entrepreneurial sojourn with global matchmaking platform andwemet.com, which helps urban people in the 30-plus bracket find their partner.

Shalini says she got interested in the idea of how people meet during a conversation with her friends, “We shop online, bank online so I thought why don’t we meet people with whom we want to spend our life with, online.” She adds, “I researched and spoke to around 1,000 single men and women across the globe and tried to understand what they were looking for.”

Shalini claims that andwemet.com differs from other matchmaking sites in two aspects — in setting up of clear expectations and its enormous emphasis on safety. She explains, “We are not a matrimonial site, though members who feel they match with each other obviously go ahead and marry. We also serve as a platform for finding companionship and long-term committed relationships. I’ve noticed that there is no setting of expectation in other sites. On our portal you need to spell out what you are looking for clearly, be it marriage or a long distance relationship so that the other person is in sync with your expectations from the word go.”

Safety first

Safety, of course, is the biggest concern for women on an online forum and the website addresses it by having a stringent verification process, which includes asking for government approved identity proofs and insisting on mobile verification to eliminate proxy accounts.

Currently, over 60% of the members are women and anyone who is over 30 and single can be a part of the website.

Why the focus on people over 30? The entrepreneur feels that’s when most urban Indians are looking to settle down and hence she zeroed in on the cut-off age and adds, “Your 20s are spent in finding your feet and settling in your career. It is in your 30s that you begin to seek a committed relationship.”

Shalini, who has self-funded her venture, reflects on the uniqueness of this matchmaking site and says, “Tinder caters to a milieu of people and others are matrimonial sites operated by family members. We want individuals who are seeking partners to operate the site themselves. We encourage healthy relationships based on respect and trust and are glad when members share details regarding their health (people shared that they were diabetic or are cancer survivors) voluntarily on our platform.”

Shalini adds that she brings with her a certain sensibility that adds an edge to her work. Confessing that she was constantly surprised during her journey so far, she shares, “What surprised me was when men in the age bracket of 30-34 signed up, disproving our oft-imagined belief that men in that age group don’t want to commit to a relationship.”

Subscription model

Currently, the service is free of charge but the website hopes to move to a subscription model later this year. While Shalini has so far fought many challenges, like finding the right technological partner and understanding people’s mindsets, she says that all her sleepless nights have been worthwhile as she gets to be a part of people’s personal journeys. “We are a responsible matchmaking service and hope to connect like-minded people,” she says.

On her way to increase the visibility of the four-month-old website and engage with her clients, Shalini is busy living the life of a start-up founder/entrepreneur and savouring all the challenges and rewards.