Schmooze: Meme Dating App - Find Your Person

Vidya Madhavan's Entrepreneurial Journey

From a young age, Vidya Madhavan harbored ambitions within the realm of business. Raised in India, she initially envisioned a career centered around industrial operations, inspired by the prominence of organizations such as the Tata Group, a leading Indian multinational conglomerate.

Academic Achievements and a Shift in Focus

Madhavan demonstrated a strong academic record, consistently excelling in her studies. She graduated as the top student in her high school class and subsequently earned a degree in mechanical engineering in India. Later, she pursued further education at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. However, instead of pursuing a conventional business path, Madhavan became captivated by a novel concept: a matchmaking application named Schmooze, leveraging machine learning and memes to facilitate connections based on a unique “humor algorithm.”

The Genesis of Schmooze

The initial spark for this idea occurred several years prior. While working as an analyst at McKinsey in India and contemplating graduate studies in California, Madhavan proactively reached out to ten individuals on LinkedIn who had attended U.S. business schools, seeking their guidance. Only one person responded, but their subsequent exchange involved approximately 200 emails, predominantly consisting of humorous content.

A Personal Connection Inspires Innovation

Remarkably, this correspondent ultimately became Madhavan’s husband. She attributes their connection to a shared sense of humor, which subsequently motivated her to develop Schmooze, initially as a platform for fostering friendships. Observing a growing trend towards romantic connections, she redirected the app’s focus towards becoming a dating service tailored for Gen Z users who frequently communicate through memes.

Early Traction and Growth

Madhavan reports that the app has experienced significant growth. Following a beta test in late summer involving 200 Stanford students, Schmooze has garnered over 10,000 downloads nationwide. Users are actively engaging with the platform, swiping through a collection of more than 5,000 memes curated by the still-in-beta Schmooze application.

Content Management and Algorithm Development

Approximately 200 new memes are added daily, while others are removed based on relevance. (“Current events, like the U.S. elections, lose their appeal over time,” Madhavan explains.)

Schmooze employs tagging and machine learning techniques, combined with user-provided biographical information, to establish connections. The system identifies user preferences for specific topics, such as physics or finance. It also detects passions beyond stated interests, like a strong affinity for music among those interested in entrepreneurship. Similar distinctions are made regarding preferences for dark humor and puns.

Evaluating the Algorithm's Success

Determining the true effectiveness of the algorithm will require time and observation of long-term relationships. To date, Schmooze has facilitated 90,000 matches, although a smaller proportion have progressed to in-app messaging.

Competitive Landscape

Schmooze operates within a competitive market, facing challenges from established dating platforms and emerging apps that prioritize shared interests over physical appearance.

Potential for Expansion

The emergence of additional meme-based dating applications is also a possibility, given the current market dynamics.

Funding and Future Prospects

Despite the competition, Schmooze demonstrates considerable potential. The company recently secured $270,000 in seed funding from Ulu Ventures and other investors to further refine its product. Success is also being found in reaching the target demographic through TikTok. The online dating industry, with its tiered-services model, consistently presents lucrative opportunities, as observed by industry analysts.

A Serendipitous Journey

Madhavan expresses a surprising fondness for her five-person startup. Reflecting on her upbringing and the fact that she had never utilized online dating before meeting her husband through LinkedIn, she humorously remarks that Schmooze is “unexpected in many, many ways.”