Interview with Jorn Vanysacker, Co-Founder Rendeevoo
In 2011 (pre-tinder era) the subscription based business model paradox of major dating sites, triggered the whole rendeevoo vision.
Considering their business model, why would such a dating site ever want you to meet up with a match in real life?
Their business model is monetised by virtual activities, thus keeping users engaged in front of their screens for as long as possible.
While this works out for a lot of individuals, we believe that more and more people demand hybrid services that fulfil their real life needs. Most dating and networking services tend to end online, but
rendeevoo offers real life experiences by shrinking the online interactions and not providing users a chat functionality.
Who is Rendeevoo aimed at?
Socially competent Londoners that want to have a drink with someone new … today
Rendeevoo users want to have a chat in real life, rather than chatting with a stranger online, Our audience wants to meet a person that they find interesting, over a cocktail or a coffee at a hand-picked venue, with no fabricated expectations that are normally generated during online chats.
How does Rendeevoo stand out against it’s competitors?
Rendeevoo enables you to browse through people’s stories and select the one you find attractive or interesting. So far so Tinder, but then you pick a bar from a hand-picked selection, and send your invite by setting the preferred time. If it gets accepted, all you have to do is order your first drink through the app.
By pre-ordering their first drinks, which they then redeem at the bar, both users confirm their intention of actually meeting up. The user pays no extra fees, and we split profits of the first drinks equally with the bar.
In contrast with the online dating models of monthly subscriptions, or where the user is actually the product that is being sold to other companies, rendeevoo employs a transparent commission-based model that gets monetised only when people actually meet in real life.
During our alpha phase, the last 6 months we have learned a whole lot from our users and the unknown -lets have a drink without the fuss- terrain. And we are proud to whisper to you guys, that in February we will release a new update that will knock your socks off.
Online dating, your days are numbered 😉
What do you most enjoy about running Rendeevoo?
Constantly acing with all sorts of challenges and hurdles, for which you eventually always find solutions or ways around them.
You learn so freaking much as a company and a person, so when you look back, you can only feel good about what you have achieved as a team and feel confident that whatever comes tomorrow, we can do it.
What does your normal day look like?
Wake up, make a team smoothie, and go through important tasks together. We generally work from Google Campus, we have dinner at the rendeevoo house, where George Christoforakis (proprietor), Miguel Dorta (developer), and I all live together.
We follow up on e-mails and other to dos, whereafter we get together in the couch with a glass of wine and have laid back brainstorming sessions on marketing ideas and streamline long term strategic goals.
What has been your most valuable lesson so far since starting your business?
The startup methodology tells you to build an MVP, get it out there, learn and iterate. This is very true and what we have been doing for the past 7 months, with great results and validated learning.
However, the most valuable lesson on a product/branding level we have learned is that, when operating in a psychologically fragile environment, it is equally important to test your communication on a similar micro level.
Otherwise you could one day launch your “perfectly iterated” product on a greater scale, accompanied by an entirely wrong brand communication, destroying your entire momentum.
So, go out in the streets, tap into how people feel about your proposition, what worries them, learn, and iterate your branding message or positioning accordingly.
And do it again.
What has been your greatest achievement so far?
Aside from raising two seed rounds, the past 7 months of having the alpha version in the Appstore, the protests we did on the streets of East London (nice videos on youtube) and all the conversations we’ve had with hundreds of people.
This whole journey of taking us marching on unknown terrain, has been a truly great achievement. And the ride goes on, where we will prove that rendeevoo is the game changer.
In the coming year, what would you like to achieve with Rendeevoo?
Change the dating game in London, round up a £300k investment, build an unstoppable team, and start setting up shop in New York.
What advice can you give to newcomers to your industry, or the startup space in general?
To newcomers within to industry I would say: Don’t try to make the next “one size fits all” sort of dating/meetup service; find your niche.
To future entrepreneurs: Quit your job, find a great co-founder you truly trust, surround yourself with great people, and work your ass off.
