Being a single lady in Boston is hard. Sure, there are a number of different activities around Boston for one to do in the place of a Valentine’s Day date night, but it’s hard not to feel a wee bit lonely come the 14th (but strength in numbers, right?). You’ve maxed out your friends’ introductions to potential new bachelors, and the well of viable options has run dry among your typical party crew. Let’s not even get into the “prospects” you found on Tinder or OKCupid.
With the recent launch of South End-based matchmaking site Jess, Meet Ken, however, Bostonian lasses will have the opportunity to crowdsource the worthy bachelors in their lives for the greater good.
Geared entirely towards the female portion of the population, the website only allows women to post, and browse, profiles of men. Chicks sign in through their Facebook accounts to verify their gender and recommend a great guy in their lives via 10 simple questions before browsing the other advocated-for crop of perfect-for-someone-else men. Spot a guy who seems to be your type? Simply reach out to the woman who made his profile and inquire further, or straight up ask for an introduction.
“The idea is that women can sell a man better than [he] can sell [himself]. A woman writing the profile can highlight the most endearing qualities about him, that another woman would be looking for. It’s a safe environment for women to meet men without a lot of outside noise,” explained the startup’s founder and CEO Ken Deckinger.
Yes, that Ken.
Deckinger met his now-wife (you guessed it: her name is Jess) on a dating site that essentially served the same purpose as Jess Meet Ken. Deckinger’s childhood best friend and business partner Adele Testani posted a profile of him on the site. Said profile caught the eye of Jess, and two women emailed back and forth chatting about Deckinger (if you need a good dose of cuteness, that convo is recorded here). Mr. and soon-to-be Mrs. Deckinger had their first date in New York City and tied the knot a few years later.
If that tremendous online dating success story wasn’t a big enough reason to dabble in the industry, Deckinger and wingwoman Testani previously co-founded HurryDate, the New York City-spun speed dating company that has since expanded into cities around the country and been acquired by Spark Networks, the parent company of other dating sites JDate and Christian Mingle.
When the Deckinger family decided to relocate from New York City to Boston to raise a family 11 months ago, the matchmaking entrepreneur wanted to get back in the dating game with a new business idea, based upon the site responsible for his happy marriage (the site had since been acquired and sunsetted).
“We grew to really love introducing people to each other,” shared Deckinger. “It’s a very cool feeling when people tell you they met because of something you created.”
The Jess, Meet Ken team includes Deckinger and Testani, as well as a few other developers, and is currently working out of Smarterer and BzzAgent’s space at 500 Harrison. Jess, Meet Ken had a “really quiet” beta launch two weeks ago, and they’re currently only relying upon word of mouth for marketing. While he couldn’t reveal exact numbers, Deckinger did note that “they beat their first month projections within the first week.”
The love-loving CEO also was quick with a word of thanks for Boston’s innovation ecosystem:
This is really a passion project for us, and we’re really grateful for all the support from the Boston startup community we have had to get this project going.
Want to learn even more about Jess, Meet Ken? The company is throwing a party on Tuesday, February 11th from 6 - 9 p.m. at Middlesex Lounge in Central Square. RSVP here! Hey, you might even meet a hot date.
