Interview with Matthew Tan, GoMovieDate.com
February 13, 2009 by Gwendolyn Regina T
Fueled by the belief that he needed to relate to how singles think and feel as a business owner of a dating agency, Matthew decided to remain single himself. We sat down for a short interview with Matthew Tan, founder of GoMovieDate.com and found out how this idea got its start.
Why did you go into the dating industry?
We went into this industry purely because of curiosity and with an adventurous heart. I came upon this idea 4 years ago when out shopping with a male friend on a Friday night. Noticed many single young and beautiful ladies are out shopping or strolling along busy Orchard road, alone! Immediately, I asked my friend if only there is a legitimate and yet fun dating services online which can gather this group of customers for an event as simple as a movie (Singapore’s favourite pastime and simple yet powerful ice-breaker), I will pay money to join and get myself a new friend. Told my friend, Wilson the very next day and we both agreed that this concept will work and started to brainstorm the detail and out it came : www.gomoviedate.com.
What’s unique about your service?
Our USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is Stress-free dating services at your own time own target. No more monotonous speed dating over lunch or dinner. Choose your own matches online and send him or her an invitation via online and SMS. Accept them and the male members will ALWAYS pay for the ladies as it is always our practise in GMD (GoMovieDate), a gentlemanly gesture.
Once confirmed after payment, we will send the tickets by Hand to both parties mailing address and both parties will then meet inside the cinema, filled with thrill and suspense right? [Editor: Hmm...]
How do you negotiate between dating offline and online?
We have been operating since 2003, till last year we did our first offline movie event in Nov. There are 2 groups of Singles out there, first are those who in need to find a partner without much hassle and if possible, using the shortest time to get the ideal match, this group of Singles will go for offline match making services as they can select from the data via photos and interview.
As for online, the 2nd group of Singles are the one who carry with the mindset of “trial and error”. They would like to experience various of services or ways to meet new friends online without having to step out of their doorstep and more importantly they are not that serious in meeting “The One” yet.
Has the recession had any impact on your business?
Honestly, there isn’t much impact on us as people still in need of making new friends in the time like this. In fact, on average we have more couples going for movie dates then last time same period. Guess maybe people have more free time now as work load lessens.
Any last words?
There will be more interesting dating services in time to come. Be it offline or online. Additional to that, the Singles are more open minded than before and more adventurous as they are keen in trying new ways to meet new people. More importantly, they are willing to spend too.
About Matthew Tan
After 7 years, the loneliness was too much to cope. During a business networking session in Ho Chin Minh, he bumped into a girl, clicked, and they got together soon after. Now he’s looking at this relationship with his lovely Vietnamese girlfriend as an inspiration for GoMovieDate’s possible future expansion plan.
Photo courtesy of HAMED MASOUMI.
About The Author
Gwendolyn Regina T - Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Apart from SGE, Gwen is also a Partner at Thymos Capital, where she focuses on early stage investments in technology firms. She has had two exits out of her investments via the firm, one of which is iHipo. A frequent judge for business competitions both locally and overseas, she graduated from the National University of Singapore. Gwen also spent some time in Silicon Valley and studied in Stanford University under the NUS Overseas College programme. Gwen is a mentor at Spanish incubator Tetuan Valley, Polish incubator Gamma Rebels, the Singapore Ambassador for the Sandbox network and the Singapore curator for StartupDigest. She enjoys languages, travelling, dance and adventure sports. Gwen can be found on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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