Oh, online dating - a curse in itself. Countless hours spent swiping left and right, nasty pick-up lines that make you want to hurl your $50 Uber Eats dinner and conversations that end up with a random guy trying to get you into crypto. Alexa, play ‘thank u, next’ by Ariana Grande because we’re all tired of guessing potential life partners through our screens.
Humans are designed to connect, touch and feel - existing together emotionally, mentally and most importantly, physically. The touch starvation of this digital era has created an incredible gap in the way we also date. In a survey conducted in 2017 by SeatGeek, 1,000 singles took a poll choosing whether they preferred online dating or real-life dating. 95% of them said that they would rather meet people in real life as opposed to online or via an app.
For Ziinkle Co-founder Melanie, there was huge frustration with online dating after leaving a long term relationship. She’d used dating apps like Hinge and Bumble with no success as Elisse, Co-founder of Ziinkle, as well as Melanie’s friend and “ultimate wing-woman”, both trailed through meaningless matches asking the same questions we’re all tired of asking ourselves - how tall are they? How old is this picture? Am I being...catfished? They then eventually resorted to looking through Instagram stories to find places to meet others in the dating pool, enduring the absence of the right crowd or the right social atmosphere. It was this whirlwind of frustrations that led them to create Ziinkle.
After conducting market research concluding that 75% of millennials are looking for serious relationships with a shocking 89% of matches that go nowhere, Ziinkle was born with an intent to quench the thirst of touch starvation and bring back real-life, real-time dating by helping singles match based on their preferred characteristics and social environments. Finally, a win for all the singles who are aching for better quality relationships. A truly “up-dated” experience we say!
But the road to getting Ziinkle on the market hasn’t been without its ups and downs. We spoke to Ziinkle’s Elisse (who is also one of our remarkable Signature Members FYI) and Melanie who were incredibly candid and open with their journey as entrepreneurs.
“We’ve had some tough conversations, there have been people who have said to us “no, you can't do this, no this is never gonna work” but we just kept going and listened to ourselves and believed in ourselves, not listening to the negativity. We took the learning from it but didn't get pushed down by it”.
And their advice for aspiring entrepreneurs facing the same tiring and frustrating situation was this:
“What helps as well is knowing when to take the good and the bad...you know your idea, you know your purpose, business and vision best, so, you need to be aware and pick things as they are most appropriate”.
And if you’re just starting out and don’t know how to navigate ‘entrepreneur land’, this one’s for you:
“People don't know where to start so just pick one thing and do it - put your idea on paper, video call a few friends and share your idea because that one thing will lead to things that you need to do in the process. There is no right or wrong way.”
The power duo have also battled their unfair share of gender inequality. Older white males - who say they were for equality who chose to refer to Melanie and Elisse as ‘girls’.
“People look at us and go “oh they’re young females” and then we don’t get taken seriously because then they say “oh, they don't have the experience, they don't know what they're doing”.
The Co-founders had to resort to bringing older white men from their own advisory board (who are as equally passionate about the success of Ziinkle) into meetings just so that they could be taken seriously and “get into those boardrooms”.
“They didn’t say anything, it was just for ‘appearances’ sake.”
It’s absurd and, quite honestly, baffling that amongst Australia’s gender pay gap increase and our pink tax crisis, we’ve got to add being a young female to the list of discriminations the patriarchy seems to be jealous about. We hope that the Bills, Bobs and Johns who ‘glassed ceilinged’ Elisse and Melanie are feeling called out and embarrassed right now.
With such rich experience working for companies like Commbank, Microsoft, Google and Samsung, these marketing experts have unquestionable talent, experience and knowledge that old man Frank wished he had.
But this isn’t stopping Ziinkle’s co-founders!
“When you’re driven by a strong purpose, that can more than often help you succeed and provide solutions to people that need it most, you do it. Fundamentally, we want to help people have better quality relationships, and we’re not in this for any other reason than to help people”.
We’re fangirling at the incredible passion, resilience and determination that Melanie and Elisse exude.
Ziinkle is set to release in early 2022 where you currently have the opportunity to participate in their equity crowdfund to create momentum and raise capital to ready Ziinkle’s fully-functioning app (always consider the general CSF risk warning and offer document before investing). If you’re as excited as us to end the virtual dating apocalypse, help them so that they can help you do just that.
We couldn’t end this interview without asking Elisse how The Remarkable Woman’s Signature Membership has helped her in her Ziinkle journey to which she spotlit our Meeting Agenda Template as well as other resources saying that:
“It changed the way I lead meetings and made a big difference for me, personally. There were gaps in our knowledge when we first started so I was reading up on everything about finance, networking and investor meetings on The Remarkable Woman and trying to get as many tips out of that, so, without it we wouldn't have been as strong as we are”
“...now we have these secret little tips that are invaluable”.
And this is why we do what we do! We’re really out here with humble hearts, grateful for members who are succeeding and achieving new heights like Elisse and her pal Melanie with resources that don’t exist to take up space on your computer but actually help you excel in whatever it is that you set your mind to.
If you’re looking to join our incredible community of like-minded women and begin skyrocketing your ambition, join us and we’ll see you on the flip side as we help you go from strength to strength.
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