Meet Nick Liaromatis. Nick is a proud Trojan, member of the Fighting Illini, and one of the co-founders of Dating in Groups, a new social site ready to change the way young professionals interact in D.C.
1. What is Dating in Groups and how was the idea hatched?
I was sitting on a bar stool when my phone buzzed with an incoming email regarding a LivingSocial deal for wine tasting. I wanted to buy it until I thought about the realities of using it – I was about to ask a girl out on a date…with a coupon. Who wants to do that? With the help of several others we ultimately arrived at Dating in Groups as the solution to this and a host of other social dilemmas.
Dating in Groups puts what dating was before the Internet existed onto the Internet. In the simplest terms, DiG helps circles of friends meet other circles of friends in their city while providing them with prepackaged date options to choose from. My Friends. Your Friends. Our Date.
Daters also have the ability to create their own dates with a built in template ensuring dates have just the right amount of specificity and detail.
2. How is Dating in Groups different than other dating sites and what kind of dates can users expect?
Dating in Groups is both more and less than other dating sites. You spend less time getting up and running (we don’t ask a million questions and we limit characters ala Twitter), you feel less anxiety when you don’t have to figure out what to do for your date, you feel less pressure to carry on an awkward one-on-one conversation, with more people there you have a better chance of connecting with someone, and less risk of wasting your free time if you are already out with your friends.
We also have a slick messaging system that allows for both group messaging and direct messaging. Group messaging allows for you to communicate with the entire group of daters before the date happens and also allows for you to organize a following group date with the same set of daters. Direct messaging allows for you to transition from the group date setting to a one-on-one date setting.
Dates will be catered to groups and for that reason you are not going to have the intimate dinner that you may have when using Match. We will have dinner dates, but will also offer instructional classes, tastings, outdoor adventures, and anything else the city tells us it wants to do together!
3. Why are you launching in D.C.?
As recent as 2010, roughly 45% of Washington D.C. had never been married. Why? I’d guess it is because D.C. is full of young, upwardly mobile professionals that are looking to advance their careers just as much as, if not more than, they want to advance their social lives. Related to this may be the fact that D.C. is full of transplants thirsty for networking opportunities.
This is Dating in Groups’ target market. Knowing time is a terrible thing to waste, we are all about efficiency. With a series of quick clicks we put you on an organized date with more than one potential Mr. or Mrs. Right, you can bring along your friends to eliminate the risk of having a horrible time, and under the worst of circumstances you will have expanded your professional network in the city you live in.
The not as fun answer is D.C. is a densely populated area making it easier for residents to organize, there has been some strong population growth, and this area of the country seems to be less impacted by the recession. As a startup we are always looking to infuse talent and it doesn’t hurt that the highest percentage of postgraduate degrees and double-degree households in the nation are right in D.C.
4. How can folks in DC get started with Dating in Groups?
The best way to get started with Dating in Groups is to come out to George this Thursday, September 27th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm to join us as we celebrate the launch of the site. RSVP for the event by emailing me at [email protected]. Please be sure to let me know if you will be bringing along any friends.
Most of the Dating in Groups Team will be there to answer questions and help you get signed up for the site. If you cannot make it this Thursday you can sign up by visiting www.datingingroups.com and providing us with your email address. We will follow up with a unique access code so you can get in on the action.
5. Obama calls and wants to do a group date. Where do you go and who do you bring?
Assuming he didn’t want to host it at his place, I’d head out to Lucky Strike. He’d probably appreciate the dim lighting; bowling alleys let him keep it low-pro. I’d bring along the women’s team of Maryland-Eastern Shore. They’re local, just won their second consecutive national championship, and I know Barry likes to keep it competitive. As an avid bowler I am confident that I’d be able to make him look like a Turkey (pun intended).