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Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Ground Up Designers » Lori Cheek, a $100K Lady
Lori Cheek, a $100K Lady
Filed under: $100k Ladies — Lana @ 1:39 PM 02/14/2011It’s Valentines Day and who better to kickstart our $100K Ladies series than Lori Cheek, founder of Cheek’d, an online dating service that is far from conventional. So, for all our single friends out there, reading this on V-Day, it’s time you went out there and Cheek’d someone with your very own deck of sexy black cards.
We were extremely excited to hear about this clever business, and were even more excited to meet Lori for the Interview, especially after she Cheek’d me with a card saying “i’ll be your $100K lady”
I went to the website, punched in the code, and there she was!
After studying architecture and working with big name furniture designers such as Vitra, Lori Cheek took her creative background and put it to good use in establishing Cheek’d. Cheek’d is an online dating service that allows people to connect briefly offline, and then more in depth online (and then ideally, offline again). As the press release states:
“Whether it’s in a bar, at the gym or at the dog park, Cheek’d users can express their interest in someone by coyly handing them a small black card that contains a cheeky phrase such as “act natural. we can get awkward later.” or “i just put all my drinks on your tab.” The recipient is invited to go online to check out your profile and decide whether he or she would like to make contact with you through the Cheek’d internal messaging service (personal information and privacy are protected).”
So, you get the advantages of shopping for a date in the real world. (i.e. knowing what they look like) as well as the advantages of starting the conversation over the internet (i.e. being able to stop the conversation if it’s getting weird). You can just drop your card, run away if you want! But once you drop them a card, it is completely up to them to make the next move, so you might want to follow up with a wink and a smile. As one of the cards very poetically and truthfully states “our fate is in your hands”.
With a big smile and an amazing purple hat, Lori, the vibrant and spunky blond responsible for this avant-garde dating service, greeted Tayef and I at the SoHo House’s 6th floor Drawing Room/Restaurant & Bar area, which she has adopted as her workspace. Here’s what Lori had to say about being a successful & creative entrepreneur:
G-Up: When and how was Cheek’d first conceptualized?
Lori Cheek: A few years ago, I was at Kelley & Ping in SoHo with an architecture friend of mine. We finished our dinner and as we were leaving he slipped his business card to this woman who had been sitting next to us. He had written on the back “Wanna have dinner?” I remember thinking “Wow that was pretty cool!” and imaging all the places it would come in handy to just be giving out this card, and all the different things it can say.
That weekend, I ended up coming here, to Soho House, with fifteen other friends. We had just finished a cooking class, walked in here, got a few bottles of wine, and spent the whole day coming up with pick-up lines.
G-Up: How did you go about turning the idea into a business?
Lori Cheek: I was hard core into making this come to life. I spent a whole year going around and telling millions of people about it: “I know this is stupid to talk about, because no one has done it yet, but I think it’s a genius idea.” Everyone kept saying back to me “This IS a genius idea.” Almost a year later, at a Mardi Gras party, I was still talking about Cheek’d, until my friend, now business partner, told me “Why don’t we sit down Monday morning and make this come to life?” So we did. Monday morning we had a business plan in place.
G-Up: Who comes up with the pick-up lines?
Lori Cheek: Mostly I do. Occasionally, a few really funny guy friends would text me some good ones that make it into the decks. I’m living & breathing this. Everything I do turns into a line for these cards, or gives me inspiration for a new deck. I think of lines when I’m sleeping, listening to music, reading magazines.
G-Up: How did you market Cheek’d in the beginning? Has the marketing strategy changed now that you are more established?
Lori Cheek: We don’t have a big marketing budget but we have been able to come up with fun and creative way to publicize. We are tagging on to other singles events that are happening around the city, in addition to organizing our own monthly meet-ups over happy hour type events. Mostly though it’s guerilla style marketing – for example, on the subway I’ll slip cards into people’s back pockets and shopping bags, at parties I’ll secretly place them on top of their drink. It’s poetic to think that everyone is traveling somewhere, taking this card with them and in turn spreading Cheek’d all around.
We’re currently building a Facebook app where you can Cheek other members and send them cards. Also, right now I am trying to get involved with existing communities by teaming up with other businesses that I think might make for a good partnership – like gyms, hotels, liquor brands and air lines.
G-Up: At this point, how large is the business in terms of staff?
Lori Cheek: I have two business partners, three interns that come in on different days, a web developer, and a graphic designer. We work from the Soho House’s 6th floor. It’s wonderful here – There are so many start ups and entrepreneurs working here, plus we get free cookies and brownies every day at 3:30PM.
G-Up: Do you think your design background has helped in your success with Cheek’d? If so, how?
Lori Cheek: Absolutely. I came up with the whole creative look. I knew what I wanted everything to look like. The overall look and feel of our website and cards is very simple, subtle, and clean. There’s nothing corporate about it. Despite this simplicity in branding we’ve been written up in all these fashion magazines, which means that this company is not only a dating site but has also taken over a fashion thing.
G-Up: Has it been hard balancing your private life with your work?
Lori Cheek: The way I like to think about it is: you’re at your computer all day at work, and then you go home and get back on your computer to start shopping for the man you’re looking for. With the Cheek’d cards, you can leave work and start living like you’re shopping in real life. I feel like the social aspect of this is kind of what I’m doing, where I am out all the time working, while having fun.
This is the main difference between other online dating sites versus what I am trying to do through Cheek’d.
G-Up: Has your gender played a roll in your success?
Lori Cheek: I think being a woman has definitely helped my business grow. However, it’s interesting that the stats of our website say users are 45% men. Another thing about being a woman and doing this, is meeting other women entrepreneurs and people that have come into my life that I would never have met otherwise. They’re so welcoming and ready to help. I think there’s this appreciation for women that are starting their own business.
G-Up: What is your favorite part of owning your own business?
Lori Cheek: I’ve always worked at very creative firms, and I have always gotten in trouble for the way I dress. You can see how it’s a little bizarre and out there. Now I’m tempted to dress even crazier. Also, I am not afraid of getting in trouble for being one minute late in the morning, and I like everyone I work with so there’s none of that office drama.
1 Comment »
This a charming interview.. Lori Cheek is one cool gal.. cj
Comment by catherine johnson — 02/16/2011 @ 6:37 PM
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Ground Up Designers » SoHo House
SoHo House
Filed under: Things we like — Lana @ 4:00 PM 02/10/2011Yesterday, while conducting our interview with Lori Cheek (owner of Cheek’d) for the $100K Ladies Series, Tayef and I got a glimpse at the future location of Ground Up Designers … the Meatpacking District’s SoHo House. Yes, right now it’s just a dream, but damn, it is a beautiful one. The architecture and interior design were breathtaking, and I just thought I would share
The interview with Lori will be released on Monday, just in time for Valentines Day.
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no words for this. the visual is just WOW.
Comment by Janis — 02/15/2011 @ 9:27 AM
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A Preview Of Cheek’d: Online Dating, Backwards
When interesting dating websites and ideas come across my e-mail, I usually pay attention. Cheek’d is one such website that’s more of an offline dating website. When CEO and founder, Lori Cheek, gave me a preview the website with me this week, one quote stood out from our conversation. “[Cheek'd] is like a childhood thing, for adults,” she said, in describing how the service works. The premise is, online dating still maintains a certain stigma that prevents certain people from fully engaging in online dating services. Lori described the process as “shopping for love,” after spending a full day working. When we’re not dating online (or working), we meet people in our every day lives, at cafe’s, bar’s, or events, but creating introductions are awkward.
Enter Cheek’d, and their business-like cards that allow you to leave an introduction, without having to embarrass yourself or fumble for a series of questions.
Cheek’d works offline, before online. Upon signing up to Cheek’d, you’re able to set up a profile, and buy a deck of cards with unique and funny messages on them. Each card has a unique number attached to your profile, all of which could be tracked through your Cheek’d account. There’s also the ability to create nicknames for each card, so that you can remember card 15 was the hot blonde at the party, opposed to the one you met at the coffee-house. Once you get your cards, all you have to do is distribute them to interested parties. They can either respond by following the link and sending you a message, or toss the card away. Essentially, instead of wading through a list of dating profiles, you wade thru people so they can go to your dating profile.
Privacy is a major issue with Cheek’d. Unlike most dating websites, Cheek’d profiles aren’t publicly searchable. Meaning, no one will know you have a Cheek’d account, unless you give them your card. To further maintain a sense of privacy, each Cheek’d card is completely black, preventing you or anyone else to write on it; essentially if you give the card out, it’s unable to be used another purpose (maybe a bookmark).
Cheek’d is an interesting idea, one that Lori thought of after seeing her friend pick up a woman by writing “want to out to dinner?” on the back of his business card. In many ways, it’s a tool that can combat approach anxiety, as everyone hands out a business card in many situations. The concept, and idea of Cheek’d is compelling, and I’ll be doing a full review and experience of the service soon. However, for those interesting in trying an alternative way to date, Cheek’d is worth reviewing.
Social Diva Celebrates Social Media Week
Event Description:
Social Diva Celebrates Social Media Week
I Put The Me In Social MeDiva
Fans, friends, followers… the best way to describe your social media following is to compare it with your collection of stilettos. You know what we mean.Which is why you’ve already got the entire second week of February on Plancast. Social Media Week is coming to NYC, and you plan to be there.Guess what? So do we – And at our own party, of course… sexy beats, the first cocktail free, compliments of Wodka Vodka!)… and at the uber-swankiest spot: the Thompson Hotel LES Lounge Bar. Guys, girls (and gays) invited, too. Divas don’t discriminate, especially when they’re digital. Located at 190 Allen Street.Did someone say prizes? The first 50 to show win a mini Cheekd deck, and all will be entered to win Jack Threads certificates. And because all divas are winners, we have a parting Rebootizer gift just for you as well.
Best of all? You could win a Hermès scarf from Portero Luxury. Hello.
So mark your iCals (and your CoTweets) for Wednesday, February 9th, and join us from 8:00 to 11:00 pm. There will be giveaways and a photo booth, and space is limited.So in 140 characters or less, RSVP now. @SocialDiva doesn’t mess around.It’ll be Twitterific.This Diva-worthy event is brought to you by: Social Media Week New York, Thompson Hotel LES, Soulgasm Music and of course Social Diva!
Loveless Trailer
CONTEST TIME! We're giving away a pair of tickets to the “LOVELESS” NY Movie premiere on Feb. 18 at 7pm at the reRun Theatre (147 Front St. DUMBO, Brooklyn) Watch the trailer and be the first to answer this question correctly: What does the lead character (Andrew) say when he wakes up alone in bed?
New York Dating Scene Heating Up
The big news this week was that New York-based OKCupid sold to Match.com for $50 million. Hi-fives all around.
New York is the new hotbed of the online dating industry. For a while it was Canada, then Miami, but these days its all about the Big Apple.
This week I spent some time on the phone with eFlirt Expert Laurie Davis. At the same time Ross Felix at Dating Revolutions Facebook’d me and then I received a tweet from a stealth NY dating startup. Laurie is featured in Entrepreneur Magazine this month, great to see her getting the recognition she deserves.
Sherri Langburt at SingleEdition and a few others were at the New York screening of When Strangers Click, which premiers on HBO on Valentine’s Day. If you run a dating site you need to be working with Sherri. She is totally plugged into singles lifestyle events, ad networks, content creation and syndication, all the dating bloggers and a lot more.
Laurie told me about a Meetup in New York City this week called eAmore2011: Next Gen Functionality in Online Dating.
Speaker list was impressive:
- MeetMoi - location-based mobile dating with apps for Android and iPhone; received $1.5M in Series A funding in 2007; demo’ed at NYTM before; http://www.meetmoi.com
- HowAboutWe - online dating revolving around proposing/accepting specific dates; received $3.1M in Series A funding in 2010; also demo’ed at NYTM before;http://www.howaboutwe.com
- Cheek’d - dating straddling offline/online convergence via “you’ve been cheek’d” cards; http://www.cheekd.com
- WeekendDating - speed dating & singles events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in NYC area; activity-based speed dating (e.g. rock climbing, dancing, cooking, wine tasting, museum, etc); http://www.weekenddating.com
- Kipici - online dating service powered by AcuMatch matchmaking engine based on the latest ontology-based, human semantics (Web 3.0) technology; http://www.kipici.com
Lots of dating startups and entrepreneurs in the New York area, perhaps its time for another Online Dating Insider meetup.
Love, Digital Style
"I went on a date and I thought it went pretty well. But then after a few days, my date wasn’t taking my phone calls. I started to wonder, ’Was it my hair—or lack of it? Maybe I just talked too much?’ Or maybe she just didn’t feel a spark. The point is, I didn’t know...I wish I had DateRate!"
So began Web developer Gabe Hallombe’s pitch for DateRate.com.au during the Australian start-up competition Sydney Startup Camp IV last October. The program, which won an honorable mention, lets you request anonymous criticism on such areas as grooming, sense of humor, and conversation from dates you’ve had through the site. "Sometimes the things we need to hear the most are the hardest things for people to say," says Hallombe. "DateRate makes sharing feedback easy." It’s the latest in a growing and addictive niche of feedback and information sites dedicated to dating.
Florida-based computer programmer Kim Moser began DateRate—an unrelated U.S.-based site—in early 2004 as a goof, after using "traditional" dating sites Match.com and eHarmony. "I was curious to know what people thought of me," says Moser, who estimates that his site logs a few thousand visitors a month by word of mouth. That need for feedback is the basis of other sites as well, such as Hot or Not, which rates people on how they look on a scale of 1 to 10. "It’s hugely popular with a very base appeal to it," Moser says. "It’s like potato chips. You cannot stop doing this."
Moser surmises that the popularity of sites like his has picked up as a reaction to other sites, such as DontDateHimGirl.com where women share information about dating, relationships, finances, and self-esteem.
Because Moser’s users also list the dating site they got their date from, he says he was able to compile a rating system about the dating sites themselves, such as which had the most accurate pictures or produced the most successful dates. And at least one site gives out a lot of information about itself: OKCupid has a blog that analyzes dating trends based on information gleaned from its users.
Technology is making other appearances in online dating as well. Skout and HG App Store’s Date Radar, can connect you with nearby singles via GPS technology.Cheek’d and FlipMe use cheeky business cards with a code. If you meet someone in person who appeals to you, hand him or her the card, which has a link to the dating site. The idea is that it’s safer to learn about someone online than in person.
That might be true. Consider WomanSavers.com, which serves as an early warning system for women before they date. Stephany Alexander started the site in 2002 after a bad relationship. "I thought, ’There should be a network for women to share information,’ " she says. Through Alexander’s site, a group of older women in seven states found out they were married to or involved with the same man, while a single mother learned her boyfriend was a pedophile. Alexander says, "Ninety percent of the men entered do not have positive reviews—alleged pedophiles, men spreading STDs, abusive men, and serial bigamists." Despite hackers and legal threats and being banned in China, parts of Russia, and the Middle East, the site has grown to include more than 40 000 men’s names.
While the U.S. company DateRate is not a moneymaker, DateRate.com.au sees financial potential in selling targeted advertising, charging users to access their feedback and customize their questionnaires, and licensing its software to traditional dating sites. DontDateHimGirl.com and WomenSavers.com, which run ads, e-commerce, or charge some fees, have helped brand their creators as relationship experts.
About the Author
Susan Karlin is a regular contributor to IEEE Spectrum. In the past year, she’s written about sex robots, comedic engineers, and dead bodies ( twice).
Networking meets matchmaking in a cheeky development New ideas allow interested to see what’s in the cards
Lori Cheek was out to dinner with a good friend when he gave his business card to a woman seated a table over.
“I thought it was kind of stealth, the way he just handed off that card and kept on walking,” said Cheek, 38, who lives near Manhattan’s West Village. “The whole scenario just triggered a bunch of ideas in my mind. Somebody can make your heart flutter, and they can pass you by in a second. Why can’t you try and catch them with a card?”
Now you can with Cheek’s not-so-ordinary little black cards. Each carries a flirty phrase and adds a personal touch to the electronic world of online dating. Recipients who have received the cards can use the identification code found on the back to go online and find out who their admirer is and to learn a little more about that person.
“Cheek’d” launched in summer 2010 and joined a relatively new breed of social meeting websites, many of them combining social networking with matchmaking. Some bring “real time” communication to the cyber dating scene with webcam chats (SpeedDate), location-based dating (Skout) and personality games (Goodwizz).
Others offer virtual dating, using avatars for people to interact in a virtual venue (Weopia) before venturing out on a real-life date. A few sites capitalize on people’s preoccupation with good looks as well as their willingness to vote on almost anything (CanDoBetter).
The 20 million Americans who cyber date are estimated by Online Magazine to go online at least once monthly and are willing to spend money to find a mate. In 2008, they spent $1.2 billion on online dating, according to Piper Jaffray Investment Research, and by 2013 their Web spending spree could hit $1.7 billion.
“We understand singles are searching for quality, not quantity,” said Dino Luzzi, CEO of Blast Applications, a Long Island based developer of applications for iPhone, Twitter, Android and Facebook. Luzzi’s CanDoBetter app allows singles to upload pictures of possible partners, get immediate feedback from fellow users and consult dating experts along the way.
How major a force is the Internet when it comes to dating? Two sociologists place the Web on par with perhaps the original social networking mecca — a bar.
A survey of 3,000 people living in the United States who met their mate in 2009 found that a third had initiated contact online. The study, presented to the American Sociological Association in summer 2010, determined that — when it came to first encounters — online chatting trailed only friend introductions. Online chatting finished neck-in-neck with first encounters in a bar.
With any form of dating, safety should always be a concern and online dating is no different— especially since the addition of location-based dating to the Web. It has prompted many states, including New York, to enact legislation to protect potential daters.
The New York State Internet Safety Dating Act, enacted in December 2010, required dating sites to warn users about the perils of romance on the Web, including not giving your phone numbers too soon, not revealing your employer or your last name.
With more than 800 online dating sites, according to Mark Brooks, who edits Online Personals Watch, consumers have many decisions to make before the dating even begins.
The following sites distinguish themselves through their creative capitalization of social networking.
•Think of the process as online dating in reverse, making the connection offline — sparked by the passing of little black cards that can be placed almost anywhere — before taking it online.
“I’ve had my hands in people’s pockets when they don’t even know,” said founder Cheek, who works part time for an upscale furniture store in Manhattan. “It’s fun handing them out where people can see you, but the element of surprise may be the best.”
The cards can be slipped in an order of French fries, on a bread plate, in a gym bag or Cheek’s favorite: atop the lid of a pint of beer—preferably held by the admired drinker. Each carry a fetching phrase like: “Look up. You might miss something,” “I am totally cooler than your date,” or “I just put all my drinks on your tab.”
“The card is a fun ice-breaker,” said Cheek, during a phone interview from her office in Manhattan. “It also marks the beginning of the game. There’s no turning back. It’s done and you don’t have anything to lose except that card. Just don’t forget to smile and wink.”
The Website itself is all about retrieving a person’s information, sharing a couple of sentences and hopefully arranging a meet-up. It was not created for long visits. A pack of 50 cards and a month’s subscription to the Website is $25. There is no fee for recipients to log on.
Glamour Magazine UK got cheek'd!
Calling Cards
- Thursday, 22 July 2010
Ever since Carrie Bradshaw came on our radar we've been watching dating trends in New York for signs of what's sure to float over to this side of the pond in a few months. And we're rather loving the latest way that girls in Manhattan are meeting men - in a manner that manages to be at once charmingly old fashioned and quite cutting-edge.
The technique that's swept the streets of New York from the Meat Packing District to the Upper West Side? Calling card websites. Here's how it works: you sign up to a site like Cheekd.com, build a profile and then receive a stack of cards (the size of business cards) printed with your name, a code that grants the recipient access to your profile, and a flirty message. You pass it off to the recipient and if they like the look of you, they can use the site to look you up and arrange a date.
It's more personal that meeting people strictly through a site, but less scary than approaching a stranger in a bar (or on the subway, or in a supermarket) who you rather like the look of. Not to mention, of course, that it's just really quite cute.
'This is the next generation of online dating,' according to The New York Times, and we can definitely see how it might even be more popular in the UK, thanks to our slightly retiring British natures. Will you give dating-by-calling-card a shot? Or do you prefer to stick to more traditional approaches to meeting men?
Saturday, February 26, 2011
US Royalty!
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Cheek’d! | ||
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Last night, we also went to Rouge et Blanc for the happy hour party of Cheek’d, a new type of dating social network. Its CEO Lori Cheek whipped out her computer, signed up anxious guests on cheekd.com, and gave them personalized business cards with humorous and romantic quips to give to anyone they thought could enrich their life, romantically or otherwise. | ||
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Cheek’d rep Tommy Kearney, here with triathlete Larry Lewis, was excited about the business cards and said they wanted to author their own sayings, such as, “You wanna be my plus one?” | ||
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Lori’s partner Charles Kickham walked around collecting business card for a raffle. He talked about being with her when she came up with the idea for Cheek’d in 2009, and the long but exciting road to their launch last May. | ||
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Cheek’d art director Ryan Hobbs and partner Locke Raper joked that they were John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, reincarnated as philosophers of love. |
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