Meet Zach Schleien | CEO, Filteroff

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zach Schleien and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zach, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I created Filteroff since I was fed up with going on bad first dates. So, before meeting up in person, I began asking my matches if they’d be open to video chatting.

In the past, I would have tried to build a connection over text, but I found that I had no text game. Texting can create assumptions about a person that might not be accurate without hearing and seeing them. It’s easy for things to get lost in translation.

Instead, I started asking my dates if they would be willing to FaceTime instead. I believed that video chatting would be a low-pressure way to see if we clicked and if there was an attraction before meeting in person, and it worked.

Using video chatting as a first step was much more efficient. I didn’t have to waste time commuting to meet someone or spend money on overpriced drinks only to discover quickly that we were not interested in each other.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Before the pandemic, many people doubted the viability of video dating and believed it was strange to go on a video chat with a complete stranger. However, once the pandemic hit, online dating transformed overnight as isolation fueled a yearning for connection.

We quickly realized that video dating became the solution to many of these problems during the pandemic. Filteroff users sought meaningful connections instead of swiping for hours, and video speed dates allowed them to make real face-to-face connections. As the pandemic subsided, video has now become the standard way to date before meeting in person.

Another challenge we faced was scammers, who harassed our users for money as Filteroff grew. Initially, we deleted their accounts, but they quickly reappeared with a new phone number and a new account. They were determined to scam our users.

To tackle this issue, we developed a Scammer Detection System that placed scammers in a separate Dark Dating Pool, which was filled with other scammers and bots! We built a bot army with fake photos and GPT-3 (a tech that lets computers talk like humans) to chat with scammers. We wrote about it here and highlighted some of the funniest conversations. Our strategy was also picked up by TechCrunch and Gizmodo.

Recently, we introduced a matchmaking service called Matchmaker Pro, so you can get perfect matches delivered to you for an instant date without any swiping, catfishing, or time-consuming first dates.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d bring them to Erewhon Market, take them on some hiking trails, Hollywood Boulevard, hang out at Venice Beach, and grab some food at In-N-Out.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Brian Weinreich my co-founder

Website: https://www.getfilteroff.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zach08590/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyschleien/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZachSchleien

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filteroff

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Filteroff