Stripping Off with Matt Haycox
Welcome to 'Stripping Off with Matt Haycox,' where we bare it all on business, money, and life. Get ready to peel back the layers of success with entrepreneur, investor, funding expert, and mentor with over 20 years of experience building and growing businesses, Matt Haycox.
Tune into steamy conversations with industry titans, celebrities, and successful entrepreneurs as they strip down their stories of triumphs, setbacks, and the raw realities of their journey to the top. Matt is going down on business, money, and life, and will take DMCs to new heights!
Stripping Off with Matt Haycox
The Truth About OnlyFans | Stephanie Herela Talks About Money, Sex, and Being Naked!
Tell us what you like or dislike about this episode!! Be honest, we don't bite!
Could she be my most undressed guest? Before we dive into business, money, and life, join me for an exciting conversation with Stephanie Herela!
In this episode, I sit down with Stephanie Herela, a dynamic Latin American actress, OnlyFans creator, and influencer who has made waves in the world of erotic movies. Discover her fascinating journey from her rich Latin American roots to becoming a prominent figure on OnlyFans. Learn how Stephanie uses her platform to connect with fans and hear the intriguing story of her first erotic movie screening with Netflix. We'll also break down what OnlyFans is all about and how it works. We delve into Stephanie's content posting schedule, subscriber loyalty, and some of the wildest requests she's received from fans. Explore the possibilities and limits of her career choices in the face of lucrative offers and address the criticism and hate she's faced along the way. Get a glimpse into the daily routine of an OnlyFans content creator and how management has transformed her career and personal life. Finally, find out what's next for Stephanie Herela in this candid and unfiltered conversation.
Don't miss this episode filled with insights, surprises, and a whole lot of skin!
Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
1:29 - Stephanie's Background
5:55 - OnlyFans and Stephanie's Website
10:54 - First Erotic Movie Screening with Family
15:40 - What is OnlyFans?
17:54 - The Frequency of Content Posting
18:41 - No Explorer Page
19:25 - Do Subscribers stay with you?
20:38 - Craziest Requests You Have and Haven't Done
23:29 - If the money is right, would you change your mind?
24:31 - Haters
27:39 - A Day in the Life of an OnlyFans Creator
30:49 - Life Before and After Management
34:58 - Management for Early Starters a Good Idea?
36:50 - The Next Step for Stephanie
38:14 - Conclusion
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Who Is Matt Haycox? - Click for BADASS Trailer
As an entrepreneur, investor, funding expert and mentor who has been building and growing businesses for both myself and my clients for more than 20 years, my fundamental principles are suitable for all industries and businesses of all stages and size.
I’m constantly involved in funding and advising multiple business ventures and successful entrepreneurs.
My goal is to help YOU achieve YOUR financial success! I know how to spot and nurture great business opportunities and as someone who has ‘been there and got the t-shirt’ many times, overall strategies and advice are honest, tangible and grounded in reality.
Christiana Maction. Have I said that right? Yes you have Maction like action Correct. I have got with me the global, but we're here in Dubai, the global high net worth matchmaker Offline, online, with technology as well. I'm looking forward to this conversation.
Speaker 2:I bet you are. You had some very funny questions off air, so let's get into it oh let's get into that.
Speaker 1:Obviously, we're going to talk matchmaking. We're going to talk business.
Speaker 1:I want to understand how you got into this, but let's set the sea with the buy. We can dig into my funny questions that I never properly asked you Listen, I've lived all around the world, or let's say I've traveled all around the world. I've lived in multiple places. I've lived in Vegas, I've spent a lot of time in LA, I've spent a lot of time in Miami, and you know these kind of cities. They are where all the hot girls are. I mean, ultimately, the hot girls flock to where the money is, flock to where the action is, and you know, I guess I've always seen plenty of them there.
Speaker 1:Never have I seen behavior from women like it is in Dubai. I mean, now, listen, as a guy, it's a good thing. I mean, you know you can get what you want and you can get it pretty quickly. But for me there's this big dilemma here, and I'm going to give you my version and then you tell me what you think. I think there's a problem that has developed here in that girls come to Dubai, let's say, looking for guys with money. Guys with money in Dubai know girls have come looking for them and they both pump each other up. So let me give you an analogy here. I used to own strip clubs. I can admit to this now I no longer have them and my license isn't at stake but we used to have very strict rules. The rules were basically the girl had to dance one meter away from the guy.
Speaker 2:That doesn't sound like a fun strip club. Well, exactly, not like the US. I don't want to go there.
Speaker 1:Well, okay, so herein lies the future. So that was the rules.
Speaker 1:And in the early days, let's say 1998, 1999, when all this started, people were played by those rules. Another club opens down the street. Club opens down the street. They need to compete. So they go. Well, listen, their rule is one meter, we'll just touch the knees and stuff. And the girls all know the rules. But the girls are obviously realizing that if they want to compete in this market they have to go a bit further than the next girl. And you know what starts off as one meter becomes one inch. An inch becomes just touching the knees. Before you know it, someone's sticking a nipple in your mouth. A bit of touching and six or nine months down the line, everybody's fucking.
Speaker 2:That sounds like the right girl club to go into?
Speaker 1:It absolutely does. And that's the problem with having to compete. And these girls who've gone into their wanting to, let's say, be a stripper, have come out effectively being a prostitute because yeah, because, because they've been pushed into that, because I guess that's where the market's at. And I think something similar occurs here in dubai, in that you know this, this girl's prepared to go out with a guy because she wants a lunch, paying. This girl needs two lunches and she's thinking shit, that girl's having lunch, I better give her, give a kiss as well. She's giving a kiss, I better give a blowjob. And for me, the city is just so transactional, it's untrue. Now, like I said, as a guy, not a bad thing, but again, playing devil's advocate here. What I also can't be doing with is the girls moaning at how disrespected they are. Tell you what? Don't fuck for a handbag, and then you won't, and then you don't need to feel disrespected correct so can I add something you could add away I've done too much talking no, you're good.
Speaker 2:Um, every relationship is transact, whether there's money involved or emotions involved, sexual activity involved, but I think it's just about the standards that you hold for yourself and also, maybe, the expectations of the other person, but really having your high standards and zero expectation.
Speaker 1:I get that and I think you know, ultimately everybody wants the best and the most, don't they? You know, a girl wants the best and the most, a guy wants the best and the most. But I guess for me, where it goes from, let's say, not being transactional and being genuine, is where all other things are equal. So let let's say, in all things being equal, two identical guys, utterly identical in every way.
Speaker 2:of course the girl is going to take the one with money versus the one without money, all, all, all things being equal okay, I think that you are having um an experience that probably most men have in dubai, but I can, hand on my heart say that the most driven, ambitious, genuine people that I have met in the world have been living in this city oh, absolutely listen.
Speaker 1:I love Dubai. I say I do the PR for.
Speaker 1:Dubai. It's the most phenomenal, phenomenal place to be, but it's also, for me, the most unique dating environment. I mean, like, like I take any of those places I mentioned your LAs, your Miamis and stuff you know, a guy goes up to a girl and approaches them. Some girls will be receptive in their approach, many won't. In Dubai you don't even need small talk. It's like oh, there's a hot girl over there, hey, excuse me, yacht party tonight. You know off. You know off to off to namos, off to off to the yacht party. And, um, you know, it is a very different world, very different world to anywhere so I do see that, obviously, like you've experienced it.
Speaker 2:So there's truth in that 1000. But I also think that in dubai you can make dubai whatever you want it to be. If you feel like you're stuck in that constant cycle of just seeing the same working girls everywhere, those same transactional relationships, pay-to-play girls, then I would suggest to you to get out of that environment and put yourself in a different environment and where?
Speaker 1:where do you, let's say, draw the line? What do you categorize as a working girl? Because, because you know, like we can say that you know, every relationship is financial in some way, shape or form. Some are paid, some are paid to play, some want a long-term contract.
Speaker 2:You know yeah but it's all. I guess it's all an arrangement, an arrangement of sorts as opposed every relationship is essentially a contract that you have with somebody, right, but you set the terms. You set the terms, the other person set the terms. Do you come to an agreement? And that can involve, like what we said, right, pay to play, one night stands, long-term relationships.
Speaker 1:It's all about what standards you set for yourself so as a matchmaker, then, and and with your agency. You know, you told me before we came on air that you only act for men. Yes, but you have about 40,000 women globally on the database yeah, keep growing every day. What are the rules then?
Speaker 2:Yes. So with matchmaking, like the men that come to us, no-transcript women we vet them, make sure that they are aligned with your values and your expectations, and then what we do, as well as like the whole concierge of it, we set up the date, we manage the communication, we manage the feedback afterwards, and what our clients are really buying with us is time, and in this time, we give you unlimited matchmaking opportunities to meet your partner.
Speaker 1:But are you only acting for someone who genuinely wants to get a life partner?
Speaker 2:So most of our clients yes, that's what they're searching for, because it is a hefty price tag, right? So our prices range from $65,000 US dollars all the way up to $350,000. So these men are dedicated and invested in finding a true partner.
Speaker 1:So talk me through the process. I've heard about you. I walk in I say I've only got a small budget, I can only spend $65,000.
Speaker 2:Yeah, get out of here. No 65k. Yeah, get out of here. What? What do I get? What?
Speaker 1:do I get for my 65k? You sit me down, talk to me exactly. Let's role play, let's do. Hello, christiana, I'm matt. I've seen about you online.
Speaker 2:I've just wired 65k to your account no, no, you don't wire it to me yet so we can do that, if you want um, no.
Speaker 2:Step one is we get to know you right. So you apply to be a client, because we can only take on a certain number of clients per quarter, because obviously it's an offline agency, it's manual, personalized service, so we can only service a certain number of clients. So, with that being said, discovery call, we learn about you. What are you looking for? What's your lifestyle like? What are your goals? What do you deem as success when hiring a matchmaker? Can we help you?
Speaker 1:We have over a 95% success rate, so we only want to be able to know that we can help you, or else it's wasted time between the both of us and you say 95% success rate. What constitutes success? A long term relationship.
Speaker 2:Exactly so. Each of our clients has different goals some marriage, some more children, some long-term relationship. We have some clients who are recently divorced and have never dated before and they just maybe are really high profile or extremely high net worth that they only want to date qualified and vetted women, right.
Speaker 1:So each client basically sets their success and then we review that at the end of their contract with us and all well, I was gonna, are all your clients high net worth, but I guess unless they've cashed in an inheritance, then they have to be to be able to pay the fee, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, and after that discovery call and if we think we can help you, we invite you for a preliminary match session, which is basically where we put together a presentation of current women we have in the database. This is before even signing a full-time membership, because we want to make sure that we have the right women for you. We don't want to take you on as a client if we can't find you success. But also it's a way for us to kind of vet you too, like how well do we work together?
Speaker 1:and why would I not have been a fit? Why might, why may I not have got passes for his?
Speaker 2:call. I've spoken to clients before where their age range is completely delusional. Where they are.
Speaker 1:Tell me the most delusional age range you've seen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had a guy who's 55 and he said I won't date anybody over the age of 23. And I was like we are not the right agency for you. First of all, women who are in their early 20s have millions and millions of options. They are flaky. They're the worst to set up on dates. I'll tell you that much because they're being hit on all the time, especially the types of women that these men are probably looking for. So that's, that's a hard search. Number one and then number two. It's like when, how am I going to say this to somebody? Hey, we have a 55 year old man who doesn't want to have any kids, and you're 23 years old. You want to go out with him. That's not going to be a successful match what about things like looks, for example?
Speaker 2:like you know, let's say men are very visual creatures and we know that.
Speaker 1:No, no but I mean the guy themselves. What if the guys are beasts and smelly and you know, and ugly?
Speaker 2:well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. No, but um. We also offer things like styling you'd be honest. You say listen, fatty this is what you gotta.
Speaker 2:Do you sort yourself out yeah, well listen, like I said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You have an amazing personality and things like that, but we always try to guide you into like kind of just being your best version of yourself so that you can attract the best partner for you. So we also include that into our packages as well. But after that video call to pay call, if both parties agree. Hey, this is something that we want to move forward with. Also, obviously, we have payment contracts.
Speaker 1:You start dating and we find you that person and how many dates so for that 65k, how many, how many dates can I go on?
Speaker 2:yeah, so it's unlimited. So what our clients do is they buy time with us. So 65 a typical contract, so five months, and within that five months you can say yes or no to as many women as you like and you can go on as many dates or as few dates as you want to. We have some clients that go on one date and then that's their partner, and that's the best type of client.
Speaker 2:And do you have any rules, Like, for example you have to tell the girls that you are dating. You are doing other dates, or no? No, no, no, we tend to sex before dessert Exactly so. Any date that's planned through me and my agency, there is no sex involved on any date that we plan and that's just to be compliant with uae and just rules across and just to keep it clean. You know you just want to see do you have a genuine connection, without muddying the waters?
Speaker 1:and um and the girl. So that's the guy side. Then the girl said how do you recruit your girls and and do you do you go through a process with them in the same way you do with the guys? You vet them yes, exactly.
Speaker 2:So women can sign up for free to join our database and because it's like I am featured in over 200 media mentions they hear me on the radio, see me on covers of magazines they will apply to be part of the database. Maybe they're fed up with the dating app world. Maybe they just want to take a different route because they know that the men who are signing up for our services are serious and are serious about finding a partner because they've made that financial commitment. So, also, I have six other matchmakers in our team. We're global, we're stationed in different parts of the world. I just run this half of the world and, yeah, so with us together. Gosh, the agency has been around for over 12 years, so we have built that database and I've built the database middle east europe, uk from scratch over the past few years.
Speaker 1:so, yeah, and when you say from scratch, when what's? Been I know you've got all these media mentions as well, but do you advertise, as you know, do you advertise, do you have a website with google ads and stuff, and you know we don't use any advertising.
Speaker 2:Um, our company is, uh, synccom, but obviously everyone comes in through Christiana Maction because they know me. But it has excellent SEO, so I know that they've been working on that. For me personally, I just think, being the face of my brand, that's how people know me, reach out, they know me as the Dubai matchmaker, the billionaire matchmaker, and that catches attention.
Speaker 1:And let's talk about the Dubai matchmaker, the billionaire matchmaker, and that catches attention. Let's talk about the billionaire matchmaker. I mean, how, how worried about the financial motivations of the girls are you? I mean, obviously they know they're coming in to matchmake with a wealthy guy, but you know where do we draw that line between someone who wants to be looked after by a lovely guy and someone who's akin to a prostitute?
Speaker 2:yeah, no for sure. And that's where our job comes in, because we do lots of interviews. We do interviews, we do vetting, we do background checks, we do lots of things to make sure that both parties are aligned or that this is the right person to present to our clients.
Speaker 1:And how did you get into this business? I mean, you know what's what leads you to wake up one day and think I'm going to be the billionaire matchmaker.
Speaker 2:Were you a serial dater. Yes.
Speaker 1:Looking for billionaires.
Speaker 2:I'm kidding, all right. So no, I feel like I've lived eight different lives. I mean, I started my career as an athlete, went into finance, decided finance wasn't for me and because of all my years as an athlete and coaching, I actually went into education. When I first moved to the UAE in 2016, I was a KG1 teacher. Really I was, I was and I climbed like that corporate ladder of education quite quickly.
Speaker 1:And you say it was a relationship that brought you to the UAE.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was. It was, and I'll tell you off air where we met and you're going to laugh.
Speaker 1:So anyway, now I guess, no, I feel you're going to tell everybody no, no.
Speaker 2:So, anyway, what ends up happening is I climbed the corporate ladder, became a national teacher trainer, published author, leader in a school, all before the age of 29. And then COVID happened 2020. And I just had more time on my hands, even when I was a school leader. I was teaching Pilates, I was teaching spin Like I just need to do like a hundred things at once And- Because you want to keep busy, or because you're hungry, because you know, oh, I'm hungry like I had drive, like the person that I moved to the uae with extremely wealthy man.
Speaker 2:Um, we split and kind of like, gave me a kick in my ass a bit because everything was taken away from me why did you split? We weren't aligned.
Speaker 1:Really, I'll leave it at that he went running after all these naughty to buy girls.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, he's a good guy and actually I thank him every day because I would have never left new york. Everything my whole life was in five miles of like my radius right, so I would have never, ever left new york, but I thank him every day for bringing me here because it changed my whole career, my whole trajectory, everything but um, yeah. So what ended up happening is 2020. I'm home more, I have time on my hands and I decided to start an instagram account called dating in dubai you would have loved it where I was documenting my experience dating here, obviously like the good, the bad, the ugly, but I love dating in the city did the guys know that they were dating someone like this?
Speaker 1:It's like getting in a relationship with Taylor Swift. You know a song's going to be written about you, don't you?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh. Well, it's actually quite funny because it did gain some popularity before it like really really blew up. I was working for a school at that time and I actually got fired from the school.
Speaker 1:Oh really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was a school leader running a staff of 55. They found out about the account and they asked me to leave and I was like wow, okay. And I mean I stayed on my visa, still had salary for like six months, and I kind of had this time to think like, what am I going to do? And I've always been a solution seeker, so I said I'm going to solve dating in Dubai. And that's when I launched my matchmaking agency.
Speaker 1:Was there much competition at the time.
Speaker 2:I was the first public Western matchmaker. Now there are so many hoes popping up. What makes them a?
Speaker 1:hoe and you a queen. What's the difference in the service? Look at me.
Speaker 2:No, and just like, all of like, the success that we have, the caliber of clients that we have, the amazing, incredible database, the team I have behind me, we're just yeah, above the rest.
Speaker 1:Hey, matt Haycox here with a quick interruption Just to say I hope you're liking the show, but please, please, like, subscribe or comment. That's how we can bring you better guests, that's how we can make the show better each week. So please, please. That's all I ever ask of you. We never charge, we never ask anything else. Just please give us a few moments of your time, tell me about the app, because we brought a bit of technology into this old school business, haven't we?
Speaker 2:yeah, so the offline agency is such a personalized, curated experience.
Speaker 1:It's very hands-on and that's four years old.
Speaker 2:Something like that, yes correct, correct, but the global uh agency that I'm a part of is over 12 years. I think 13 years now running so just explain that to me yeah, I will. So I started. I opened up my own agency here in dubai in 21 and then it grew so quickly, like the demand for it, because my prices used to be 10 000 dirham for three dates oh, yeah, yeah, I wish I knew you back then, not anymore matt and then like the demand for it just proved to me that people were searching for an alternative as to what was on the market.
Speaker 2:So I had to keep increasing my prices. I think I got up to like 25,000 Durham for like three dates because I was just like, oh my gosh, like I just it's me all alone. Then I was reached out to by a couple global agencies, but the one that I decided to go with, to kind of join forces with, is called Sync, and the reason why I decided to join forces with them is because they wrote me a message and they said have you ever considered joining a team? And I was like huh, and I liked the approach that they had with it. I got on with all the girls. I actually just came back from Italy. It's seven of us stationed around the world. This is the first time we all were meeting in person and we had a whole retreat out in Italy. It was so much fun.
Speaker 1:And let's just talk about this from a business perspective. I mean, I'm guessing, so tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming the reason you go as part of this network is because you share a liquidity pool of girls. Yes, exactly, so this is like, I guess for people listening to this, this will be like well, I guess, like any online dating site back in the UK, like poker sites et cetera.
Speaker 2:It's all very well setting up a front end, but unless you've got people to play with there's, exactly there's no business there so so you generate some of your own own girls here in dubai or maybe wherever else yeah, but let's just, I'm making up numbers, you've got three or four thousand, but you plug it, you plug into the pool and that gives that gives you the ability to be more impressive to your clients because you can feature in a in a database of 40 000 yeah, and also like the advantage of joining with Sync is that they had been around for over a decade at that point and they already had systems in place where, when I first started like I didn't go to matchmaking school or anything like that I've just been a natural connector my whole life and joining with them, having these systems in place and having a team to bounce ideas off of and to really just get things in place in order to be a better matchmaker for clients.
Speaker 2:Because also that's also when I started entering, like, the high net worth space and that's when our memberships change into unlimited matchmaking memberships. Our clientele change, change. But also like the advantage for having me join sync is that they got access to this half of the world, because it was mainly us and the america's center, so having me join opened their door to this half of the world and then also to all of the wealth that has just been an influx, especially into this area, into the gcc. So it's been an amazing relationship to have with them and just to grow more do you ever do things like, for example, I'm a client here in dubai?
Speaker 1:yeah, I travel internationally and, for example, I'm doing business in budapest yep, and I know exactly what you're gonna say give me, you know, give me a couple of days in budapest, because I've got you know.
Speaker 2:May as well meet someone while I'm, while I'm lonely on business most of our clients, uh, because of just the nature of their businesses. They're always jet setting, they're always traveling, which is why we offer global matchmaking and, yeah, that's like the advantage of our company as well.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah let's flip back to the tech. Where did the tech come?
Speaker 2:from. So what ended up happening with the tech is like what I was saying before, is that with the offline agency, you can only service a certain number of clients per quarter, where the tech was a way for us to scale but also to reach a much wider audience of accomplished professionals, successful individuals. Not everybody has to be high net worth on it, but it's a way for me, because what I really want to do is to change the behaviors that people have on these traditional dating apps. So I don't say we're a dating app, I say we're a matchmaking app, because what I've done is basically digitized the services that our clients love so marrying, like compatibility and concierge in order to deliver this matchmaking app that actually expedites the whole process of meeting in person.
Speaker 1:And is this? Is the app specific to your part of the business, or is this? Is this globally, for everybody?
Speaker 2:This is mine, and it's centralized in Dubai right now. We just launched five months ago and we just broke into five figure revenue last month, last month, you hear me last month and it's like insane to think about the growth that we had in such a small, tiny market. It's just Dubai.
Speaker 1:And you say it's not just high net worths on there. So does that mean that your pool of girls all of them aren't on there because some only want to do high net worth dating, for example, or is everybody on there?
Speaker 2:So the way that I did it because Maction is solely mine, right, and I decided to launch it, I decided to digitize the services Is that anybody can apply to be a Maction member, the way that we screen people in order for acceptance, because this is different than other apps where anybody can be on it or it's freemium. Ours is not freemium. You have to buy a subscription, but a much different price than the offline. Our subscriptions start at $3 durham per month.
Speaker 1:It's like 100 a month. What do you get for that?
Speaker 2:so that's one month of a membership, okay at this point full access yeah, yeah. So what ends up happening is anybody can apply to be a maxion member. We screen you. You have to be passport verified. We look at your linkedin, so I want to see your professional timeline. So one of our slogans that I came up with I'm a marketing genius is ditch the working girls for a woman with a career.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:All the guys love that. And then for the girls I came up with drop the F boy for a man with a plan, because the tech, what it does, is, once you're a Maction member, obviously you create a profile. We send you create a profile. We send you compatible connections daily. We send you okay, instead of you swiping from incompatible and then just looking at someone's picture and going XXXXX. We actually look into personal values, life goals and we send you compatible connections. Up to you whether or not you want to say yes, maybe pass.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And then, once it's a yes, yes on both sides, actually plans books and confirms the first date and are you sending this?
Speaker 1:if you're sending me girls in the app, are you doing that manually or is that some kind of ai?
Speaker 2:I'll go, yeah yeah, I'll go involved in there, and but what people love about the app is that it cuts through all of that wasted time and messaging also, like on dating apps too. Like people have become disposable in the sense that they just live inside your phone, right, somebody could say one wrong thing in a message. You're like oh, on to the next one. I have 50 other people like to swipe today. Where, where, with maxion, right, let's say, it's a yes, yes between you and I, mutual connection. You put in your availability, I put in my availability, and then it actually plans our first date and then yeah, and how many would you typically send a day or a month?
Speaker 2:so right now we are sending one a day.
Speaker 1:We want to change dating app behaviors, where you're swiping through a thousand people well, I think the problem I mean not just in dating, but I mean in anything know we think choice is a good thing.
Speaker 2:And I guess.
Speaker 1:maybe from a consumer perspective it is, but from the business perspective, you know, there becomes a limit of choice where it's good to have that amount of choice. But once you go past that it's almost like you know, decision paralysis and you know, yourself. You walk into the smoothie shop and there's 45 smoothies on the wall and you just keep looking and don't know what to buy.
Speaker 2:Just give me five and I'll pick one Exactly.
Speaker 1:Five, ten, whatever the number is, there's a perfect number of just enough choice, but without giving you brain fog.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly. And it's great because, also with the app, we help, kind of like, get you to that first date, in the sense of, like six hours before the date, we remind you what you have in common with that person, four hours before we tell you, give you recommendations for ordering at the restaurant, two hours before we get you there with our partnership with Yango. Then, an hour before, we give you like a connection question to kind of like break the ice, and then the feedback collected after the date. This feeds into the compatibility engines that we have in order to perfect that process how long did it take to build the app you want to?
Speaker 2:know so it was just an idea in my head at the end of 22 okay um 23 was when I was enlisting people to, or trying to find people to, build the prototype, built it wrong three different times, but then we really started building the product and at the end of august of 2023 which is insane to think, it's been less than a year and we already have this amazing success. And then we launched on the app store, debuted on the app store december 4th 2024, but then we publicly launched the beta testing and everything february 4th 2024. So we're only five months, five and a half months, live.
Speaker 1:We have over 3500 uae applications, we have 1400 monthly active users and we just broke into five figure revenue last month amazing so we're so excited and you think there's's a plan to roll that out with the rest of the people in the what's it called again, GCC? No, I was going to say SYNC. No, no, no.
Speaker 2:So this is solely mine, what I created. I love working with SYNC and having that offline agency and still working with clients every now and then, but I love Maction because it's a real way to create connection for people on such a wider scale. Because I mean Dubai, expat cities can feel lonely, like most of us move here on a job visa, where we don't move here with close friends, we don't move here with close family and you kind of fall into this thing that I like to call proximity settling, where you're friends with people that you work with friends, people that live in your neighborhood, that go to your gym instead of, maybe, people that you're truly compatible with. So what I see for the future of Maction is that we make expat cities a less lonely place.
Speaker 1:I like it. Yeah, you've got some good sound bites, haven't you? We're going to make some good reels out of this.
Speaker 2:I'm a professional.
Speaker 1:Tell me what do you consider your if you had to pick one of your biggest success stories. Is there one that really springs to mind?
Speaker 2:Yeah, there are so many Okay about matchmaking, right? Yes, okay, matchmaking. So one of my favorite success stories is actually a man in his 60s. A man in his 60s came to us right at the end of 2023. And he was just saying he's like listen, I have been married two times. He's like I am looking for my third wife. He's like no meaning, like married and divorced, and he's like I want love again. He's like I have older children. I would love to be with somebody who also has older children. We're in the same boat and I remember taking him on and being like gosh, this guy is so incredibly nice. I really want to find him the right partner. We set him up because it was holiday time. I set him up on a first day, january 4th of 2024 four has to be like my numbers.
Speaker 2:I'll actually choose on my number, but um how old was the girl? 48. Okay, normal, yeah, normal age gap and they're still together today, all right yeah, we actually we went to lunch with them. Yeah, we actually went to lunch with them, me and my dad. I went to lunch with them when he was last in town. So yeah, it's like super success stories Like those are the best, like they just like hit it off right away and love.
Speaker 1:Tell me a horror story.
Speaker 2:Oh so many. No, I'm kidding, no. In the beginning of my matchmaking career, like when I was like figuring out the business and you know you're on your own, you're a solopreneur and you kind of take on business. Maybe you shouldn't take on, right. I have one client. I won't give too much detail about him, but he was a guy who was in his 50s, okay.
Speaker 1:We'll tag him in the comments.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, in his 50s and he wanted to date women in their 20s, yeah, okay, but at least this one was like 29, okay, I was like okay, but so he had gone on a date with somebody.
Speaker 2:Remember this was like the three date package I was like probably 25 around that time and he had gone on first date and this person who I put him on a date with, I personally knew like as a friend. She gives me the feedback afterwards and she's like he's not ready for a relationship and I was like oh, tell me why. So? Oh well, he was talking about drugs and prostitution on the first day, like his own experiences, and she's like a super classy lady who owns her own businesses. And she was like no, not for me, right businesses. And she was like no, not for me, right. And I was like fair enough, no problem. He had another date lined up two days later do you give him that feedback though?
Speaker 2:so then this is what happened. Before he went on a date with the second person, I spoke to him and I was like, hey, so this is the feedback. I would recommend not speaking about those things on a first date, like get to know the person, ask them questions about themselves to see if you align in any other way, see if they mentioned drugs and hoes first and then you can go all in, but what ended up happening?
Speaker 2:so I bring up they actually got on. So the second person he goes on a date with he really got on with. He doesn't live in this country but has a base here. He asked her to fly to where he was and this man has money. And I get get a call from the girl and she's like hey, uh, can I talk to you about so? And so I was like yeah, sure, sure, tell me what's going on. Um, yeah, she goes, does like does this guy really have money? And was like oh, what are you talking about? She was like, yeah, he asked me to buy my own ticket to go see him. Now, remember, this girl is 29 years old. This man is like early 50s, right. So I was like that's just rude. If somebody's inviting you, they should be paying for it.
Speaker 2:So I give him a phone call. I'm like, hey, I spoke to so-and-so blah blah and he's like, oh well, I want to make sure she's not after me for my money. And I told him. I was like honey, you are 52 years old and she's 29. If you don't know, it's pay-to-play. I don't know how I can help you moving forward I was like that's like the dumbest thing ever.
Speaker 2:Or like when guys like hide like their wealth on a first date. It's not I'm not saying, be so flashy about it, but also don't lie about what you've created. Like I don't know, I just find it weird are you dating now? Wouldn't you like to know?
Speaker 1:is that a secret? Well, I was gonna follow it up by asking you if, if you, if you've ever had any clients walking, you thought you know what?
Speaker 2:I'm to put myself to the top of the list. No, no, no, no, no, I don't. I don't put myself forward. They asked me if, like, they could take me out, and I'm like, let's keep it professional. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So from a business model perspective I was just thinking this a minute ago obviously the more successful you are at doing your job I guess technically the more you then limit your income opportunities there, as in like I guess with the app right well, no, so I'm talking.
Speaker 1:I'm talking physical people yeah, yeah, right so offline, because I guess your dream client is someone who just dates for the rest of his life and has to keep paying you 350, 350 350, so I was going to ask you if you've got any upsells or cross sells, or what could you develop in the business model so that you know you could be successful in delivering someone a dream relationship but but still find a way to keep getting paid.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, what's great is that? What's amazing about our job as matchmakers is that when you do match somebody and they're with that partner, they tell five of their friends.
Speaker 1:OK.
Speaker 2:And that's what like a lot of our ultimate referral scheme yeah, a lot of our business comes in through referrals. Like I remember back, uh, earlier this year, we had a a group of guys join as business partners, like they're all business partners and they came in as clients because one of them had a success and the other one was like just so funny. So it's like they're all were like dating at the same time.
Speaker 1:Did any of the girls date multiple of them? Thank goodness. They all had different requirements. You can see how my brain's working now.
Speaker 2:But no, yeah, they all had different requirements, so that was better for us.
Speaker 1:So what's the future?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh. Well, what I love about Maction is that we can create love on a wider scale. Yes, we just started in Dubai with Expat Connections. We're building our Indian Connections portal. We're then going to localize a product for Muslim marriages, because I don't know if you know this or not, but the divorce rate amongst Muslim marriages in the UAE is higher than in the USA. So there's something broken in the chain and I can't wait to figure out what it is in order to actually facilitate long lasting marriages.
Speaker 1:And you keep all these pools segregated. So, for example, a Muslim client base won't mix with the whatever the expat client base.
Speaker 2:Yes, because what I learned as a matchmaker is that there are certain cultures that can only marry within their culture. So, in order to actually give them the right compatible partners, to create those separate portals. And then what I plan to do is expand across the GCC when I was saying before, making expat cities a little less lonely and then, yeah, really dominate this region because it is the new land of opportunity and there's no other app that's homegrown, that is catering to this region. That is really like looking to outsource their love life, like that's like our tagline outsource your love life, elevate your connections because we cut out all of that, not effort, but, yeah, all of that effort and energy in between and just facilitating those in-person connections and you're staying in Dubai.
Speaker 1:There's no moving back to the US for you no, I love Dubai.
Speaker 2:I think I'll be here forever. I really do, and you?
Speaker 1:I think the same as well. I mean, I came here by accident four years ago. Literally I was on a. I was on an eight-day covid holiday yeah, I got extended a week, got extended a week, uh, and I never, never, planned to move here. Um, you know, at first I just thought, well, the rest of the world's on lockdown, I'll just work remotely from here, but I'll do it in the sun.
Speaker 1:And then I kind of got to understand what dubai was. You know I found how much it was a land of opportunity, of great people, hungry people. I mean my business, my core business, is finance, so it's been fantastic for that. And yeah, I always say I can't say I'll be here forever, but I don't know where I'd be other than here. And I guess I said that in the context of I moved to Dubai very quickly and I could have quite easily moved away from Dubai very quickly if a better or different opportunity presented itself.
Speaker 1:But I always say to anyone listen, I'll always advocate for Dubai. I think it's amazing, but it might not be for you. But what I'm pretty sure isn't for you is where you live. Now. I think we all are probably born and tied in the cities, towns etc that we're in. We picket and stay there for the wrong reasons. When I say the wrong reasons, people might sound heartless about it, but for me, staying in a city for histrionic sake, for nostalgia's sake, for the fact that your family may be there or your old friends.
Speaker 2:How do you grow if you stay within the bonds?
Speaker 1:I think the biggest, the biggest change someone can make for their future success is to change their geography. Uh, you just have to know what that geography, geography changes, and I guess that's very much the same in the context of dating as well. I mean obviously not not for, for matchmaking necessarily, but you know just from a, if you live in the middle of wales and there's only seven people in that town and you want to meet a hot supermodel, you're gonna struggle yeah you gotta, you gotta put yourself where, where your customers are, so um definitely that's what we're doing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, people move for love all the time and like, just thinking about that, just in general, like or specific to dubai, is that if you are like a bar star in terms of like you're in the DIFC I call it the diffic. If you're stuck in DIFC and you're going to the same bars every night and you're experiencing the same thing, change your environment. Put yourself somewhere in marina. Uh, go to a gym down in jail theater. I'm making this up but like, yeah, just put yourself in different environments, because if you keep experiencing the same thing and you want a different result, what do they call that?
Speaker 1:Like insanity, psychotic whatever the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and expecting different results.
Speaker 2:So it's the same thing with dating Change up your environment.
Speaker 1:But that's what no guy in Dubai can do, isn't it? No, they can.
Speaker 2:They can.
Speaker 1:Call me. I'm going to send them all in your direction. Listen, christiana, it's been a pleasure having you here. It's been good fun, banter and some interesting stories. We're going to put, obviously, all the links in the description in the video, but just give yourself a little shout out for the best place to come and find you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so if you're looking for matchmaking, find me ChristianaMactioncom. And for the app, please, please, please, apply. It is called Maction M-A-X-I-O-N, the matchmaking app, and we're on the app store.
Speaker 1:And don't forget you promised to fast track my application.
Speaker 2:Yes, we will approve you.
Speaker 1:Thanks again.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thanks for watching Stripping Off with Matt Haycox. I hope you've enjoyed watching this week's episode, but please remember to like and hit that subscribe button so you can stay in the loop for future episodes. Have you got any burning questions? Have you got any killer ideas? Well, slide into my DMs on social at strippingoffwithmatthaycox, or simply comment below and I'll see you again next time.
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