Page 41 of Elevator Pitch

Fools in NY

Elena

which one should I use for my dating profile?

Alex

Very funny.

Elena

I’m serious!

Me

Which app?

She responds with a screenshot of theSoulBlendsign-up page.

“Shit,” I say out loud, looking around my office.

My thumb hovers over the like reaction to the pictures when Alex’s name flashes across my screen with an incoming call.

I answer, and before I can say anything, he demands, “delete her account.”

I scoff. “What? No.”

“Why not? You made the app. You can do whatever you want.”

“I can’t just do that. She’d have to violate our terms of service to be removed from the app or deactivate it herself.”

“Then I’ll get her phone so I can make sure she deactivates.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Alright, I’m not going to do that, but I need your help, man. Please?” he asks in a pained voice.

There’s gotta be a statute of limitations on my vow of silence. The man is hurting, for Christ's sake.Alex is the most confident person I know, but when it comes to Elena, he is just as nervous and afraid as the rest of us.

“Why don’t you just make a profile too?” I suggest.

“The app only works for people you match with,” he grumbles.

“I’m aware. I did create it. I’m saying that you should make an account to see if you match with her. If you do, it’ll be undeniable.”

I’ve never told Alex this, but as someone who analyzes people whoare perfect matches for each other daily, the two of them are extremely compatible and have a high chance of matching on the app.

I was inspired by them when I designed theSoulBlendprototype. If you could find a way to make two people who are very obviously meant to be together, see it with their own eyes? And how would you prove it with data? If I could get these two to create profiles, they’d likely match so fucking quickly. It could be just what they need to stop bullshitting.

“I don’t know, man,” he says hesitantly.

“You do realize that if you don’t want her to go out with other guys, you could just ask her out?”

“I can’t ask Elena out. She’ll think I’m joking.”

“You don’t know that. Plus, if she’s looking for dates, now may be the best time to ask her. You wouldn’t want her to consider anybody but you if she went back into the pool.”

“If I download the app, can’t you just go in there and force us to match?”

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