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The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Quick Pitch: Hitch.me is a dating site for LinkedIn professionals.
Genius Idea: Connects the dating world and the professional world for a secure, safe online dating platform.
After noticing how unsafe some online dating sites are and how many are filled with scammers and sex offenders, Naveed Nadir wanted to fill a void in the online dating world. He decided to marry the dating world and professional world by creating Hitch.me, the first and only dating platform for LinkedIn professionals.
"There are a lot of dating websites out there but most people on those sites lie and have fake profiles," Naveed Nadir, founder of Hitch.me, told Mashable. "With LinkedIn, people get a sense of security and they feel more comfortable with the network."
The online dating site lets users browse through profiles of hundreds of LinkedIn professionals all over the world, send them private smiles (without words), pitches (250 characters) and even presentations (private images and videos).
Once you sign into Hitch.me using your LinkedIn account, your professional information, including your LinkedIn photo, is automatically added to your profile. To keep the site professional, users cannot change or modify their profile photo.
Users can then fill out their own personal profile, which includes information such as age, date of birth, interests, photos, etc. Hitch.me's privacy options lets users limit the visibility of their personal profiles to only selected individuals.
To save you the hassle of searching for compatible users, Hitch.me shows you all of your matches with their professional and personal profiles on your own dashboard.
Although Hitch.me does not charge a monthly fee, credits are required to view personal profiles and send messages. Users receive 200 free credits upon signing up and 100 credits per each person that signs up by clicking on a shared link that users can post to their social networks.
Thereafter, credits cost $10 for 300, $25 for 1,000 and $50 for 2,500. Once you pay via credit card, a receipt is sent to your email and you obtain full access to browse professional and personal profiles and send messages.
Twenty credits are required to unlock a profile or send a smile, 50 to send a pitch and 100 to send a presentation.
"The intent is to keep Hitch.me professional and to make it as private and secure as possible," says Nadir.
Hitch.me is self-funded and has officially launched Thursday.
Image courtesy of iStock, dizign54
Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
More About: bizspark, dating, dating sites, Hitch.me, linkedin, online dating
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