The Scottsdale-based dating website LoveFilter held a launch party this month to celebrate its new service for singles as it forges ahead to try to live up to its motto “the only complete relationship site.”
The matching service for singles is currently only available as a beta service to Arizona residents, but LoveFilter will eventually expand the service nationwide, as it has done with its service for couples.
LoveFilter was born as a kind of marriage therapy website where couples could work to strengthen their relationship no matter where they were physically located. Company founder Tony Doran said he thought of the idea after he and his wife sought counseling, which was not convenient given that he worked on the opposite side of town from his wife.
Doran said he and his wife first sought counseling because he felt his relationship was not going as well as it could. He did not think it was going poorly, he said, but he knew people who were getting divorced and it affected how he thought about his own marriage.
“Things weren’t horrible, but they were pretty plain, if you will,” Doran said. “I just thought ‘there’s gotta be a better option than throwing in the towel.’”
The couple ended up meeting with psychotherapist and self-help author Dr. Tina Tessina, which inspired Doran to create what would become LoveFilter.
“What we wound up coming up with is combining technology and Ph.D. designed resources for couples,” Doran said.
The website starts with having customers take a survey that matches individuals or finds “friction points” between people already in a relationship. Other services include events, courses and coaching. Courses start at $4.99 and coaching at $99 per hour.
Doran said the coaching price is still lower than the $150 to $200 price range he saw when he looked into marriage counseling. Doran is confident, though, that he is offering a product that is of greater value for a lower price.
“I think [LoveFilter is] not only a full substitute [for conventional marriage counseling], but a full substitute with other options,” he said.
As LoveFilter expands to include matching single people, Doran is aware of the steep competition. He said eHarmony is probably the closest among other services to what LoveFilter does, but his service focuses more on long-term compatibility. eHarmony would no doubt take exception to that depiction, but LoveFilter does seem to be unique in focusing on activities couples can do together to keep a relationship fresh.
Adding a service for singles is another step in building a website for people in any stage of a relationship. The site identified different stages over the “lifetime” of a relationship, though not everyone goes through every stage.
Doran said after the trial run in Arizona, he plans on expanding the new service to California, where he spends half his time as a Bay Area resident.
The LoveFilter singles service comes with a free 30-day trial, which Doran said might be extended depending on the success of the beta.
Learn more about LoveFilter
Photos courtesy of LoveFilter
