Eventually relocate to Pune India ... I'm going to guess that the set of female PhD Psychologists willing to move to Pune India is pretty small. And to work on a dating site?
A couple comments about the job posting. It seems pretty informal considering you're looking for a PhD co-founder. I like the idea that solving the loneliness problem might have trickle-down effects on the condition of the human race (who's going to argue against more happiness?) but I also think you're going to need some specifics regarding why your dating service will work.
Maybe this will get some nibbles and I hope you let us know if it worked!
I have experienced the re-location just now. It would be extremely foolish of me to expect someone well entrenched in her job to leave it and re-locate to my country.
This was primarily meant for people of my country living abroad, who might be looking forward to an opportunity to come back to their country.
If you have any specific questions regarding this do let me know, I'd answer them.
Depends on the laws of the specific country; this job seems to be located in India.
It also depends on the requirements of the job. If the job was to model women's clothing or to play a male role in a film, it would probably be legal in the U.S. For the job being advertised, it would probably be illegal in the U.S.
The argument for allowing it would be that for a dating app aimed at arranging heterosexual dates to be successful, it has to attract both male and female customers.
Attracting males to dating sites is generally not a problem, but attracting females can be difficult. Having a female co-founder will make it easier to convince women that the app was designed with the dating needs of women in mind, and won't be just another place to get fixed up with creepy men.
It would still probably be a hard argument to make with the EEOC. I could see it going either way.
I wonder if it makes a difference that this is for a co-founder position. Doesn't that imply that the company has not yet formed? If so, do anti-discrimination employment laws even apply?
"Full-time paid position" was advertised as many times people say/advertise that co-founder would receive substantial equity but would have to work without any financial remuneration for some time.
It is not like this here. You might be a co-founer but equity in a startup would not pay your bills, right?
For a genuine cofounder position, I don't believe anti-discrimination laws apply; the members or directors of a company don't have an employer-employee relationship.
I've talked to people (read: lawyers, but casually) about this and haven't really gotten a clear answer.
I'm similarly interested in whether anti-discrimination laws apply to venture capital investment, given that it's clearly not unlawful for me to opt out of investing in the stocks of e.g. companies with female CEOs.
I do not think it is illegal in my country, but I do not think it is ethical to do so, unless it warrants so.
Unless Iunderstand a woman's point of view and thoughts regarding dating and meeting people, this stuff would not move an iota.
So I need only a woman co-founder.
Of all the innumerable dating apps in this world, probably only 1 or 2 would have a woman founder/ co-founder and that is the reason why you see all the apps men-centric.
- Did you have another person proofread this for you?
- Why should she relocate to Pune, India? Why shouldn't you relocate?
- How did you come to the conclusion that the world lacks dating apps?
- How are you flexible on the skill-set you need from a cofounder but not on the name of the app?
You're trying to get someone with a Masters (or PhD) in Psychology. She's got good prospects wherever she already lives. I don't see an appreciation for that in this post calling for a woman cofounder, especially given the finder's fee, which I would describe as "nominal".
I'm not saying all of this just to put you down; if you're going down the entrepreneurial path, you're going to be seeking investment from VCs and others who will judge you critically. This isn't a learning exercise for them - it's their wealth, and they want to grow it. They're not inclined to cut you slack and ignore your oversights (e.g. "nulcear"), no matter how trivial. Certainly they'll expect compelling answers to the big questions (including but not limited to the ones I asked at the outset).
1) Since the posting of this blog, I have edited the blog post and now it is a bit sane. I admit it was extremely lousy earlier.
2) Please do not take this re-location post as a sexist comment, where I want to get the other person re-locate and I do not want myself to do so.It is not like that. This post is primarily meant for Indians living abroad and looking for an opportunity to come back to India. Thats it.
I apologise, if it meant anything else to you. It was not supposed to be.
3) There is no dearth of dating apps, but trust me all of them are bitterly broken, because I have used a lot of them.
4) Well, I removed the flexibility part of education, for my co-founder. I believe I definitely need someone who is a Psychology major and is a woman. I wrote name has been decided, but that does not mean, that I was not willing to re-consider it, if something better comes.
Finder's fees is nominal because, that is what I can afford after failing for 3 years and 9 months as a founder.
Well, I am open to all questions, and if you have something specific to ask, I'd be glad to answer them as well.
13 comments
[ 1.9 ms ] story [ 38.0 ms ] threadA couple comments about the job posting. It seems pretty informal considering you're looking for a PhD co-founder. I like the idea that solving the loneliness problem might have trickle-down effects on the condition of the human race (who's going to argue against more happiness?) but I also think you're going to need some specifics regarding why your dating service will work.
Maybe this will get some nibbles and I hope you let us know if it worked!
Good luck
I have experienced the re-location just now. It would be extremely foolish of me to expect someone well entrenched in her job to leave it and re-locate to my country.
This was primarily meant for people of my country living abroad, who might be looking forward to an opportunity to come back to their country.
If you have any specific questions regarding this do let me know, I'd answer them.
Thanks !
It also depends on the requirements of the job. If the job was to model women's clothing or to play a male role in a film, it would probably be legal in the U.S. For the job being advertised, it would probably be illegal in the U.S.
Attracting males to dating sites is generally not a problem, but attracting females can be difficult. Having a female co-founder will make it easier to convince women that the app was designed with the dating needs of women in mind, and won't be just another place to get fixed up with creepy men.
It would still probably be a hard argument to make with the EEOC. I could see it going either way.
I wonder if it makes a difference that this is for a co-founder position. Doesn't that imply that the company has not yet formed? If so, do anti-discrimination employment laws even apply?
The ad says "This is a full-time paid position", which makes it sound more like an employee position than an actual co-founder.
It is not like this here. You might be a co-founer but equity in a startup would not pay your bills, right?
We already have a registered entitiy/company. I have failed in 2 ventures in past 3 years and 9 months of my entreprenurial journey.
I've talked to people (read: lawyers, but casually) about this and haven't really gotten a clear answer.
I'm similarly interested in whether anti-discrimination laws apply to venture capital investment, given that it's clearly not unlawful for me to opt out of investing in the stocks of e.g. companies with female CEOs.
I do not think it is illegal in my country, but I do not think it is ethical to do so, unless it warrants so.
Unless Iunderstand a woman's point of view and thoughts regarding dating and meeting people, this stuff would not move an iota.
So I need only a woman co-founder.
Of all the innumerable dating apps in this world, probably only 1 or 2 would have a woman founder/ co-founder and that is the reason why you see all the apps men-centric.
- Did you have another person proofread this for you?
- Why should she relocate to Pune, India? Why shouldn't you relocate?
- How did you come to the conclusion that the world lacks dating apps?
- How are you flexible on the skill-set you need from a cofounder but not on the name of the app?
You're trying to get someone with a Masters (or PhD) in Psychology. She's got good prospects wherever she already lives. I don't see an appreciation for that in this post calling for a woman cofounder, especially given the finder's fee, which I would describe as "nominal".
I'm not saying all of this just to put you down; if you're going down the entrepreneurial path, you're going to be seeking investment from VCs and others who will judge you critically. This isn't a learning exercise for them - it's their wealth, and they want to grow it. They're not inclined to cut you slack and ignore your oversights (e.g. "nulcear"), no matter how trivial. Certainly they'll expect compelling answers to the big questions (including but not limited to the ones I asked at the outset).
1) Since the posting of this blog, I have edited the blog post and now it is a bit sane. I admit it was extremely lousy earlier.
2) Please do not take this re-location post as a sexist comment, where I want to get the other person re-locate and I do not want myself to do so.It is not like that. This post is primarily meant for Indians living abroad and looking for an opportunity to come back to India. Thats it. I apologise, if it meant anything else to you. It was not supposed to be.
3) There is no dearth of dating apps, but trust me all of them are bitterly broken, because I have used a lot of them.
4) Well, I removed the flexibility part of education, for my co-founder. I believe I definitely need someone who is a Psychology major and is a woman. I wrote name has been decided, but that does not mean, that I was not willing to re-consider it, if something better comes.
Finder's fees is nominal because, that is what I can afford after failing for 3 years and 9 months as a founder.
Well, I am open to all questions, and if you have something specific to ask, I'd be glad to answer them as well.
Thanks for writing in, it means a lot.
Cheers!