Link & Drinks | Seamless Networking with Silicon Valley’s Who’s Who

On a daily basis, I am asked about our ever popular “Link & Drink” networking events and when the next one is. Can you believe we have not hosted a Link & Drink in over TWO years? The reasoning is varied but the main reason is we have been so slammed with demands coming from our matchmaking and that it is left us very little room to conceptualize another fabulous soiree.

We are trend setters who have paved the way for the scene in the Silicon Valley. We don’t do things lightly at Linx and when we do another event, it will be really spectacular drawing a crowd of who’s who in the Silicon Valley and beyond. We are planning something special for May of this year.

We also will now be restricting the guest lists to invite-only and remaining firm about that. We want guests at Link & Drink to be able to add value through their respective industries, be thought leaders, and make a positive impact socially.

I am often asked if the Link & Drinks are speed date-sorts of events. The answer is definitely not! The way Link & Drinks are structured is that the main theme is professional networking yet the underlying concept is that many guests happen to be on the market and searching for the love of their life. The pressure is off at Link & Drinks and the atmosphere is super friendly with connections being made right and left.

One of the notable facts about Link & Drinks is that people really do connect. We have had entrepreneurs link up with angel investors for seed deals, CEOs from competitive firms shake hands cordially, Stanford MBA students land interviews, new friendships born, old friends reunite, and of course love connections happen. In fact, engagements and marriages have come out of our Link & Drinks.

If you would like to be considered a guest for our upcoming invite only Link & Drink in May 2014 (exact date TBD) please send me an email at amy@linxdating.com and tell me a bit about your professional background, age, and how you could add value to our VIP mixer.

The Pros and Cons of Online Dating

I‘m often asked if my clients should continue with online dating when they start their Linx memberships. If yes, what I feel is the biggest drawback to trying to find love on the Internet?

The biggest challenges are twofold – (1) the labor and time involved sifting through thousands of profiles; and (2) unverified information.

At the end of the day it is exhausting to have to sort through all of these profiles and to deal with the long, drawn out communication process of winks, emails, nudges, pokes, etc. But I think the bigger challenge is the fabrication of information on the site – you might be entering the online market with honest intentions of wanting to couple up and reach monogamy for the long term but you have no idea who is really on the other side.

It can be extremely disappointing not having the data and true insights into the person with whom you are communicating online and potentially to then meet in person. Is he/she as commitment minded as you or is he/she on the site to just “hook up” and be “super causal” where “sex is so easy” to get?

Online has helped create awareness for an offline, old world business like Linx but, on the other hand, it has caused people a lot of stress from the labor involved, fabrication of user profiles, no authenticating “who is who”, and often feeling online chemistry but offline when you meet is a whole other story.

At Linx, I personally get to know every new client and sit down with each member really delving deep so I can best help him/her…..at this stage in the game I’ve met thousands of people.

This week alone I have interviewed fascinating men and women (a venerable Silicon Valley techie, CEOs, and many other hard working dynamic types- in fact I am hoping to do a new blog entry about the SV legend asap). Something online cannot necessarily predict is chemistry. I understand human behavior and what makes two people mesh. Clients who have been doing a lot of high volume driven matchmaking online find the Linx approach and methodology particularly appealing and extremely personalized. This is after all about SLOWING DOWN and focusing on one extremely solid match at a time. I emphasize slowing down!

With the obvious perils into the world of online, I WOULD encourage you to keep your profiles up BUT the absolute key is to evaluate IF you have been getting the traction you desire. Are the “right” types for you landing in your inbox and if not, you should strongly consider doing a massive profile rewire to reboot yourself towards success.

We offer a lot of assistant as one of our many auxiliary services for clients at Linx to provide powerful insights into online dating. What will attract the man of your dreams and how do you hook them? What is a turn-off to women and a turn-on with profiles? Once you discover lots of emails in your inbox, what next? How to bridge online into real-life dating?

Amy Webb did a hilarious Ted Talk about hacking OK Cupid. The takeaway from her TED talk is that there is an algorithm for love, in fact it is something you write yourself. All you really have to do is figure out your ‘own’ framework and play by your own rules. Enjoy her talk below…insightful, funny, and provocative.