Linx Featured on The Tim Ferriss Experiment

You all know Tim Ferriss– the best selling author (amongst a sea of other ventures of his) of The Four-Hour Workweek…well just this week he finally got the digital rights to his TV show, The Tim Ferriss Experiment.

Linx is thrilled to be part of it and had a ton of fun filming with him. Think of the show as Mythbusters meets Jason Bourne- pretty cool. It was filmed and edited by the Emmy award-winning team behind Anthony Bourdain (Zero Point Zero).

In each episode of The Tim Ferriss Experiment (#TFX), he partners with the world’s best teachers (Laird Hamilton, Stewart Copeland, Neil Strauss, Tim O’Neil, yours truly.), who train him and give him the skills to master a certain topic. Linx is featured in Episode 14 called “The Dating Game.”

In this episode, he deconstructs the process of dating by making the qualitative, quantitative. Over the next five days, he takes the arduous goal of finding a date and makes it measurable by test driving three VERY different approaching to finding his match: a) hacking through the world of online dating with Samy Kamkar b) working the art of pick-up with Neil Strauss and c) high caliber, high stakes offline matchmaking with Linx Dating.

I spent an afternoon with Tim (a day after I got back from Hong Kong no less…no jet lag at all lol) and grilled him about his type of girl. One of my favorite parts was when he told me how important a females rib cage is…no joke…you gotta watch for yourself to see why! Of course I did a LOT of prep work ahead of filming to get an idea of “his type” and then work on a real actual match. I figured out THE perfect girl for Tim- brains meets beauty meets super down-to-earth…and most importantly (in my opinion) a total firecracker! A match to keep a guy like Tim (who runs at 600 horsepower) on his toes- and then some!

After filming at my office, Tim hosted a cocktail party at Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco where he used his three dating methods to invite at least three women. My pick for him, Emily, was a great sport and even danced with Tim at the cocktail party. In the end, which of the three methods worked best? Online which tends to be very high volume and potentially low yield, or the art of pick-up which is medium volume and medium yield, or matchmaking which is low volume, high yield. Tim said, it’s not a question of which method is better, instead…it’s a question of which method is better for you. It all depends on where you’re at in your life, how much time you have, how much money you have, you chose the right tool for the job. And that’s a wrap.

With Neil Strauss author of the New York Times bestseller The Game

Linx on NPR Today | Playing matchmaker in Silicon Valley

Call Me….Maybe?

The timing of when a man calls to ask you out can indicate so much about how he feels about seeing you, and where he thinks the two of you are potentially headed. I am a big believer that carefully managing the early stages of dating is critical in establishing a pathway towards the relationship you have dreamt of.

I recall having many highs and lows during my single years while looking for my match; in my constant struggle to understand “boy world,” I noticed a familiar pattern surface around when guys I was dating would call me. This new awareness led to great clarity and insight that really helped me figure out my confusing dating life.

Every woman – regardless of age – should strive to be part of a man’s coveted A List… aka his “Dream Team” bucket. Being on this “it” list means a man is in hot pursuit of you, and it can be incredibly empowering and reassuring to know he’s so interested. A guy this engaged might actually call you on Monday to ask you out for a proper Saturday date. In doing so he is making the effort to plan, to think ahead, to get on your calendar, and to recognize that you have a busy life and are a girl in demand! Saturday dates signal something more serious- especially those that are reserved in advance! Ask yourself, are you on his dream team?

Another scenario is when a man calls (or texts…let’s hope he is not texting to ask you out) on a Thursday for a Friday or Saturday date. This guy has most likely a) been clocking long hours at work and is living in a state of delirium so it is unclear if he has legitimate time for a relationship, or b) is dating multiple girls and his A-Lister just cancelled on him, so you are simply on his back-up B, C, or D-List. We all know B-list, C-list, and D-list actors…those who have never made it to the top of the heap. If you were an actor in Hollywood, would you be ok being placed on the same level as “that guy” or “that girl” whose name you can’t really place but know you’ve seen in some film? Wouldn’t you want to aim to do what it takes to be a bankable star? The same principle applies to dating.

Ladies, wake up and check yourself. I want you to put yourself on the A-List today and believe that you should and can be on any man’s dream team and hot list.

If a man calls you on a Thurs for a Friday or Saturday date, remember my advice and make a hard decision about whether or not you want to go out. You can take a bold stand and turn him down and politely share that you’d prefer the following Saturday. If he is serious about you, he will listen and comply. If he is wading around in the kiddie pool and is not serious with his intentions, move on. Remember to not reprimand him for not calling sooner or being so unavailable; that always turns a man off. Follow your intuition, but be courteous and lady-like when you do.

Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure that at some point we have all agreed to the offer above, and have compounded that mistake by clearing our schedules way too soon in the hope that this guy could be Mr. Right. No no no! Stop in your tracks. Do not go there! Most men (especially Linx guys) find it incredibly desirable to find a woman who has an active and busy schedule filled with many activities, hobbies, friends, travel, and fun. This signals she has a great, happy life… the sort of life that he might eventually like to share one day!

One final scenario to which I don’t want you to fall victim is (I admit I might have given in one or two times to this “play” bucket) the “booty call.” You know what this is like… you know all about the sneaky guys who text you after you’ve come home for the night with some cute little emoticon and a “hey girl… watcha up to?” Or maybe “would heart to see you.” You and I both know nothing good comes from this other than some fun play and romping around in the sheets. I suppose… if you’re needing a little something-something… then go ahead. But just know that chances are very slim that he’s ever going to be kneeling down in the future and asking for your hand in marriage. Instead, you might be doing the solo walk-o-shame down Chestnut Street in smeared make-up and his baggy sweatshirt (if you’re lucky). We’ve all seen that person. Do you want to be that person? Do you want to be the C- or D-list actress who probably isn’t going to get the starring role? NO! You do NOT!

So ladies, I implore you to start tuning in to when a man calls, and become extra aware of the motivations for this. And for any men who are reading, we do appreciate when you call! And ultimately (despite some of the mixed signals you’ve probably gotten from us girls) we love it when you court us and behave like gentlemen. We applaud and value that sort of courtesy and chivalry… and we look forward to your next call.

Summer Solstice Party | June 21st

Want to meet and mingle in the heart of Silicon Valley? Quattro at the Four Seasons Palo Alto is having a Summer Solstice Party not to be missed on June 21st from 8:33pm (sunset) to 10:30pm.

The Four Seasons has created a special promo for readers of the Linx blog. Mention “Linx” when making your reservation and receive $10 off your entrance fee. For details check out this link.

To RSVP call (650) 566-1200

Most Eligible Bachelors in Silicon Valley

Linx is featured in Entrepreneur.com today and we thought it would be fun to share on the blog this must read bachelor list!

By: Tanya Benedicto Klich

It may be the epicenter of innovation, but Silicon Valley is also teeming with smart, wealthy bachelors. As her Menlo Park, Calif.-based matchmaking service Linx Dating has grown over the last decade, Amy Andersen says she has gained unprecedented access to the “finest caliber of singles… in an area that is already a bubble of the best and the brightest.”

While she wouldn’t reveal Linx’s hottest clients for confidentiality reasons, she tapped her deep local network and social circles to round up the most eligible bachelors in the tech metro. Read the embedded dating expert’s commentary on why these dashing men are the most sought-after suitors of Silicon Valley:

JEREMY STOPPELMAN Image credit: jdlasica via Flickr

Andersen: “This Yelp co-founder and Harvard Business School graduate is a five-star catch as far as I’m concerned. Given his love for reading non-fiction, I think this guy might be ready for a bit of true romance.”

DYLAN SMITH Image credit: box.com

Andersen: “This Box CFO might be a former Duke Blue Devil, but he looks like a complete sweetheart. I also spot him fairly often in my neighborhood, and he literally is the cute ‘boy next door.”

JOE LONSDALE Image credit: TechCrunch via Flickr

Andersen: “A local Bay Area native and Stanford grad, Joe certainly made good as the co-founder of Palantir. These days, he appears to be more interested in media than in finance and defense, but surely this former chess champion knows that every King is vulnerable without the love of a strong Queen.”

BEN RATTRAY Image credit: personaldemocracy via Flickr

Andersen: “The handsome CEO of Change.org is definitely empowering all of us to be the change we want to see in the world, but I hear that he claims to not have the time to invest in a relationship. Where do I start a petition to change that?”

MATT MULLENWEG Image credit: Silicon Prairie News via Flickr

Andersen: “I hear this Texas-born bachelor and founder of WordPress claims to be married to his work, but it’s hard to believe that this soulful saxophonist isn’t looking to jazz up his personal life. My comment for this famous blogger? Find a lady love to occupy those lips of yours, and make your work your mistress.”

SERGEY BRIN Image credit: Thomas Hawk via Flickr

Andersen: “My sources tell me that this brilliant billionaire is back on the market. I’d like to see him find happiness, but when it comes to dating he needs to leave his infamous tech specs at home; a woman wants to look into a man’s eyes on a date, not into the transparent screen of his wearable computer Google Glass.”

TIM COOK Image credit: igrec via Flickr

Andersen: “It’s hard to think of a job more high profile than being the CEO of Apple, and yet Tim Cook is one of the most private men I can think of. I’d like to see him step away from work just a little bit, and find a partner to call his own.”

VIVEK & ANEEL RANADIVE Image credit: Aneel Ranadive via Twitter

Andersen: “Between the two of them, this father and son duo has degrees from Columbia, Harvard, and MIT. They also hold a significant stake in the Sacramento Kings, so we know these tech magnates understand the importance of being more than ‘all work and no play.’ Good looks and great minds definitely run in the family, so I think finding love for these two should be a slam dunk.”

JACK DORSEY Image credit: jdlasica via Flickr

Andersen: “The St. Louis-born, NYU-educated founder of Twitter has kept his Midwestern charm and Manhattan style, but I’d love to see him settle down and grow some real West Coast roots. I just hope his love letters include more than 140 characters.”

This week at Linx and Out-N-About

Another busy week here at Linx. We are gearing up for a huge week next week with a zillion fab candidates meetings seeing if they have what is takes to meet some of our clients. As we only have 20 minutes or so with each candidate, we need to come up with some super targeted questions to quickly capture if they have that secret sauce that makes up our next sort of Linx member.

I‘ve helped some clients out who are in tough situations this week. One in particular where her Linx beau is under a lot of stress. His stress is causing their relationship a lot of friction and it is definitely putting significant tension on it. We discussed how to remedy this in an effective manner. They’ve been together a long time now and are a beautiful match that is absolutely meant to be. I feel this “test” of the relationship will only make them so much stronger in a marriage. No relationship is perfect. Everyone experiences crap. It is how you deal with it, talk openly and honestly about it, and manage to get past it as a couple. Don’t bottle things up. At some point you are bound to “boil over.”

We screened a great candidate yesterday and are conducting interviews today. One guy and one female. Just found out about another super successful Linx match. Both relate to one another as they each have children. The children and commonality of shared background are the necessarily pillars that cement this sort of potential relationship. Some people who have kids feel very unsure of how or when to bring up such an important part of their lives in the dating game, especially if their match doesn’t have kid(s). This sort of makes this extraordinarily easy from the start. They both “get” it and “understand” one another. The trials, joys, happiness, frustrations, and responsibilities that make up being a parent.  

We love how clients transform at Linx. Today we interviewed a young software engineer who is quirky, intelligent and came to Linx to help him progress with his dating life. When he initially came into the office for his screening, we felt he needed some date coaching and he agreed. 

Fresh gorgeous flowers this week at Linx. 

When we first met him he could hardly even calm his nerves being in female company. He was struggling noticeably trying to focus on our meeting.  Since then we have really helped our new client on several other occasions for date coaching. His transformation has just been amazing. What we admire so much about him is his commitment to self-improvement. He wants to find the right girl and wants to fall in love. After date coaching we decided the next natural step was to become a client.

Seeing him today was like meeting an entirely different person! He was so relaxed, at ease and just so excited to get out there and start dating! I can’t say enough how excited I am for him and so proud of his willingness to take these steps in learning more about himself and being prepared to date. The only thing left is a little wardrobe consultation we’ve set up for him next week and then he’s all set! Way to go!

We continue to get a boat load of girls submitting information to meet VIPs. Just tonight alone, my inbox is flooding. Men of Silicon Valley and beyond do you hear that? To the single gentlemen out there, email us! Linx is a hotbed of incredible, high caliber members.

Random topic. So tonight after work, I ran to Staples in Menlo Park off of El Camino. I make mental notes of crappy customer service in life and those folks who really “go the extra mile” when shopping. I’d like to give a shout out to the hard working guys at Staples. Thank you for helping me tonight! I brought in a paper shredder (yep we are big into shredding documents at Linx as you can imagine!) that failed on me today and started making terrible noises and then went kaputt on me. I rushed over there to exchange it and one of the operations managers at Staples took time to repair it on site for me. He plugged it in, he somehow managed to pull the stuck papers out of it like the incredible hulk and then cleaned it out. Who does that…especially when he could of pressured me to just buy a new one for $59.99?!

Another manager raced around the store looking for these special clear folders that we are obsessive about in the office. These folders store Linx client information neatly and after many attempts, I simply couldn’t find them. I asked for help and this manager came to the rescue. He couldn’t find the ones I needed but did manage to find a style that was a close runner up. Only caveat is the packet was rainbow colored and I needed all clear. When I expressed my disdain to this runner up being multi-colored, he literally took it upon himself to open many multi-color packets in order to remove the one clear folder in each 6 pack. Who does that? Thanks Staples for being so helpful!

It reminds me of the times when there is absolutely no customer service. There’s one women’s clothing boutique on Chestnut Street in MP that gave me the utter heebie jeebies with hands down poor service. I had never been in there and a best friend of mine always raves about it. Randomly a few weeks ago I walked in and I was the only one in the little high-end ladies boutique. Not a single customer but me. The lady at the cash register looked me up, looked me down (yeah ok… ok, I was in my workout gear and hadn’t planned to shop) and she didn’t say a peep. I looked at the price tag on some of the items, 1K fur bolero, 2K this, 4K purse. I was thinking, child, in this economy AND with online shopping so totally efficient, you best be friendly to those who enter your store. I have no time or interest in thus I will not return there. Or the one time….(no no, not at band camp) in Palo Alto 4 (yep 4) of the sales girls were TRYING ON CLOTHES and parading around admiring themselves in the mirror. Really? Eeek. Not good. So I like to acknowledge those special folks like my new friends at Staples who stand out from the crowd!

Marshall….the Linx mascot…can this boy be any cuter? Marshall is going to be passing out special puppy Valentines to his best guy and girlfriends at the puppy park soon and mommy is making his friends pumpkin and peanut butter homemade biscuits as Valentine gifts. Yeah I know, I’m totally obsessed!