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The TU Delft Impact Contest is organised by
Aren't you tired of the endless swiping battle with Tinder, Happen, etc.? There is a new solution! The dating app Breeze lets you immediately meet up with someone, which means no awkward chats, no ghosting, and no more swiping!
Dear Joris, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions and sharing your views. To start, can you tell us a bit about yourselves and your idea?
My name is Joris and I studied Industrial Design in Delft. I did my Masters in Strategic Design. Right now we are a group of seven people (first we were with five) who all have the same mindset: we want to be entrepreneurs and as of March 2019 we are. During our studies, we often worked together on various projects. Different ideas came to mind, and this wasn’t our first but it was our final idea. The idea about online dating occurred because of our frustrations with current dating apps. The problem with these apps is that it takes a lot of effort to meet people and very often the swiping and conversations are superficial. It is of course difficult to chat with a stranger, and often people get ghosted. These apps are focused on time spent, you have to put in the hours to find the right match. However, the app that we have developed focuses more on meeting up with someone who matches you well.
Keeping the change your app makes in mind, according to you, what is innovation?
That is an interesting question! For me, an innovation needs to have three requirements: it must be new, it must work and it must create an impact.
What is your view; is there always a better way to do things?
I believe that in fact, a lot of things can improve. The question you want to ask yourself is: when have I reached a satisfactory level? Is this enough for me? I'm convinced that our concept of Breeze can and will improve a lot in the future.
Speaking of innovation, what do you think are the characteristics of a great innovator? And why?
Don’t be afraid to start and see the bigger picture instead of the obstacles ahead. Stay realistic and have a clear goal. Hands-on mentality is very important. Tackle things right away and dare to make mistakes sometimes. I can see the above-mentioned qualities in my team.
You have explained it shortly, but how was the idea of Breeze born?
Breeze is set out to make online dating more human again. We want to encourage people to actually meet each other face to face instead of spending hours swiping and chatting on their phones. To use the modern digital possibilities, but to make the world a more human place. By making it easier for people to meet we hope to get rid of the pressure and expectations that are associated with a date, since dating should be like a Breeze. You don't have to immediately find the love of your life, instead Breeze is about the fun and thrill of meeting new people.
After a year of dealing with the app, what is it that motivates and drives you in working on this idea?
It is important to me that whatever I spend my time on, creates a good impact. I like to apply the impact on entrepreneurship. That was already the case when we started this, but it is still the case today. In the beginning, it was exciting: we set up something from nothing. Now we are growing towards investment, upscaling, and new challenges. In the future, there is a possibility that it will become so big that I am or we are not the right team for the job, but for now that is certainly not the case.
If you could go back in time and start up a company that currently exists, what would it be?
At the moment, I think Swapfiets is a very good example. In essence, it is not a difficult idea, it is easy to understand and implement. I like business model innovations myself. So innovations are based on existing products/ideas. I also think it's great that it comes from Delft. And it has a sustainable aspect: cycling is good for the environment, bicycles are constantly being repaired and reused.
How do you see yourselves and your idea in 5 years?
I think it would be great to still be working with Breeze. We hope to have organized many, many dates. We hope that a lot of new, fun encounters have taken place this way. It is also a dream to internationalize the app. Foremost, I hope that Breeze initiated our collective mindset about online dating to change: that online dating actually is aimed at initiating offline meaningful interactions.
