Coffee Meets Bagel hosted a singles' pitch night in Singapore in October.
Coffee Meets Bagel
I attended a pitch night for singles, filled with corporate millennials looking for "the one."The event featured pie charts, SWOT analyses, LinkedIn screenshots, and heartwarming speeches.While I spent a large chunk of the night cringing, it was a good reminder of why offline connections matter.
When I received an invite to listen to 30 elevator dating pitches in one evening, I thought I was a goner. But I had a blast.
Last month, I, along with more than 120 corporate singles, attended an event described as "Shark Tank, but friendly."
Interested singles could either pitch themselves as an ideal partner or have a friend pitch them via a 2-minute PowerPoint presentation.
The offline dating event was organized by Coffee Meets Bagel and Fishbowl, a local events company.
Shn Juay, CMB's CEO, told me, "Our community is made up of professionals, so we thought, why not take something familiar like a pitch event, and give it a dating spin?"
I sat on the sidelines, laughing at bad jokes, cheering after heartwarming pitches, and taking sips of my drink to hide some bouts of secondhand embarrassment.
Participants I spoke to said they were tired of using dating apps and came to the event looking to meet someone organically. While I didn't see many soulmates in the making that night, I spotted a few friendship sparks flying.
A warm and cozy space
About 120 people participated in the pitch night
Coffee Meets Bagel
The event venue, situated in the heart of Singapore's central business district, was crowded when I arrived.
The participants, between 25 and 44 years old, were dressed to impress but not to stand out — think jeans, polos, dressy blouses, and neutral colors.
Some people stuck to their friends, while I could see others trying to make small talk hesitantly.
As I settled into a high seat, I was immediately pulled into a conversation with a group of women sitting around me. Within minutes, I knew all of their dating histories — and most were bleak.
The basics: no laptop use and stick to the time
There were ground rules to the pitch night — stick to a 2-minute pitch, and be respectful.
Coffee Meets Bagel
The first rule of the nightwas to be respectful: "no heckling, no jeering, no catcalling."
And secondly, don't bore the crowd with a pitch longer than two minutes. The host had a stopwatch, and she prompted people when they had 30 seconds left.
A pie chart and SWOT analyses galore
It was a pie chart and SWOT analysis galore.
Coffee Meets Bagel
People brought their A-game when pitching their friends. Several came up with campaign slogans, touted their cooking or photography skills, and made the crowd groan with lame but endearing jokes.
The crowd skewed more millennial than Gen Z — half of them were in their 30s, per CMB, and showcased their very millennial interests. My new friends and I decided to take a sip of our drinks every time someone said they liked hiking or traveling to Japan.
They also took the pitch in pitch night seriously, with pie charts and SWOT analyses of their friends.
Credentials took center stage in status-obsessed Singapore, with screenshots of stacked LinkedIn profiles, startup pitches, and small business plugs.
It wasn't all hype. A 44-year-old woman said she had signed up for the event to get over her stage fright, which drew a loud round of applause from the crowd.
My favorite moment was when two men vouched for their friend, Ben, and ended their pitch with the slogan, "Get more Ben for your buck!"
Another womandeclared, "I would like an orgasm before I die," which made me die a little inside.
The corporates yearn for offline dating
People brought their A-game when pitching their friends.
Coffee Meets Bagel
Juay, CMB's CEO, said that the event was an attempt to create a space for offline dating.
"Even though we're a dating app, we've always believed that real connections happen offline," she said. "This event was our way of creating more spaces for that to happen, and we're excited to keep experimenting with new ways to make dating more intentional, real, and a lot more fun."
One of the participants, Adlin Jaya, came with her work bestie. She told me she was looking for a night out and to make new friends.
"Being a critical care nurse, we rarely get nights out like these, so when the opportunity came, we thought it'd be fun," Jaya, 29, told me.
She said she had tried dating apps, but they hadn't worked for her — she confessed to being a poor texter— and she disliked the men she had talked to on the apps.
"I'd love to meet someone in person. It's easier to suss out vibes," she said. She added that she was "awfully introverted," and putting herself out there in a roomful of strangers was like exposure therapy.
Romantic or not, bonds were formed
It was an evening of laughter, secondhand embarrassment, and many platonic bonds.
Coffee Meets Bagel
I saw more platonic friendships being forged at the event than romantic ones, with groups of women banding together and shoring each other up with affirmations.
When I left the event, heart full from a night of laughing with new friends, Iremembered how important in-person events are.
When the 9-6 corporate grind reigns supreme, daters face swipe fatigue, and there are limited opportunities for a "meet-cute," CMB's pitch night was a breath of fresh air.
While I didn't see any happy couples by the end of the night, it was a good start.
