Indian Matchmaking Season 3 is a bit different from other seasons as Sima Taparia shares the screen with other matchmakers. She meets a few members of this new generation at the beginning of Episode 2. They are KJ Dhaliwal, the founder of dating site Dil Mil; Sunil Hiranandani, founder of bespoke dating service Sirf Coffee; and Adeem Younis, who created SingleMuslim.com. They talk about how they got into the dating/matchmaking scene because they, or their relatives, were having trouble getting hitched. But mostly, they do what Sima does throughout this season and share horror stories about how exacting their clients are. It’s another scene hammering home Sima’s point that you’re never going to get 100% of what you want. Compromise is key. However, at least these guys have technology on their side and slightly more modern outlooks. Let’s log on for Indian Matchmaking: Meet The Dating App Founders.
Indian Matchmaking: Meet The Dating App Founders- All About Their Websites
Dating app founder Sunil Hiranandani (Netflix).
KJ’s Dil Mil app boasts 20 million+ matches, an ongoing horoscope matcher and ongoing blogposts with dating tips. The “Our Story” section shows that the app is 5 years old and based out of San Francisco. “Dil Mil”, roughly translated from Urdu, means “have a heart,” and was acquired by dating.com in 2019. The site is for South Asians only, and their VIP Elite profile boost will run you $16.67 USD per month for 12 months. Pretty cheap compared to Sima’s fees. Sunil’s Sirf Coffee is a lot more personalized and bespoke, with only 10,000 members. They operate in 27 cities around the globe and offer a much more Sima Aunty-style approach with profile matching done for you. Sirf Coffee performs in-depth interviews with their clients and try to get a sense of values and personal experiences.
They are the most expensive option, with a basic 4-month/4-date plan for $600 USD. Their most expensive 18-month package starts at $1800 plus a $4,200 success fee, for more “discerning clients.” Finally we have SingleMuslim.com, the smallest of the three sites with 2 million+ matches, but the least expensive with 12 months costing $150 US. They host speed-dating events, but the most recent event was in February 2022. They describe themselves as “a marriage site, not a dating site” and many of their promo article boast about a very quick first meeting to marriage turnover rate.
Indian Matchmaking: Meet The Dating App Founders — Who Are The Founders?
KJ is part of a $1.6B+ venture capital firm focused on data science known as Tribe Capital. According to KJ’s IG, he is very passionate about AI and has a big sister, Dr. Varinder Dhaliwal Brar. According to KJ’s LinkedIn, he has an extensive background in finance and wealth management. KJ graduated from Drexel University in Philadelphia and was born on August 15, 1992 in Punjab, India, making him 30 years-old.
Sunil actually met his wife Shalini on Sirf Coffee, and he reveals in this interview that they have two children. Like KJ, he was born in India, but has spent time living in the UK, the Middle East, Thailand, California and NYC. He is a graduate of Thailand’s NIST International School and California’s Whittier College. He is assisted at Sirf Coffee (“sirf” means “just”, so, “just coffee” that leads to something else) by his COO sister, Naina.
Adeem started out working in a UK pizza place and built his first business from an office above the pizzeria. He now has his own disaster relief charity, Penny Appeal, and a Muslim crowdfunding website, SalaamGiving. Although he has been suspended from Penny Appeal in 2019, he was reinstated the following year. He’s also been in contact with UK authorities after a couple who met on SingleMuslim.com planned a terror attack together. Adeem was born on October 17, 1980, and says he is married to a GP, but doesn’t give her name.
While Indian Matchmaking is very much the Sima Aunty show, it’s good to see other faces in the Indian Matchmaking scene. It looks like Sima Taparia took inspiration from these dating app entrepreneurs, she’s now creating her own dating app.
