Never Heard of “Pitch-A-Friend” Before? Here’s the Gist.

I always like to give credit where credit is due so, before getting into what Pitch-A-Friend is, from what I’ve read and researched, you can thank Lucas Chaufournie (the founder of Seattle Social Club) for the initial concept and then Melissa Schipke and Ariana Brogan for seeing it on social media and giving it legs to the point where the concept is now an official platform that hosts events all over the country (and even some places that are outside of the US).

Full backstory: When Lucas first started this idea, folks would be given a few minutes to literally pitch their friend to individuals who were hanging out at local bars and breweries. Basically, they had a few moments to share why they thought their friend would be an awesome individual to date.

As Pitch-A-Friend got more sophisticated, people started doing PowerPoint presentations of their friends and the details got a bit more specific (like sharing what someone’s religious and/or political views may be as an example). In my mind, it sounds like speed dating, only with pitch decks and someone who is your wingman/wingwoman in the form of a hype man/hype woman presenting them —and yeah, on some levels, that actually sounds pretty cool.

Here's why I say so…

What Are the Benefits of Taking This Approach?

Okay, so if you choose to participate in an official Pitch-A-Friend event (meaning, you’re going to be the person to pitch one of your friends to “the masses”), you need to be prepared to present a PowerPoint presentation that is 3-5 minutes long. It should include some fun facts about your friend, a few different photos of them, and a couple of stories that will intrigue the listeners. It’s a good idea to keep in mind that you are to present your friend in the best possible light which means that inside jokes and backhanded compliments aren’t appropriate — remember, there’s a huge chance that the folks at these Pitch-A-Friend meetings don’t know you or the person you are talking about, so you shouldn’t be trying to low-key roast anyone.

And what are the benefits of this dating take? The first thing that comes to my mind is since you have to make a formal presentation, that gives you time to really think about what to say about your friend. As opposed to just bringing them up to someone and saying something like, “She’s good people” or “He’s someone I think you would like,” you have to ponder what the clearly defined traits, qualities and details that would make them seem really appealing to someone else. And when it comes to a formal Pitch-A-Friend event, another thing that I like is you’re not just attempting to hook your friend up with one person in particular — there is a room full of individuals who may show interest.

I must admit, though, that when it comes to a Pitch-A-Friend event, two things that I considered to be a potential “con” are 1) if you and/or your friend aren’t one for crowds, you or they may not want to go that route and/or 2) the event may not have a lot of people in the room that you and/or your friend would even want to pitch or be pitched to because the demographic isn’t y’all’s exact preference (if you know what I mean).

And that’s why I wanted to provide another approach to all of this (if you’re interested…).

Perhaps Throw Your Own Pitch-A-Friend Event. Online.

1. Hop on a platform that hosts online parties. One way to do an event like this from the comfort and convenience of your own home is to host a virtual version of it. Some sites like Remo and Webex are able to accommodate hundreds of people which means that they also charge a “nice” amount (read more about that here) to do so. Meanwhile, other platforms like Zoom Events and rsvpify are super reasonable. Then, once you know which platform you want to use, you can alert people to what you are doing via email or social media. Just make sure to pay close attention to how many people each platform is prepared to accommodate; that will help you to decide how you want to promote everything.

2. Consider having a theme. Something that can make the event even more interesting is to have a theme. It could be centered around newly single people, folks who have birthdays during a certain time of the year, or even folks who may be looking for a long-distance relationship (because yes, some people enjoy traveling). You could even do things like request that everyone come dressed in a certain color. The sky really is the limit.

3. Have some sort of icebreaker. Even though everyone is participating from home, they still might be (initially) nervous. So, have some sort of icebreaker to put your online audience more at ease. Maybe ask everyone to share their first name and favorite R&B song along with why — you know, something that will showcase their personality without them feeling pressured in the process.

4. Put together some clear guidelines. Since there’s a pretty good chance that no one else in your world has attended a Pitch-A-Date event before, you definitely need to have some clear guidelines. This would include how long presentations should be (no longer than 3-5 minutes is good), what kind of content should be featured, and how folks can contact the individuals who they are interested in once the pitches have been given.

As far as content goes, I personally think that deal-breakers are one of the things that should be shared because, for instance, I have seen way too many Pop the Balloons (for instance) where people will say that they don’t want to be in a long-distance relationship…even though they traveled to be on the show (what in the world?). And yes, require that all of this be a PowerPoint presentation. It’s easier to process and remember what was shared that way.

5. Offer prizes. Something else that can be fun is to offer up prizes for things like who made the best presentation, who seems like the most awesome type of friend, and who dressed to impress the most. Because who doesn’t like to attend events where prizes are involved?

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A friend bragging on their friend in hopes of them finding true love (or at least someone to enjoy some Mongolian beef with?)? I don’t see how anything could be wrong with that — which is why I decided to shout Pitch-A-Friend out.

Give it a shot. Let us know how it all turned out.

On the pitching and dating end.

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