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Name: Talia Goldstein
Business: Three Day Rule, an online dating website for relationship-oriented singles
Industry: High Tech, Other — Online Dating
Location: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Reason for starting: I was a TV Producer for E! Entertainment but spent most of my days giving relationship advice from my cubicle. It seemed that the singles I knew worked 16 hour days and had little time for love. I wanted to help so I successfully matched my friends and co-workers and soon quit my job to start a matchmaking company for accomplished, busy professionals. The company took off and we soon built an online dating website so we could scale across the country.
Related: Read about another High Tech female entrepreneur here.
How do you define success? My favorite quote is by Nelson Mandela. He said “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” True success for me is pushing through tough times, giving it your all, and accomplishing something that you are proud of. Success doesn’t have to be a win, it’s just knowing that you did the best you could until the end.
Biggest Success: My biggest success is taking what was just a passion and hobby of mine and creating a national company that is helping singles find love. Entrepreneurship is not easy and it’s a roller coaster ride, so I am extremely proud of where I started and where the company is today. Our team is filled with accomplished professionals, from Harvard Business School grads to former attorneys and executives. They all left their lucrative jobs to help change the dating industry.
Related: Leaving a stable job to begin a start-up
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it? When we started out, our top challenge was being in tech and not being technical. We were two business founders with a great idea but no product. In order to accomplish what we wanted, we had to raise money so that we could bring on a technical partner. Raising money was a challenge for us. We were two women, first time entrepreneurs, trying to build a dating company in an already saturated space. After some time, we were able to raise funds which helped us get to where we are today.
I started the company with a business partner. A year ago she resigned (for family reasons). It happened to be the exact time that I had a baby. From one day to the next, I had a newborn and a company to run alone. I could have easily shut down the company but I was so passionate about helping people that I fought to keep the company alive. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep for a year! Now the company is stronger than ever and I am so glad that I fought through tough times.
Who is your most important role model? I don’t have one specific role model but I think a lot about the female entrepreneurs who have achieved great success, like the founders of Gilt and Marissa Meyer. There are few women in tech so I admire those women who have helped pave the way for us.
[box_light]Website www.threedayrule.com
Twitter @threedayrule
Facebook www.facebook.com/threedayrule
Pinterest www.pinterest.com/threedayrule[/box_light]
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Edited by The Story Exchange