Atlantic Canadian ‘Executive Matchmaking’ Service Does Blind Dates Differently
MONCTON–Louysa Akerley knows the terror and joy of using a dating app. After a lot of swiping, she did find love, but the old saying proved painfully true: you have to kiss a lot of frogs first.
Akerley met her boyfriend, Denis Leblanc, using Tinder.
“I jumped through hoops to get to him, it was a painful process,” she recalls.
After consistently being asked to be “set up” by both friends and clients, Akerley started looking into matchmaking services and saw it was a huge industry.
“Close friends, or just acquaintances, would make jokes about it, saying, ‘hey, if you ever meet a single girl or guy, let me know,’” she says.
So she decided to open a business that does the work for you.
Akerley has worked as an executive recruiter for 20 years and opened her own company, PeopleStrong, in 2017. She says she meets tons of people in just one week, let alone across the course of her career.
“Ultimately, I’m a matchmaker, I used to call myself a corporate matchmaker,” she says.
Akerley began researching the matchmaking industry in June of 2021. She became certified by the Matchmaking Institute and launched LoveStrong four months later.
“I’m a very impulsive person; I’m a risk-taker. When I decide something, it has to happen and it has to happen, yesterday.”
LoveStrong is an executive matchmaking service focused on Atlantic Canada. It’s made up of a database and one-on-one matchmaking.
The database is free for anyone to join and confidential. It gives Akerley access to individuals who are single and understand that LoveStrong may reach out to them with matches.
One-on-one matchmaking comes with a fee, as Akerley personally looks for matches for her paying customers. She may find a match in her database, or she may personally know someone who could be compatible with her client.
A client can pay $2,000 for three matches, or $3,000 for five matches.
“The idea behind this is quality over quantity,” says Akerley.
When taking on clients, Akerley asks herself, “would I date this person?”
“I’m not going to set someone up on a date that I’m not confident will be a good match,” she says.
Akerley interviews any potential candidate for her client: whether it is in-person or online, she has a face-to-face connection.
“We really dive in deep with our clients and their potential matches,” she says.
If she thinks a match could be made, she sets up a blind date. There are no pictures, no names, no information. Akerley makes a reservation under her name.
“There is no way for them to Google each other,” she says
She says a big challenge for people dating is having preconceived notions of who their perfect match is.
“There is a level of trust that needs to take place,” she says.
“This business does not mean I work with people who can’t get a date, my perfect client is absolutely a good catch, overall: good job, attractive, presents well, great personality, it’s just they don’t have time,” she says.
“Tinder, swiping left, swiping right, it’s very time consuming,” she says. “Hiring someone to do the work for you, simplifies it.”
Mary Allan is an intern with Huddle in Fredericton. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].