Author name: Sidhant

She has achieved something that most people can’t even dream of achieving. She lost almost half her body weight, from 175 lbs to becoming an influencer on Instagram who brands pay to get clicked with their products.

Lately, I started hitting Delhi bars 5–6 nights a week—more than the waiters took off. I even tried Barney Stinson’s ‘Suit Up!’ trick, showing up in a tailored suit, tie, leather shoes, and AirPods. The look drew attention—some thought I worked there and asked for water, food, or tables; one woman even tried to tip me ₹500. High-value leads were just curious about the AirPods. Eventually, the bouncers noticed I came alone every night and began blocking my entry, typical of Delhi’s inorganic bar culture. I usually stood by the bar counter—one of the best spots to start a conversation. On ladies’ night, women collect their own complimentary drinks, so no friend-zoned guy blocks you. If a woman buys her own drink, she’s likely single, as a boyfriend would usually buy it or accompany her. As the experience economy suggests, I’d start with a subtle compliment—shoes, jacket, or dress. If she responded with more than a word and kept the conversation going, I’d ask about her. People love talking about themselves, and if she showed interest, she’d ask back. That’s when I used my USP. My Instagram—700+ posts since 2013—served as my elevator pitch, showing both legitimacy and a fun, experience-rich life. One night at a club, I met her after she saw a dating apps notification pop up on my phone (‘research purposes’). Curious, she glanced at the screen, and we started talking. I cracked a quick joke, and we instantly clicked. As time flew, she had to leave, so we exchanged Instagram handles. Over the next few days, we met often—Khan Market, Hauz Khas, Qutub Minar, Aerocity, Gurgaon. We shared drinks, meals, and even a few rounds of pool (neither of us was good), but I just wanted to be around her. Anyway, coming to the MBA concept of the ‘Sales Circle‘. Many of us must have heard this phrase: ‘A great product sells itself’. In essence, any transformational difference can be brought about by the product at its core. Other levers like entry into new markets or using more channels (online: E-commerce, quick commerce, apps, et al) or even the technique/ strategy operated by the salesperson (be it Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or even a used cars salesman), can only make an incremental difference. This circle can be used in all contexts, from commodities to businesses to even people (dating/ job market). For example: A great example in the Indian commodity market is Nestle Maggi. Across decades, the product has sold itself; be it in a kirana store in a remote village or via BlinkIt (Quick Commerce) in a metropolitan city. Compare its sales with that of the me-too brands of the likes of top ramen noodles and you’ll see a stark difference despite the deep discounting, bundling and other sales strategies used by such competitors. The product will always remain the core of any transformation and work on perfecting it, instead of expecting drastic differences from other factors or looking for the easy way out. The Sales Circle can be applied in the context of modern-day dating quite aptly: I used to think that I was not using the right technique, or the right channels, or was in the wrong location and that is why I am not meeting the ‘girl of my dreams’. I have tried almost all channels both online (dating apps, Instagram, Facebook, Orkut, Yahoo messenger) and offline (mutuals, bars, coffee shops, supermarkets, airports, Volvo buses, et al). In close to two decades across all markets of Delhi-NCR, Bombay, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Pune, Goa, or even up to Africa, it is highly unlikely that despite countless attempts, I couldn’t end up with a girl who fits my pre-requisites. The core is always the product so my unsuccessful attempts have less to do with all the other factors and more to do with me as a product not being attractive enough for my target market (TG). Let us say you had just one or two substantial connections in your lifetime, where both you both were totally into each other and everything was perfect but it didn’t work out because of a small anomaly. You are still single and in the never-ending quest of finding the perfect love. Either transform yourself as a product completely or alter your prerequisites for the perfect match. Trying a new technique or different channels or exploring new markets won’t lead to drastically different results. That brings me to the ‘pool’ girl. Is this the end of the game? Maybe not—new markets rarely change the core product. She was Thai, here with a friend, and it felt like a holiday fling. On her last night, we had dinner at a Thai restaurant, stopped for flowers, then grabbed rooftop drinks with a view. After a quick stop at a friend’s place, we spent the night at her hotel. The next day, we had lunch at a North Indian fine-dining spot, relaxed at a bar, played pool, and I dropped her at the airport. Her only request: don’t miss her. So I return to my only constant—my writing. Later, Sidhant

So, recently I was talking to a girl, and her first text was ‘User Engaged’. All thanks to this site and the consequential benefits of pull marketing. It didn’t take me any time to figure out that she is an engineer and I sent her a link to the correlated MVP article. She was quite impressed. Less by my writing, more by the muse, and felt that the girl is a keeper. The elevator pitch went great, and since I don’t like texting, I suggested meeting in person. She agreed, and before she could name a café or bar, I sent her the landing page. To my surprise, she had already read this post. That proved two things: my writing finally paid off, and I no longer need to justify why meeting at a café or bar is practical, not shady. As I say, “your time in this world is limited, the people aren’t.” Second, she’s observant and humble—exactly my target market (TG), since opposites attract. She didn’t express any apprehensions, but she is also presently staying with family, and unlike the girl from the landing page post, she is a bit risk-averse to sneaking me in the middle of the night at their place. Also, she needed to be back for the night. So we ended up taking an Airbnb near her place with high ratings. It was a boutique luxury concept styled like a cave, with matching decor and features. Quite a pathetic property, nowhere close to the ratings and oversell, and wasn’t even worth half the price. But since this isn’t Trip Advisor, so I’ll stick to the storyline. The place hardly mattered, be it caves or an ultra-modern city with flying Tesla cars on Mars. She is one of the few whose initial impression is completely different from her actual self. When I saw her, she was driving an ‘Aisha’ type daddy’s princess car, carrying a fancy designer bag, phone et al. So my obvious guess was that she’s my ideal archetype, but that was far from reality. She is quite a hard-working, completely self-made girl who actually handled an immense amount of pressure on all fronts right from childhood. Despite that, she excelled and achieved countless accolades and success on the career front. From the moment we hugged, I instantly grew a fondness for her voice, warmth, and cute dimple. During our chat, I asked what she did for a living—a mistake. She replied with so many obscure terms, it felt like another language. In short, she works with an R&D think tank focused on efficient fuels. When she asked about me, I showed her some photos from my so-called ‘cool’ Instagram life. For the record, I’m no influencer—I’ve posted nearly 600 times since 2013 (@sidhants139) but barely have 500 followers. Even my friend’s 3-month-old dog has more. Let’s save that self-loathing for a TED Talk. She looked at me, turned the screen, and said, “You look cuter in person. Anyway, coming to the MBA concept of the ‘Gig Economy‘. In a gig economy, companies lean towards hiring independent contractors and freelancers instead of full-time employees. The gig economy benefits workers, businesses, and consumers by making work more adaptable to the needs of the moment and demand for flexible lifestyles. Uber and Airbnb are some classical examples of firms using the gig economy on a massive scale to contract independent home/car owners to replace the traditional hotels/cabs. In the recent past, especially post the pandemic, there is a gig revolution. Even the biggest of firms are hiring gig workers in huge numbers and component professionals are joining the gig workforce for a higher degree of flexibility, pay rates, and a sense of autonomy. I am a seasoned gig strategy consultant for close to half a decade with big scale strategy consulting firms like BCG, FMCG majors like MARS Wrigley, veteran ex-McKinsey partners, , as well as, some high growth startups. The projects are from diverse domains and at high-intensity stages where firms require high firepower. (Refer to my LinkedIn in case you are actually intrigued) Coming back to the crux of the site, analogous to this corporate gig economy, with the influx of technology (dating apps), the gig economy (Uberisation) is on a rise in the context of modern-day dating. The increasing individualism and commitment phobia are making millennial dating habits a lot more risk-averse and transactional. They are hedging the three components of the triangular model (emotional, physical, and intellectual). Analogous to an Uber, where you are just along for the ride, you don’t regret a ‘gig’ encounter coming to an end. It just helps in making some cherishable memories without much hassle or baggage and doesn’t require the investment of buying a ‘car’. In the context of Uberisation in dating, it’s essential to keep a few key points in mind. Both people should stay clear that this is just about testing the waters, not a full-time commitment yet. Avoid casual hookups with friends, batchmates, or colleagues, as they can lead to complications if things don’t work out. Make sure there’s strong compatibility—emotional, physical, or intellectual—to make the risk worth it. Be mindful of the mental health toll that often comes with ghosting, gaslighting, or general emotional detachment. Most importantly, understand that this lifestyle, much like that of a gig worker, can get lonely—it runs on dopamine highs, with bursts of excitement followed by long stretches of nothing. That brings me to the cute dimple date. Am I finally “User Engaged”? Has my churn rate dropped just because I look better in person and no longer need a cool Insta life? Her soft voice came from a genuine American accent—she’s an American citizen of Indian origin, working with NASA, visiting Delhi briefly. She radiated oxytocin (TG), warm and observant, while I ran on dopamine (TG). In her first relationship (her MVP), she spent seven years driven by sunk cost fallacy—switching continents, jobs, and even compromising her career for a guy who eventually left

So, I have been in the modern-day dating space for over a decade. I have seen it change from a yahoo messenger chatroom to tinder, a drastic decrease in the lead time, hassles of a landing page easing out with a cultural shift, the elevator pitches changing, a shift in the drivers and dating becoming a lot more transactional. Anyway, I also explored the job market. As the essence of human psychology remains the same, I found a number of similar patterns happening in both markets. 1) Job portals/ dating apps have a plethora of options but quite a low conversion rate. For every job application posted on portals, thousands of candidates apply, but none meet the cut. Similarly, the gender ratio on apps is quite skewed (18 guys for 1 girl), but none of the guys make the cut. 2) Supposedly, if you work with a firm but don’t like your role, and an opening in your preferred area arises, the company will consider you first for the position. In the same way, when a partner feels the need for love after an unforeseen breakup or societal pressure to ‘settle down,’ they first consider the friend-zoned person, so efforts never go to waste. The USP, in this case, becomes familiarity and trust. 3) Referrals (introduction by an employee/ mutual friend), are more organic and generally have a higher conversion. Such job stints/ relationships generally also have a higher lifetime value (LTV) 4) ) Staying stuck in toxic jobs/ relationships based on the time already invested is common but unadvisable (Sunk cost fallacy). 5) With an increasing sense of individualism, being your boss mindset, the gig economy (Uberisation of the workforce) is on a rise analogous to which dating is becoming a lot more transactional. 6) Perfect job/ love is so hard to find these days, is an oxymoron. Game theory talks about two styles of decision-making- optimizing & maximizing. Optimizing is choosing the most appropriate from a limited set, maximizing is to keep on searching till we don’t find the best. With the rapid advent of technology and capitalism, we have countless options in everything, from toothpaste to a love partner, and are using maximizing style everywhere. Scientific studies prove that it leads to less satisfaction than the optimizing style of decision-making. As eloquently put by Barry Schwartz in ‘The Paradox of Choice’, there are four reasons why this happens. Firstly, with so many choices our brain in dogma, ends up making none. In dating, active seeking via apps or otherwise, doesn’t translate to finding a ‘soulmate’. Secondly, after the decision, we feel at a loss about missing out on the good features of alternatives. Thirdly, choices increase expectations. After deciding, the joy doesn’t match up and leads to disappointment. Fourthly, if an unforeseen hiccup happens later, we blame ourselves for the decision. Having choices is great, but an optimum number, post that it ends up doing more harm than good. Later, Sidhant