Why I Built This

A founder story by David

For years, I barely got any matches on dating apps. I'm talking years. I wanted a girlfriend, I was putting myself out there, and nothing was working. It was genuinely frustrating. The kind of frustration that makes you question yourself.

So I did what I always do when something doesn't make sense to me: I went deep. I'm a machine learning engineer by trade and a photographer by hobby, so I started researching what actually works on dating apps. I asked women. I studied the science. I analyzed profiles that were getting results. I ran experiments on my own profile. Months of this.

Last summer, it clicked. I realized the photos I needed were very specific. Good lighting, the right style, the right energy. But I couldn't take them myself. And when I asked friends to help, the photos always came out awkward. They didn't know what to shoot. Most guys know this feeling. You know you need better photos, but you have no way to get them.

That's when the two worlds collided. I thought: I know exactly what photos work. I build AI for a living. What if I just combine the two? Instead of trying to direct a friend with a camera, I could simply prompt the exact shot I had in mind.

So I did. And it worked. Not just for me, for other guys too.

Not catfishing. Better presentation.

I want to be upfront about something, because this matters to me personally. GetMatches is not about creating a fake version of you. I don't want you generating photos in a private jet if you've never been on one. I don't want you pretending to live a life you don't live. That's catfishing, and it wastes everyone's time.

What I do want is for you to look like you. Great lighting, your actual style, settings that feel real to your life. The same way a good photographer would shoot you, except you don't need to find one. That's why I built an extensive range of templates. So there's something that genuinely fits who you are, not some aspirational fantasy.

Building something that actually matters

I wanted to start my own business for a long time. But I didn't want to build something that just extracts money from people without giving real value back. We live in an economy full of that. AI slop, addiction-optimized feeds, products designed to keep you glued to your screen. Most of it doesn't make anyone's life better.

GetMatches is the opposite. The whole point is to help guys get matches, go on dates, and get offline. Use the app to leave the app. Find someone real. That's it.

I built this because I lived the problem. I know what it feels like to swipe for months and get nothing back. And I know that for most guys, the only thing standing between them and actual dates is a set of photos they don't know how to take.

That's a solvable problem. So I solved it.

David, founder of GetMatches.ai