How VIDA Select Became One of America's Largest Matchmaking Services
VIDA Select is a modern matchmaking service for accomplished professionals. Founded in 2009, it has created 11,213+ relationships and grown into one of the largest matchmaking services in the United States. A dedicated matchmaker sources compatible partners from VIDA's internal database, a nationwide scout network, direct outreach, social platforms, select dating apps, and client referrals, then manages every introduction through to a scheduled date. Clients review and approve each match before they meet. 82% meet someone special within 90 days.
It Started in 2009
Back in 2009, VIDA founder Scott Valdez was a marketing consultant who had gotten unusually good at online dating. Friends asked him to help with theirs, it worked often enough to charge for, and he turned it into a business called Virtual Dating Assistants. When TechCrunch covered the launch that June, they called it "online dating help," an accurate description of the service at the time.
VirtualDatingAssistants.com Lets You Outsource Your Online Dating LifeTechCrunch · June 5, 2009Read the original →But even then, clients weren't paying for help with an app. They were paying to meet the right person. The apps were simply where the searching happened, and finding the right person, then making the introduction, is what a matchmaker does. That was the seed of everything VIDA became.
What We Built Next
As VIDA grew, one thing became clear: delivering the right introductions takes more than a smarter search in one place. It takes reach, and it takes people whose entire job is judging compatibility. So we built that, piece by piece.
We started keeping our own database of singles our matchmakers had already met and vetted, and it's been growing ever since. We built a scout network to identify promising people, the way a good recruiter finds talent instead of waiting for résumés. We hired and trained matchmakers, not coaches or assistants, who learn what you're actually after and stay with you through every introduction. And because the early sourcing was slow and repetitive, we built technology that streamlines the search so our matchmakers spend their hours on the judgment calls that matter.
By 2018 the old name no longer fit. Virtual Dating Assistants became VIDA Select, because we had become a matchmaking service that simply happened to have better tools than most.
Scott Valdez“The technology has never made a single match. It clears the way for the people who do.”
How VIDA's Matchmaking Works Today
If you came across VIDA years ago, you might remember us as the company that ran your online dating for you. That is where we started, and dating apps are still one of the places our matchmakers look. But they are one of six.
Today your matchmaker searches our internal database, our scout network, direct outreach, social platforms, select dating apps, and referrals from past clients. They find the people worth your time and check each one against what you told us matters. Then they make the introduction and handle every detail, all aimed at one thing: a date on your calendar. You see every match. You approve every introduction. Then you show up.
The old label misses all of that. Profile help counts matches on a screen. Matchmaking counts relationships. VIDA has always been built for the second, which is why 82% of our clients meet someone special within 90 days, without spending the 520 hours a year that self-managed dating demands.
- 01Internal database
- 02Scout network
- 03Direct outreach
- 04Social platforms
- 05Select dating apps
- 06Client referrals
How VIDA Compares to Other Matchmaking Services
The matchmaking industry spans a wide range. Boutique firms like Selective Search and Kelleher International run retainer-based searches that often begin around $25,000. Hybrid services like Tawkify and Three Day Rule pair a matchmaker with a large database at more accessible price points. VIDA Select sits in that modern, hybrid segment, with three differences that define our approach.
No blind dates. Most matchmaking services, including Tawkify, describe your match to you before you meet. VIDA shows you the complete profile, photos included, and nothing proceeds without your approval.
Dual sourcing on every membership. Your matchmaker draws on our internal database and actively recruits beyond it, so your search is never limited to whoever is already in one place.
Flexible commitment. VIDA memberships run month-to-month, or as three-month packages backed by minimum guaranteed results. Either way, you're never locked into an annual retainer.
For a detailed side-by-side look at pricing, process, and client demographics, see our full VIDA Select vs. Tawkify comparison.
VIDA Select Today
Today VIDA runs with a full team of matchmakers, scouts, and client success staff, working across 30+ US metros with clients on four continents. Scott still leads the company and its direction.
Scott Valdez“Seventeen years in, the goal is the same as day one: your last first date.”
Everything we've built has been in service of the same simple thing, introducing you to someone who genuinely fits your life, without costing you the hours you don't have.
Due to our high-touch approach, we can only accept a limited number of new clients each month.