No more OLD!!! Thoughts please!

[Lulumush]

I'm 53 and sick of dating apps and OLD. I've bitten the bullet and decided to set up a real life 'meet in person' singles group of my own! It's snowballing rapidly and I've had a lot of interest (nearly 100 people have contacted me in less than 48 hours).

My plan was to set up montly meets in local venues - drinks as well as actual activities - to get people mingling with fellow singles. However i hadn't quite anticipated the positive response I've had and need some advice!

If you are single and also fed up with OLD, would you join a singles group that meets regularly?

What sort of events or activities would interest you?

When would you attend events - day time or evening or weekend?

Would you be prepared to pay for curated events being organised for you and if so how much? Would a subscription type service appeal where you pay something monthly and get automatic entry to one or two events?

How do I attract more men? Not surprisingly I've had more women contact me! One idea is to copy this approach and get everyone to bring a member of the opposite sex with them.

https://www.thetimes.com/article/3a599a03-5804-4769-99b3-d8bfb2ccad54?shareToken=576e0a309994f72a301d53c111784d45

Any thoughts are welcome. I think there is a massive appetite generally for more in person events and I do love a challenge!

Oh and this was in today's Times which was interesting

https://www.thetimes.com/article/f33fbe8f-1861-4828-a3a4-d5e9559e8d89?shareToken=efd8dda110096c25620c78ddbb88f5c9

Sounds like a really lovely idea, but I would advise caution. If anything ‘goes wrong’ between any of the people you’ve effectively ’introduced’ to each other, there might be a bite in the bum for you.
Do you need insurance etc, vetting procedures?
Just be careful…

Well interestingly I have a single friend and he's sick of online dating. He's gone to speed dating event etc. The problem with stuff like this is it's such a broad spectrum of people that finding one's with your interests can be tough, so a lot of men might write it off before they even think about it.

For example, I have a lot of male friends who are into rock climbing and biking. Could you set up events through local clubs? Like reach out to a rock climbing gym to set up a speed dating night ? Lots of men in places like this who might be more inclined to come along to a dating event if they felt they had a common interest already.

of the 100, if you’re honest, what’s the split between men and women?

Are you charging?

A local pub advertised for exactly this and you had to register your interest. A friend did. She had an email to say it was cancelled a few weeks later as they had so many women and no men. So it wasn’t a singles night. I think that could be your challenge.