Shopify shares results from a consumer survey of American daters, and how two young entrepreneurs met on Tinder then built a thriving Shopify business together

As “hot vaxx summer” comes to an end and cuffing season (a period of time where single people begin looking for short-term partnerships to pass the colder months) approaches, Shopify and Tinder collaborated to uncover exactly which careers are the most attractive when it comes to dating and partnership. 

The results are in, and according to our consumer survey of American daters, entrepreneurship is hot:

• 78% of American daters would date a small business owner, and 71% would date an entrepreneur.
• Gen Z’s and Millennials (18-29 years) are the generations most interested in dating entrepreneurs, with 70% mentioning they would be interested.
• Since the pandemic, over half of American daters (56%) are interested in starting their own businesses, and 54% are interested in co-owning a business.

These survey results are indicative of a larger trend: Tinder users increasingly cite their entrepreneurial experiences in their bio. From April 2020 to July 2021, Tinder saw a 25% increase in mentions of the word “entrepreneur” in bios, and more recently, launched a dedicated space in the app for Entrepreneurs to connect.

The story of Sara and Mayo of Revol Undies, a gender-neutral underwear brand for those who menstruate, is a case study on swiping right in both love and business.

Sara Jonsdottir and Mayo Santos met on Tinder in October 2017. “I went through the pictures and saw that she was making something,” Mayo said. “Her profile said ‘boss lady and busy bee.” Sara’s bio included a picture of her with her sewing machine, where she made the first prototypes of Revol Undies. “We were pretty quick—we met and the connection was so immediate,” says Sara. Their first date was the next morning at Denny’s. Classic.

Both were attracted to each other’s entrepreneurial spirit, although each came from different places. Mayo was studying business, shooting weddings and engagement photography on the side. Sara had started Revol Undies and was running the business by herself, showing products at small craft fairs and markets.

Early in their relationship, Mayo was curious and asked if he could tag along to her next show. Sara, self-admittedly, was a terrible salesperson. “I knew it was a great product but didn’t know how to sell it. I had never worked a sales job,” she said. That first day, Mayo helped Sara develop a sales script and process. With Sara’s great product and Mayo’s coaching, they made $1K that day, more than Sara had ever made on her own.

For this couple, all is fair in love and business. As the business grew, each quit their jobs to focus full time on building Revol Undies. Today, three years later, Sara and Mayo are married and business is booming. And they still take time to celebrate their anniversary every year, with a cute tradition from their first date: breakfast for dinner at Denny’s.

Their story is unique, but plenty of couples on Shopify mix business with pleasure.

• Atoms - Sidra Qasim and Waqas Ali started Atoms together to modernize the footwear experience, with shoes available in quarter sizes and pairs that can be ordered in two different sizes. 
• Broken English Co. - Veronika Melnick and Marco Ulises Becerra Nunez started Broken English Co. to create a brand that makes immigrants and their kids feel welcomed, empowered, and included.
• Gay Pride Apparel - Sergio Aragon and Jesus Gutierrez weren't happy with the seasonal focus on Pride products and decided to take things into their own hands, launching their year-round company Gay Pride Apparel.
• HAUS - Helena Price Hambrecht and Woody Hambrecht started HAUS as a lower-alcohol aperitif brand focused on quality ingredients and accessibility. 
• Our Place - Founded by Shiza Shahid and Amir Tehrani with co-founder Zac Rosner, Our Place is a mission-driven DTC cookware brand focused on simplicity in the complex cookware world.

Full Dating and Entrepreneurship Survey Results

• Small business owners and entrepreneurs are the most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes: Against professions like doctors, lawyers, marketers, bankers, investors, artists, dentists, and more, small business owners and entrepreneurs are the professions American daters would like to date the most, with 78% of American daters likely to date a small business owner, and 71% of American daters likely to date an entrepreneur. American daters are least likely to date personal trainers (51%) and therapists (48%). Maybe no one wants to be told to work out or what’s wrong with them?
• Entrepreneurship is the key to the heart: 71% of American daters said they’d be interested in dating an entrepreneur, 61% of American daters said they find entrepreneurship to be an attractive profession, and nearly half (45%) of American daters said they’re more likely to want to match with someone on someone who describes themselves as an entrepreneur on a dating app—the top reasons being because entrepreneurs are ambitious and passionate.
• They got that ambition, baby: Gen Z’s and Millennials are the generations most interested in dating entrepreneurs, with 70% mentioning they would be interested. Ambition (37%), creativity (32%), being passionate (30%) and being a thinker (31%) are among the top reasons these young Americans would want to match with someone who describes themselves as an entrepreneur.
• Keep on dating ‘til the world ends: In thinking about a potential partner, these are the qualities that American daters look for the most: Resourceful (58%), problem-solver (57%), steady (56%), ambitious (55%), and brave (47%). Are these important partner qualities, or qualities of someone who can outlive a zombie apocalypse?!
  • Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to look for the quality of braveness in a partner than 30-40 year olds.
• No time like quality time: According to American daters, these are the most important things to have in a relationship, in descending order: Having the flexibility to spend time together (94%), being with someone who knows how to make decisions (92%), being with someone who is hard working (91%), being with someone who inspires them (87%), having the same work/life balance (82%), and having the ability to be spontaneous (78%). The least important thing to have in a relationship is working on a similar schedule (67%).
• Securing the bag: Since the pandemic, over half of American daters (56%) are interested in starting their own businesses, and 54% are interested in co-owning a business.
• Do the (side) hustle: Since the pandemic, 76% of American daters are interested in starting a side hustle to generate additional income.

Survey methodology

From August 6 to August 9, 2021 an online survey was fielded on behalf of Shopify by Maru – one of North America’s leading marketing research firms. A total of n=1,500 respondents who are members of the Maru Springboard America community network completed this survey. The sample included US population of adults between the ages 18-40 years. A probability sample of this size would have a margin of error of +/-2.5%, nineteen times out of twenty.