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Invisible Girlfriend — Evidence that you have a girlfriend, even if you don't
Invisible Girlfriend is a digital version of a girlfriend.
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@carlobff I switched from the app to the website just so I could upvote this comment.
@carlobff haha, we've chatted about that.
In other news, I'm incredibly out of touch with sports/pop culture. I have no idea what a Manti Te'o is.
Don't worry, @rahulvarshneya. We agree. Wouldn't it be so nice if everyone in the world was happy? We'll talk to Pharrell.
Is this actually problem? And if so, isn't this an incredibly unhealthy way of solving it? :-o
Good point, @liamgooding. Truth is, we wondered the same thing when the idea was thrown out at a Startup Weekend last November. What we found, though, was quite the contrary.
It's almost like a 'hidden market.' If you ask someone on the street if they would use this, chances are they'll say no - or you'd get a reaction like some of them posted on this board. But I'd be willing to bet that they would either 1) look it up the next time they got on a computer and/or 2) know someone who would genuinely be interested in using it.
Concerning health: I don't think we're advocating this to be any kind of end-all-be-all when it comes to relationships. If we can help someone get out of an uncomfortable situation the next time they're home to visit the family for Thanksgiving, at the bar getting hit on, or tired of sitting in their mom's basement playing video games feeling like they'll 'never be good enough,' we've done our job.
We're no psychologists or scientists, but we're going to be listening and watching to see what happens. And then we're going to talk to Joaquin and see what he thinks. #Her2
@liamgooding My thoughts exactly. Speaking as someone who found love VERY late, I can say honestly that using this service just sets the user up for a bigger fall. Might postpone it, but that's about it.
One step closer to Her becoming a reality. I suppose this is solving a problem, but not one that I have. My girlfriend and I met on Tinder. :D
I knew some women in the engineering department in college that wore engagement rings just to keep the men from hitting on them. It was sad then, sadder now., mostly that its still needed. (but then I guess its better than the services to help you hide your cheating.)
Whoa... if you need a fake SO to "get back to living life on your terms," I feel very bad for you. The logo is cute, though.
@stttories It's much more about deflecting prying interest from people around you. The classic "family gathers around the table for the holidays and asks you about your love life" situation was one of our use cases.
How can we help people who are tired of answering/avoiding the same questions like "When are you going to get married? You don't have much time left!" or "You're still single? Let Mom set you up with ______!"
@juney As you mentioned below, it makes sense in certain cultures, just not for me personally. I don't see a need to lie to my family & friends about a fake relationship. If I felt pressure from anyone about being single, I would advise they focus on their own relationships. Also, the idea of submitting your photo to be someone's pretend SO is bizarre. It's almost like catfishing your loved ones.
@stttories I completely agree with you -- it's not for everyone. But people have different family/work/etc. dynamics, and not everyone may feel comfortable pushing back or being confident in your own skin the way you're describing.
Well said, @juney. And @stttories, I'd definitely stick alongside his responses. Obviously, this isn't for everyone. The fact of the matter, though, is that there are some very uncomfortable people out there in very uncomfortable situations when it comes to relationships or a lack thereof. That's the problem.
Will it save the day for all of the people in those situations? Of course not. But for others, yes. No doubt about it.
I've already got my lovely http://www.speaktoit.com/. She answers most of my questions with a sharp "that's not appropriate" and I must say we are very happy together.
I was on the team that built the initial version of this at a Startup Weekend in St. Louis. It was a fun project that took on a life of its own after we won. I'm rooting for the team members who decided to keep it going and excited to see it here on Product Hunt.
I think there are a ton of interesting use cases for the product. I especially think it's valuable if you're someone who just wants to get prying friends, relatives or colleagues off your back.
During our initial press blitz, there was a massive amount of interest coming from Japan and China. Given some of the cultural nuances of these countries, I think this totally makes sense.
Best of luck to the team!
Hello, everyone! Tyler here, one of the co-founders of Invisible Girlfriend. Glad to see everyone talking, and big props to @riaface for the post. As is the custom, of course, I'll be here to answer the questions.
(And don't worry; chances are most of the questions in your head you've considered posting but haven't have been asked already.) :)
I'm definitely sharing this, but not because I like it. It's super smart, but super frustrating being a girl that started a dating app to bring meaning back to love. This further takes meaning out of love. To each their own though, I get how hard it can be out there in the scary world of girls. Hopefully it helps those that just can't get it together and gives them some self-esteem to talk to real girls in real life <3
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