IT IS the revenge of the sugar mamas. With the power of their Prada purse, they are now invited to take part in an evening of speed dating with Greek gods below 30 years old.
The event is only open to women aged at least 40 and who have a minimum of US$5mil (RM17.5mil) in the bank. Male participants will be judged solely on their looks. Applications are trickling in already.
This is “Speed Date: Sugar Mamas”, organised by Pocket Change, a weekly e-newsletter launched last year that delves into the finest and most expensive things in New York and Los Angeles.
Details like the date and venue are still in the works by Pocket Change, which chronicles topics such as the most expensive haircut in LA (US$500) and New York’s most expensive whiskey (US$38,000 a bottle).
Three months ago, Pocket Change held a Natural Selection Speed Date for Rich Guys and Hot Girls. It was headline news not just in local tabloids; even CNN and wire agencies picked up the story.
Oh, the shame of it all, you say?
“We knew it was going to be controversial. But there is an unspoken truth about dating and levels of attraction ... and what part money plays in that,” said Pocket Change co-founder Jeremy Abelson.
“People are so hesitant to come out and say it. Women are so hesitant to say 'I want a man who is rich'. But if you ask a woman, 'do you want a successful man', all of them say yes.”.
During an interview at his office in Soho, he played out a telephone call from a woman who was fuming about the event.
“How dare you do this? Rich, fat old men can judge women by the way they look? Shame on you! I will tell the next US president Hillary Clinton, if she is in power, to shut you down. Power to ugly women! Drop dead, go to hell,” she yelled.
That was just one of the many angry calls and derogatory email messages that Abelson received. But he is unfazed. Pocket Change events are held for fun, he explained.
“Our other co-founder came up with a saying ‘if it’s not fun, we are not doing it’. We live by that,” he declared. “Money is no doubt an aphrodisiac but I would never say that money can sustain a healthy relationship.
“You know, a Ferrari and a great pair of breasts can make a perfect evening. That is a recipe for an incredible evening. But what does it lead to? There needs to be more depth, more chemistry,” he said.
The February speed dating got almost 1,600 women and 500 males applying to take part. The entry fee for hot women was US$50 (RM169); moneyed guys paid US$500 (RM1,695) and must also submit proof of financial standing; and the event was limited to 40 “couples”.
“It was incredible,” Abelson said. “At least half of them had some sort of post-event dating activity. Many of them have reported that they are still dating.”
He conceded that the speed dating events were hatched from a business standpoint and the need to make a splash.
“We could buy two ads in Gotham Magazine, but that would accomplish nothing. Our branding gets out there, but it does nothing for our business,” he said.
Pocket Change, Abelson said, was a small e-publication with 47,000 subscribers in New York and 60,000 in Los Angeles.
“So we run these events, get people talking, bloggers writing, and the press interested,” he said. It was a big revenue generator and branding platform.
Abelson said he had always been intrigued by new business development; how companies bring in money. “Providing good service is one thing, but how do you make a business grow?” he mused.
“We have a long way to go with Pocket Change. There are acquisition talks with real estate operations for them to purchase the business. We have more markets to go into, more events to run, more newsletters to publish.”
For now, Pocket Change is focussing on New York and Los Angeles.
“If there are any two places in this country that are notorious for enshrining luxury, it’s definitely them. These are the only two cities where you can have a US$1,000 (RM3,390) omelette, and where people speak seriously why 10 ounces of caviar is worth US$1,000.”
Pocket Change, he said, would report all this in a fun, entertaining way.
He loves what Pocket Change is doing. “And what I really love is the power of the Internet and the emerging media. I see myself gravitating towards that.”
