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Forward Thinking FoundersForward Thinking Founders is a founder podcast where we interview high potential founders from networks like Y Combinator, The Thiel Fellowship, Product Hunt, Twitter, etc. Author: Mat Sherman
Forward Thinking Founders is a founder podcast where we interview high potential founders from networks like Y Combinator, The Thiel Fellowship, Product Hunt, Twitter, etc. and brings to light what they're building for the world. Think of it like the opposite of How I Built This, where we interview founders before they are successful, then if they are, we have a moment in time we can look back on in the early days. Does the model work? Look at our early interviews and you'll have your answer. Language: en Genres: Business, Careers, Entrepreneurship Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Why Dating Doesn't Need Another App, It Needs a Wingman (With Carly Malatskey, Founder of Joey)
Episode 976
Wednesday, 19 August, 2026
Joey AI wants to kill the dating app — and replace it with a phone call.In this episode of Forward Thinking Founders, Mat talks with Carly Malatskey, founder and CEO of Joey AI, an AI matchmaker that lives entirely in your phone contacts. No app, no swiping, no profile — you call Joey, it gets to know you through an ~8-minute voice conversation about your everyday life (not a highlight reel), and then it texts you a match with context on why. Carly walks through how Joey acts less like a dating app and more like a wingman: telling you who should text first, coaching you through first-date logistics, and debriefing with you afterward to learn and improve the next match.Carly also shares the origin story — from obsessing over relationship science and evolutionary psychology as a Stanford freshman, to working as chief of staff to Ann Miura-Ko at Floodgate, to the fall-2024 voice-AI phone call that convinced her dating was about to change forever. She and Mat dig into go-to-market via trusted communities (alumni networks, professional groups), how she's hiring in the age of AI-assisted coding, and what she's learned from Floodgate's Mike Maples and Ann Miura-Ko about betting on founders and timing.Topics covered:What Joey AI actually is and how the call-to-match flow worksWhy Joey requires a phone call instead of just textThe "wingman" layer: pre-date coaching and post-date debriefsCarly's path from Stanford → Floodgate → founderThe fall 2024 voice-AI moment that sparked the ideaDistribution through existing trusted communitiesHow Carly is hiring engineers and PMs in 2026Lessons from Mike Maples and Ann Miura-Ko on evaluating foundersLinks:Try Joey: calljoey.ai or text/call (310) 234-5639Follow Joey's build-in-public journey: @calljoeyai on InstagramFollow Carly: Instagram/LinkedIn @carlymalatskey ★ Support this podcast ★
