Notes from a Summer Bash
Thoughts from the team behind Mingle Mayhem
Summer is usually a lull for dating.
People disappear into weddings and travel plans. The group chat dries up. The apps feel quieter. And even the people who are still around aren’t exactly grounded…everything is in motion, and no one’s really putting in effort.
But the desire to connect doesn’t go away just because it’s summer, it just needs better conditions.
And that’s what we specialize in!
Recap: Big Singles Bash June 4th at Upstairs at Bow
This event sold out completely.
Women’s tickets were gone two weeks before the event. Men’s sold out the week of. We had over 50 people on the waitlist. And we hate turning people away!
This is something we’ve noticed at every Mingle Mayhem Big Bash event: our women sell out first. That’s not typical if you’re familiar with going to speed dating events with a bunch of men and 4 overwhelmed women and it says a lot.
We think it’s because the people we attract in our community – especially women – feel like they’re walking into something thoughtful, intentional, and safe. There’s no sleazebags pressuring you, (we have safety rules, but thankfully our event is pretty self-selecting for the kind of guys we want). Just structure, space, and smart people who are ready for something a little more meaningful.
And when you make something people want to show up for, they do!
The night itself was full.
We had 96 people come through the door. It was nuts! We ran a few structured games and social experiments that we’ve been refining event after event. Sneakily designed to get people in the right mindset. They’re lighthearted on the surface, but they’re designed to do something very specific: give people permission to try!
We tested our new Type Card challenge — a social experiment where each attendee gets a flattering “type” card (“big time nerd,” “outdoorsy cutie,” “shy guy with a wild side”) and uses it as a prompt to talk to someone they might not otherwise approach.
The real idea behind it is to break patterns. Most of us have types – but types are just shortcuts. And breaking those shortcuts can open doors.
At the end of the night, we asked people to drop a token into one of two jars:
- “I got something out of this”
- “Not really”
The first jar was almost full. That told us what we needed to know.
This kind of interaction works! Not because we’re guessing, but because we’re iterating with intention. We test. We adjust. We’re building this with our community. Smart, successful & emotionally ready.
Other wins from the night:
- The Fun Fact Game was a crowd favorite – someone had a pet frog, someone else discovered a planet. The audience was locked.in.
Post-event survey highlights:
We got 28 responses. Here’s what we heard:
- 4.4/5 recommend score
- 4.2/5 enjoyment score
- 23 people said they met someone they’re genuinely excited about
- Multiple people said their only complaint was that it didn’t last longer
“More fun than any first date I’ve ever been on.”
“You’ve helped me more than you know.”
“The only problem was that I couldn’t talk to everyone.”
That’s the kind of feedback that keeps us going!
This is what we’ve been building.
We design these events for people who are tired of wasting time – but not tired of showing up. For people who are busy but still hopeful. People who aren’t afraid of effort, as long as it’s meaningful.
We say it at every event:
You’re not here to talk to just one person all night. You’re here to try. To be curious. To float a little. To leave wanting more.
Because that’s what makes this different. We’re not chasing perfect matches. We’re creating better conditions and trusting people to find each other inside of them.
If you were there: thank you so much!
If you weren’t: we hope you come to the next one!
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