Executive Interview: Paul Kole, co-founder of Lovesober

Name: Paul Kole
Position & Company: Co-founder and Managing Member of Lovesober LLC
Period of time in the role: 1+ Year
Twitter ID: @lovesober_

Can you describe your role and what you do in one sentence?

My role in Lovesober is primarily guiding the creative direction and customer relations of the company.

Tell us a little about your company.

Lovesober has recently experienced its first anniversary. Our primary purpose is to help people in recovery find love and fellowship within their individual recovery, while being an organized and accessible avenue for all who may seek recovery. Lovesober thrives on the feedback of its members and caters to them specifically.

What is your personal style in business in three words?

Imagination, Persistence and Specialized Knowledge.

What is your background and how did you get into the online dating industry?

My background stems from personal experience within recovery. My entry into the online dating industry arose out of the desire to fulfill a service that could cater to my own interests as a single person in recovery. Although many services existed, none seemed to cater to my recovery lifestyle.

What are you most proud of with Lovesober?

I am most proud of the fact that we are consistently evolving into the type of service that can truly enhance the life of those who seek love and fellowship within our community.

What are the biggest challenges the dating industry faces?

I believe the biggest challenge the industry faces today is an integration between the online experience and the in-person experience. The questions are: what more can we do for our members? What are the best ways we can serve our members? In addition to a better type of personal service for members of our industry, I believe the integrity of those services may be the biggest challenge of this industry. All of us in this industry must rise to a higher level of integrity, in order to truly serve the market which we have intended to serve from the beginning.

What do you believe is the most exciting opportunity facing the industry?

The most exciting opportunity I see for our industry is technology. Technology mixed with simplicity. A more refined user experience. Not far from now we will see a type of merging of the best, most utilitarian ideas, where users can quite literally “place an order” for love, companionship, fellowship, dating, etc.

Which service or company do you admire in the online dating industry?

Quite honestly, I admire all of us who want to serve our members with the highest levels of integrity and honesty. Any company offering a service responsibly I admire.

What sets Lovesober apart from its competitors?

What sets Lovesober apart from its competitors is our transparency, functionality and staff. Lovesober was founded by members of the recovery community and is designed by its members through multiple forms of feedback. The members help create exactly the type of service they desire and we deliver accordingly. The filters to reaching staff and me personally are minimal. We are here for the members and one of my greatest pleasures is speaking to members personally.

What does the rest of 2014 hold for your company?

2014 holds great opportunities for Lovesober in the areas of growth, service, evolution and technology integrations. We are very excited and look forward to being a leader and positive example within not only the online dating industry, but the recovery community as well.