Female Disruptors: Maria Sullivan of the Dating dot com Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Conor McGregor said, “I am not afraid of saying something and going and pursuing it. That’s it. I see it in my mind. I say it out loud, I go and do it.” From a marketer’s perspective, that’s inspiring to me, especially since he started out unknown to the world and made himself a worldwide brand.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maria Sullivan.
Maria Sullivan is Vice President of Dating.com Group, the company behind one of the largest dating sites in the world. Maria has been instrumental in expanding Dating.com Group’s global presence. From Russia to Harvard, she is a global traveler, and after traveling so much she recognized the need for niche dating sites, targeted towards specific demos — which has become the foundation of Dating.com Group’s success.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I did a bit of journalism and figured out that advertising and marketing make more sense for me. Before joining Dating.com Group ten years ago, I worked for financial institutions and technology companies.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
On the back end, Dating.com Group has very modern technologies for data analysis, AI and global, digitally focused marketing. All of Dating.com Group’s multiple brands are very interesting and disruptive from a technology perspective. For example, Dating.com offers multiple ways for singles around the world to communicate: streams, gift giving, instant chat for real-time messaging, and video dating with two-way webcams, in addition to offline emails.
Also, Dating.com is known for its deep industry insights and garners national attention for its studies. For example, the company recently revealed survey data outlining what triggers an instant rejection from online dating singles. It’s no secret that COVID-19 is weighing on the hearts and minds of dating singles across the U.S., and the top deal breaker for 86% of singles was being unvaccinated. 35% of singles said a long-distance relationship was a deal breaker, and more than 55% of respondents said being late to a planned date was a deal breaker.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I was first starting in journalism I asked some awkward questions during interviews. I learned that awkward questions open up larger conversations that tend to be more interesting and surprising. There’s really “no such thing as a dumb question.” I’ve brought this mindset with me as I’ve traveled the world, studied at Harvard, etc. and asking awkward, dumb questions is how I’ve learned the most about the people and places that I’ve encountered.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I don’t believe in formal mentorship within workplace institutions. But I believe in observing people, analyzing them and striving to improve over time. For years I have been working with two brilliant managers and they are different and complimentary to one another at the same time. Watching their strengths and the way they improve through the years is my inspiration and self-mentoring plan.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Being disruptive is always good if you’re helping people. For example, dating is a societal and cultural system that has withstood the test of time. However, it has greatly changed since the emergence of online dating, and today the concept of meeting someone in person is shifting to building online-only relationships. Although communicating online is different from in-person, and critics feel like it’s ruined traditional dating, in many ways it’s better. It gives people a chance to not only meet someone new, but to be introduced to other people, places and things anywhere in the world. It gives people the chance to spend time together — maybe a lifetime but maybe just an hour. It’s a place where singles never feel lonely, and ultimately this disruption of a traditional system is good because it’s helping people find new experiences.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
Conor McGregor said, “I am not afraid of saying something and going and pursuing it. That’s it. I see it in my mind. I say it out loud, I go and do it.” From a marketer’s perspective, that’s inspiring to me, especially since he started out unknown to the world and made himself a worldwide brand.
Kobe Bryant once said, “I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.” Truly being able to put the team first is part of doing what is needed to accomplish the goal. Being a part of the stellar team at Dating.com Group, this is a thought I take with me into work every day.
Steve Jobs said, “It’s better to be a pirate than to join the Navy.” This really spoke to me when I first heard it because it’s about disrupting the status quo and tradition. As a marketer I’m always interested in finding new and better ways to do something.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Dating by definition is already shaking things up. The concept of meeting someone in person is shifting to building online-only relationships. And I want to continue building the most fun place where singles never feel lonely.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
In my opinion, one of the biggest challenges faced by women disruptors and women in the workplace is that women are still put under more pressure than men to prove how intelligent we are, and why we should be taken seriously. We’re also made to feel like we need to justify why we deserve our hard earned success. As a result, we have always needed to be more proactive than men in showing that not only do we believe in ourselves, but that the rest of the world should believe in us and our ideas. Hopefully this will become a rare necessity as strong women continue to challenge the status quo and push hard to create a new norm.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk on starting with “why” is truly profound when it comes to leadership and marketing. Having a strong sense of purpose and clear vision is key to the success of any marketing campaign or business. For me, “why” I do what I do is to build a place where singles never feel lonely. I take this purpose with me into work every day to get people on board with our vision at Dating.com Group.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I’m building a place where singles never feel lonely. I believe that no one should ever have to feel lonely. Not just singles, but everyone. I encourage people to be part of a movement of going out of their way to be kind, make connections and have at least one genuine conversation with a new person every day — no matter how awkward it might feel in the moment. I want to inspire people to take a chance every day. Both dating and life are about the chance to meet someone new; for them to introduce you to people, places and things that you never knew that you’d love; and most importantly, the chance to spend time together — maybe a lifetime but maybe just an hour. By taking chances and being open to making new connections, you might find something more out there, something you’ve never even imagined.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Conor McGregor said, “I am not afraid of saying something and going and pursuing it. That’s it. I see it in my mind. I say it out loud, I go and do it.” From a marketer’s perspective, that’s inspiring to me, especially since he started out unknown to the world and made himself a worldwide brand.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Female Disruptors: Maria Sullivan On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Indust was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.