We recently connected with Erica Arrechea and have shared our conversation below.

Erica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

At Cinqe Matchmaking, we stand apart from the crowd in the matchmaking industry, embracing our unique identity with pride. Our agency is not your conventional, run-of-the-mill agency. Rather, we distinguish ourselves by operating under a novel model that puts every team member on an equal pedestal. We eschew the traditional model where there is a single person at the top, calling the shots. Instead, each of the seven women on our team is a luminary in her own right. They are far from being mere employees; instead, they are prominent figures in the dating landscape, lending their voices to podcasts, lighting up screens as TV stars, and influencing the industry as significant influencers. What truly sets Cinqe apart from the competition is our emphasis on personal branding. In a conventional agency, you would typically find a hierarchical structure with a CEO at the helm, steering the ship, and salaried employees working diligently under their direction. At Cinqe, however, we believe in the power of individual strengths and the value they bring to our collective mission. Each team member is a vital cog in the machine, contributing to the expansion of our extensive and diverse database of singles, the largest in the industry.
Our unique approach to matchmaking goes beyond simply pairing individuals based on superficial criteria. We delve deeper, understanding our clients on a personal level, and using this information to find their perfect match from our comprehensive database. This database, constantly growing and evolving, is a testament to our team’s effort and dedication, and it plays a pivotal role in our success in creating meaningful and lasting connections.
All of this, our unique working model, the stature of our team members, our massive database, and our personalized approach, culminate in delivering an unmatched, bespoke service to our clientele. At Cinqe, we don’t just promise exceptional matchmaking service, we deliver it.

Erica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

At Cinqe, we receive a significant volume of resumes daily, a testament to the enthusiasm of many individuals excited about participating in our unique venture. It’s essential, however, to understand the nature of our work, which might differ significantly from potential presumptions. One might visualize our industry as glamorous, filled with international travel, and intuitive match-making. An expectation may exist that the process of finding a match is as simple as perusing through a network of single individuals and successfully identifying an ideal pair based on intuition or a background in psychology. The reality, however, is markedly different.
In practice, our clients may not always concur with our advice. Indeed, they have engaged our services to aid in their search for something elusive. It is not uncommon for a client to reject numerous proposed matches, even ones you feel confident about. When clients disregard your recommendations, it can lead to challenging situations that require swift, effective resolution.
Furthermore, our role extends beyond matchmaking. It often involves managing client interactions, discussing their choices in communication or dress on their dates, or even reminding them to respond to their date’s messages. Occasionally, you may find yourself dealing with a client’s impulsive decision that results from a date – such as a sudden decision to invest in real estate or extend a cohabitation invitation. In these cases, you must delicately communicate that our firm neither endorses nor will be held liable for such decisions.
In conclusion, the matchmaking industry, especially when catering to high-net-worth individuals, demands a readiness to handle intricate situations with speed and efficiency. It is a career that is often quite different from what most initially anticipate.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In the early stages of my career at Cinqe Matchmaking, I held the belief that the best advice would come from those within the same industry. However, as we began to outpace our competition, becoming leaders in the dating industry, I realized a fundamental truth: to truly excel, I needed to look beyond our industry for mentorship. This was a lesson I had to unlearn. Initially, it was a challenging shift in perspective. After all, we are conditioned to believe that those in the same field are best equipped to guide us. However, in our case at Cinqe, there was simply no one doing better than us within the dating industry. This realization led me to broaden my horizons and seek mentorship from successful business leaders in sectors unrelated to dating.
I began surrounding myself with mentors who were real estate tycoons, private equity partners, investors, and business owners of large corporations. These individuals, while not directly associated with the matchmaking industry, offered invaluable insights and advice that were universally applicable. They provided fresh perspectives, innovative strategies, and a wealth of knowledge garnered from their respective fields that I could adapt and implement into our business model at Cinqe.
Unlearning to take advice only from those within our industry was a turning point for me. It allowed me to gain a well-rounded understanding of business dynamics, which in turn, helped Cinqe Matchmaking to thrive and remain at the forefront of the dating industry. The journey of unlearning and relearning served as a potent reminder that growth often requires us to step out of our comfort zones and challenge our preconceived notions

Image Credits
Jackie Nunnally || SIMPLY SONDER