Steve Dean

Dating Industry Consultant, Relationship Coach, and Entrepreneur in Philadelphia, PA

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Hi! I'm Steve Dean 👋🏼

For most of my life, I've deeply enjoyed exploring and wayfinding — I set out to understand entire ecosystems, then I help others navigate them.

Professionally, I'm a dating industry consultant, relationship coach, community builder, event host, and public speaker. I run my own small practice called Dateworking where I help individuals, founders, executives, and service providers navigate the modern dating ecosystem. I also run the Dateworking podcast where I explore the best methods for how we can better connect with one another in a world driven toward physical and emotional disconnection. My guests include founders, C-level execs, and community builders who are shaping the future of human connection.

Creating deep, authentic connections across communities is what I do. It’s what I live for. I host salons, dinners, meetups, and coworking sessions across multiple cities in order to bring people together from all over the world to share their stories and build new friendships, startups, and movements.

Since 2010, I've analyzed over 350 dating apps across 100+ cities, and I've advised and recruited for dating sites like OkCupid, CoffeeMeetsBagel, Hinge, and FarmersOnly.

In 2011, I cofounded a career matchmaking startup, Jobsuitors, that used the algorithms of the dating industry to match people to their best-fit careers.

In 2012, I cofounded a career matchmaking startup, Jobsuitors, that used the algorithms of the dating industry to match people to their best-fit careers.

In 2013, I began working with an international dating and social networking consultancy to advise dating companies, write white papers, speak at conferences about the state of the dating industry, and my personal favorite, perform product teardowns to help dating apps become more responsive to the needs of users.

In 2015, I began hosting 6-10hr friendship-making dinner gatherings at food courts throughout NYC which I called Hygge.nyc.

In 2017, four cofounders and I designed a 100-person creative arts & tech fellowship to support the launch of the largest VR & mixed reality experience center in the western hemisphere.

In 2019, I collaborated with five creative producers to design and host a 12-hour immersive Love Language Exploratorium that spanned 5 stories of an art house in Manhattan.

In 2022, I converted my Hygge food court gatherings into 12-hour friendship-making hikes throughout all 5 boroughs of NYC. I've been hosting them monthly ever since.

In 2024, I expanded my Hyggehikes to Philadelphia.

I LOVE writing about dating, relationships, and how to use data to map out our next moves in life. You can read most of my content on Substack.

My mission is to help the world become a kinder, quirkier, more interconnected place. If you'd like to fuel those efforts, you can support me on Patreon, a platform where anyone can support the work of content creators they love.

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to reach out anytime!

P.S. — Some additional funzies:

Youtube Appearances

Podcast Appearances

Published Writings

  • Work
    • Online Dating Consultant & Speaker at Dateworking
  • Education
    • Swarthmore College
    • Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth