We only get paid when you get engaged.

I grew up in a yeshivish Jewish home, where dating had a sense of purpose and mission. People were looking to build a life together and get married. An emphasis on marriage, matchmakers, a tight-knit community, and a shared set of values all helped make that happen.

When I stepped into the broader Jewish dating world, that clarity seemed to disappear. People want connection and companionship, but Jewish intentional dating feels stuck.

The major dating apps follow the same template. Pay a recurring subscription, build a shallow profile that rewards looks over substance, swipe left and right, and try to turn small talk into an in-person meetup.

The matchmaking efforts fall flat in a different way. You pay to enter a database, fill out a long form, and wait for suggestions that are few and often poor.

The grassroots efforts add additional noise. You pay a fee for gatekept WhatsApp groups you can't search through, endure virtual speed-dating rounds that lead nowhere, and attend in-person events that feel scattered and unintentional.

I built One Year to bring the best of the Jewish tradition into the modern dating age — where the matchmaker is paid at the engagement, not every month you stay single. Where profiles reward substance, not looks. Where discovery is shuffled, not gamified. Where there's no chat to disappear into. Every choice here points the same direction: getting you engaged and off this app.

My hope is simple: to use my background in fullstack engineering and AI to build technology that helps more Jews build Jewish homes.

I give you a brachah (blessing) that this effort helps you find your person.

Best, Ariel