How to Navigate Dating as Asian Americans with Coffee Meets Bagel CEO, Quincy Yang

"We're moving into the post-swipe era — more intentional dating, less endless scrolling." — Quincy YangIn this episode, Quincy Yang, CEO of Coffee Meets Bagel, joins John to talk about what's actually driving dating and relationships for Asian Americans right now. Coffee Meets Bagel was started in 2012 by three Korean American sisters who thought swiping was broken, famously turned down a $30 million offer on Shark Tank, and within two years had become a platform where Asian American and Pacific Islander daters made up about half of all users. The first platform that was essentially built for us, by us.Quincy and John get into the company's recent survey for Asian American Heritage Month, where nine in ten AAPI daters said culture matters in a relationship, and roughly 70% said food is part of how they express and receive love — about twice the rate of non-Asian daters. They talk about the OkCupid finding that haunted a generation of Asian men, and why Quincy says the numbers on his own platform are flipped. And they get honest about the harder stuff: more than half of API daters have felt culturally misunderstood by a partner, and one in three has ended a relationship because of it.The throughline is something most of us already feel in our bodies after a long night of swiping: the swipe era trained us to keep one thumb on "next," and it's quietly burning everyone out. Quincy makes the case for slowing down.What we cover:The infamous OkCupid study on Asian men in dating apps, and why Quincy says Coffee Meets Bagel's numbers tell the opposite story.How AI is reshaping dating apps today, and why it can be helpful–or detrimental– depending on how you use it.What really makes a profile work — how many photos you really need, how to write prompts, and why women spend far longer reading a profile than most men think.Why many people feel "culturally misunderstood" in dating, and how it shapes relationships. Why "swipe fatigue" is real, and what the post-swipe era of more intentional dating actually looks like."Your users are your product" — how friction-by-design quietly made the app a home for Asian American daters.The duality of growing up Asian American — the self inside the house and the self outside it — and how it shows up in who we date.The book that changed Quincy’s views about himself, and why it helped change his views about his own identity. The one piece of advice he'd give his younger self about mentors, networking, and being an Asian "on paper" in a sea of resumes.Links:https://www.coffeemeetsbagel.com/press/88-of-aapi-daters-say-culture-matters-in-love-new-coffee-meets-bagel-study-findshttps://apps.apple.com/us/app/coffee-meets-bagel-dating-app/id6502307144When we rise, we rise together.