“I could be the walking poster child for the age-old phrase, ‘What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.’”
– Lori Cheek, Founder of Cheekd.com
With that kind of attitude, it’s hardly surprising where Lori Cheek finds herself today.
Lori Cheek was born and raised in a small town in Kentucky. After working as an architect for a number of years, Lori Cheek stumbled upon a brilliant idea that led her into the world of dating and technology. Back in 2008, she was out with her male colleague for dinner. He saw a very attractive lady at a table close by and while exiting the restaurant, passed on a message written on the back of his business card to her. Lori’s colleague secured a great date, and Lori got a mind-blowing idea on creating dating cards with cheeky invitation lines to hook up.
From building structures, she was now onto building relationships.
Challenges in Building a Business
She founded Cheekd.com in 2010. Lori says, “As a trained architect, I had no idea what it took to build a business.” As the years went by, Lori hustled harder to keep her dream alive.
She shares, “After coming up with the idea, I was going in circles trying to figure out how to build my business.”
After many years of trying out different ideas, bad partners, and a lot of frustration, Lori desperately wanted to take her venture to the next level.
Emerging Unscathed from Shark Tank’s Rejection
Lori’s next stop to give a fillip to her venture was ABC’s Shark Tank. Back in 2013, she found herself walking down the hallway and quickly rejected by all the sharks. It was heart-wrenching for Lori, but she refused to budge. Even after facing downright caustic and demeaning remarks asking her to “quit her hobby” and “right entrepreneur with the wrong idea,” Lori never thought of quitting. She got a CTO on board who helped facilitate and finance the new face and technology behind the new Cheekd. Fast forward to today, she proved how massively wrong the sharks were; Lori’s dating platform has generated five times the money she had sought on Shark Tank show. Today, Cheekd has redefined online dating.
Lori says, “It wasn’t an easy ride but I’ve never been happier in my life.” She persevered through adversity even when the experts asked her to quit, refusing to not believe in her dream. Striving hard, Lori achieved what she wanted and emerged a winner in life.
About Cheekd
Cheekd is an online dating solution that connects people in real-time. It leverages a cross-platform low energy Bluetooth technology to make connections in person and then continue the conversation online. Anyone within the vicinity (30 feet to be precise) who meets your criteria, Cheekd ensures you know about it.
