7steps.com

I felt i must think of changing the way matrimony sites are working as my experience was bad.
this is how matrimony sites are as of now:
you create your profile with bride/groom details such as

• Work
• Education
• Family location
• Pics
• Astrology

if the other party likes your profile, they will send you an interest.
if you too like theirs pay money get right to see some phone numbers, you speak over phone and go further.

All good when you just say, but in reality its not working as expected.

• lot of good brides and grooms are finding it hard to find a match. In my experience lots of good profiles are there for more than an year searching/looking for a profile.
• With the changes happening globally, old way of this are not working. 
• It has some reasons, like:
• Unrealistic Expectations (inspired due to movies etc)
• Giving more value to money & physical look than family, character
• Abroad dreams
• Status  etc...

Earlier, (in good olden days)
           it was easier to find a match with in the community as most of them are with in a vicinity.
they know each other and hence there is trust.

In current era,

• people are far apart
• one doesn't know the other.
• Most of the time, some people are not active in matrimony due to lack of facilities and knowledge. So, they are missing the interests while the other is waiting for the response. when response delays it creates some anger as well.
• All has a doubt of what kind of people they are as they don't know each other or they don't have any common friend/party. [earlier broker used to play that role. as people finding it  hard to find brokers they are going to DYI matrimony which is not able to address the main concerns. again the issue of trust.]
• Judging on based PICS. Pics are not always you, its your snapshot on that moment. some have photo creeping faces some aren't. that doesn't mean they are not good, their pic was not good. often people failing to understand that. [this is one more main reason for people not able to find their mate. They are just seeing pics and rejecting 98%. 2% beautiful/handsome will always flooded with requests. So, matrimonial sites are failing in sharing the right and complete info to the parties because they are not capturing it right.]
• Also, there is problem in filling the requirements of the brides/grooms as well. They simply keep IAS/IPS without understanding the reality. Here is complete analysis of no.of possible matches you can find if you have below requirement.

First will show the chances of most of the brides/grooms requirements. Most of the profiles say IAS/IPS or USA or Doctors or CA's or Engineers with 14+LPA.

IAS/IPS(Civils):

Its 1364 people an year. every one looks for not more than an 4 years of age gap. so, 5446 IAS/IPS people will be there 

Like wise, there is always a good craze/demand for doctors and now recently for CA's. Lets see those stats:

CA's:

Taking 2014 stats: 2983 from November 2014,  3100 from May 2014 who have cleared both the groups. saying that on an average 6000 CA's( including for 4 years difference 24000 CA's) are getting qualified (rough fig). 

Doctors:
India is the largest creator of doctors. 49,980/year doctors are passing out each year from the 370 colleges across India. Considering 4 year gap its 2,00,000 doctors.

IIT/IIM's:
10,000 IITians/year + 10,000 IIM post grads/year. So for 4 years 80,000 considerable.

Top B-Schools:
20,000 more, 80,000 more for 4 years.

if not by profession, other filter is by country:
let dive into that:
USA/UK/Canada:(Abroad)

USA:
Dollar dreams. major attraction in Indian scenario especially when looking for a match.
US gives 85,000 new H1B visas every year and in 2016 it has issued 1,26,000 H1 B's. Consider out 1,26,000 75% are married as 48% are renewals so i expect a 90% of renewals are married. so 25% i.e. 22,500 approx can be brides/grooms.

Now, need to include the M.S people. on an average 1,25,000 people are going USA for studies and there is 7-8% hike in the number every year. considering 4 years gap it will 5,00,000 approx available grooms/brides. taking our some dropouts and India returns so 5,00,000 would be good fit total US matches.

CANADA:
approx 1,72,000 in 2017 and they rate is increasing by 13% around. considering this for 4 years it would be 5,86,000 approx and possible brides/grooms will be around 40% 2,34,000.
UK:
30,000/year and 1,20,000 for 4 years and 40% - 24,000 brides/grooms.
Singapore:
incase of Singapore its 2 year work permit. 5-10K/year, so average 7,500/year and * 4 = 30,000 and 40% of it 12,000 brides/grooms.
Australia:
25,000/year for Indians out of 95,000 issued by Australian government. 1,00,000 for 4 years and 40,000 brides/grooms.

Engineers with 14+
On an average,

• <=29 years is considered as marriage age.
• Mostly under 30 in software industry will Freshers<Sernior Developer<Tech/Team Lead<Architect.
• Their pay will be 2-6<6-10<9-14<12-18 LPA respectively. 
• considering 25-29 aged software engineers now. 15,00,000/year=> 60,00,000 total.
• Stats say that 7% are employable i.e. with good skills but 20% are getting jobs, 3,00,000
• depending on performance by the time they reach 25, they will mostly be senior developer. considering skill 75% will be in the range of 6-8 LPA (Its purely my understanding, no valid stats). 75,000 will be 10+ and 14+ will be only around 30% of it, i.e. 22,500

Banks also has some boom recently and its recruitment is 68,000. 40% of it again can be considered. i.e. 27,200.

On a whole, abroad matches comes to
5,00,000 USA +  2,34,000 Candian + 24,000 UK + 12,000 Singapore + 40,000 Aus  = 81000

85% US visa holders are men. Taking the same for all countries.
6,88,500 grooms
1,21,500 brides
now comes the Indian thing, Filters (Ref-I)

1. Language
2. Caste/Community
3. Sub Caste
4. Family Place
5. Pay
6. Physical look
7. Kundali or Horoscope

you calculate how many will be brides/grooms (available) will be there and how many from your state/language and how many from your community, matching your kundali.

I will help you in that as well, here is the list of Indians by language split:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers_in_India

let me take an example for Telugu for calculating,
8.86% are Telugu. applying the same for all countries for approximation and rounding it to 9% for simplification and averaging.
Telugu People: 81000
Telugu Grooms:  7650(85%) Telugu Brides:1350(15%). 

I hope people moving abroad will almost be in the ratio of their population by community

OC Caste List In Andhra Pradesh/ Oc Caste Percentage In Ap

1. Brahman 3.0
2. Kshatriya 1.2
3. Komati 2.7
4. Kamma 4.8
5. reddy 6.5
6. Kapu 15.2
7. Velama 3.0

BC Caste List In Andhra Pradesh/ Bc Caste Percentage In Ap

1. Balija 3.0
2. Boya/Besta 0.7
3. Chakali 4.2
4. Devanga 2.1
5. Dudekula 0.4
6. Gavara 0.4
7. Golla 6.3
8. Idiga 1.0
9. Jangam 0.4
10. Kammara/ Vishwa Brahmana 2.1
11. Kummari 0.9
12. Kurma 1.3
13. Munnurukapu 0.8
14. Mangali 1.3
15. Mutrasi 3.3
16. Sale 2.9
17. Telaga 5.2
18. Uppara 0.6
19. Waddera 1.8
20. Others 5.4

SC/ST Caste List in Andhra Pradesh/ SC/ST caste Percentage in Andhra Pradesh

1. Madiga 7.3
2. Mala 9.7

Other Religions:
Muslims-8.53
Christians-1.19

Now, calculate your percentage based on the community you are from.
for ex: if you are taking brahmins,

Telugu Brahmin Grooms: 230 Telugu Brahmin Brides:40

Now, Grooms look for working women, so 230 will try to marry someone in 40 rounding it to 190 Abroad Telugu brahmin Grooms.

Now comes the Sub-caste: 31 sub castes in Andhra Brahmins. Majorly Niyogi, Vaidiki, Sri vaishnava, madhwa, dravida. source
So, 6 per each sub caste on an avg. so you have a basis now to calculate your chances of getting an abroad match if you are Telugu brahmin girl. you can calculate by considering how you look, what you have studied, whats your family status and your family place. giving equal weightage to all it will be 6 for each category. So, you have 6 to choose from on an average if you are looking for an abroad match.

Grooms too will look for a Good looking, good family, well educated and near to their place. so, 6/4 <1 when filtered from their side. so, chances will drop to <1.

Taking the above filters, IAS/IPS(civils) - 5446/9 = 605 Telugu, 3% Brahmins - 18, Civils there is a gender balance so 9 for each gender  (not applying other bride filters  ). 9/4 = 2 after Groom filters.

Taking the above filters, CA's - 24000/9 = 2664 Telugu, 3% Brahmins - 80, CA's as well has good gender balance so 40 for each gender  (not applying other bride filters respecting;) ). 40/4 ~ 10 after Groom filters.

Taking the above filters, IIT/M's - 80000/9 = 8889 Telugu, 3% Brahmins - 267, IIT/M's as well has good gender balance so 40 for each gender  (not applying other bride filters respecting;) ). 40/4 ~ 10 after Groom filters.

Taking the above filters, Doctor's - 200000/9 = 22,222 Telugu, 3% Brahmins - 666, Doctors's as well has good gender balance so 333 for each gender  (not applying other bride filters ). 333/4 ~ 86 Doctors after Groom filters but doctors tend to choose doctors so, i consider only 50% will look out. so its 43 Doctors


Taking the above filters, HPE's (high payed engineers) - 22500/9 = 2500 Telugu, 3% Brahmins - 75, 1:2 for female:male in HPE. 50/4 ~ 13 HPE after Groom filters.

So, final number if you are looking for only 1+2+10+43+13 = 69 possible matches.
Now, consider love marriages 10%, 20% matches with in relatives, 30% from near & dear. so, left with 40% i.e
69*4/10 = 27.6.
110 Grooms with in 4 year age gap.

Now,  consider from Groom side, if they want as minimum as possible, they will go for 1,2,3,4 in-order of age difference. so 27.6/birth year. ~28 is the possible grooms with above filters for a set of (I DON'T KNOW). How many reaching matrimony site in India is really less.

110 for 1,99,350

8,86,00,000 (8.86 Cr), 3% Telugu Brahmins - 26,50,000. 14-15% between 22-30: 3,98,700
considering 1:1 ratio of Male:Female - 1,99,350 for each gender.

110/199350 = 0.0005618 i.e. 5-6 in 10,000 

Only 5-6 in 10,000 can get a match of their requirement. So, Think...

Understand the chances Matrimony sites are giving

Note: You Don't know how many will reach other specs like should be humorous, glamorous, outgoing, easy going, should be educated in top institutions only, should have 20+ salary for a guy, should be like a hero/hero-in, sub caste/shakha, astrology matching etc...etc..
a lot  people are thinking of is crap, i hope many doesn't understand these statistics and wait..wait...wait... for a dream, perfect match.

What is more alarming i felt is the way they are used.

• Matrimony shouldn't be just scrolling and viewing like Facebook/Instagram posts. 
• A person has a history of around 25 years to know when marrying. Shouldn't decide with in a single second of viewing a photo, as photos are not always right. 

Here is my UPDATED IDEA to provide a better tool for making a match:

• Don't show profile visits - we will not show who saw one's profile.
• Don't show when one person interested in another profile- we will not show any interest sent by anybody to them.
• Don't show contact details just for being a paid member.

This solves the issues of overwhelming requests received. But, you might be getting a doubt how the others will know about the others and their interest. Here is the idea,

• Whenever one is looking at a profile, they should keep them one of the following categories like Interested, Liked, Not Interested.This categorization is completely private, the other party will not be knowing what they have selected.
• We will mix the profiles in interested/liked category in to the feed of the other party. that feed will have other profiles as well so they don't know how/why this profile is there in their feed.
• As every profile has to be categorized, up on viewing, when there is a mutual interest then only we will allow viewing phone number.
• Also, the feed will be based on the preferences. if any profiles which doesn't main preferences like caste etc won't be shown in feeds.
• Preferences will have two categories: MUST, Desired. Caste, Religion may MUST for many. job, salary may come under desired for many. with these combinations will give a feed considering other factors discussed above.

 This way it solves many problems, here are few:

• Brides are getting more calls/ interests from people who are out of their preference zones. which is creating a lot of problem for them and creating some restlessness as well. with this until a mutual interest is there you cannot see the contact details of others.  this solves one major problem for bride's families. Will be charged for viewing contact details of mutual interests.
• Due to overwhelming requests, some of the bride's and groom's showing arrogance. In the above way, nobody knows how interests they got. so, this will keep everyone down on earth.
• Also, we will show the above statistics while filling their profile and preferences. so, they will get the sense of their chances. 

This way there will be more chances for finding a better match, with in less time, less effort without any havoc and privacy.

Along with these the old idea is the updated plan, please read the old idea as well.

OLD idea:
These are the points i want to bank on, 

1. Building Trust
2. Improve the Communication
3. Include all i.e. Bride/Groom as well along with parents

• One of the drawbacks of current Matrimony sites is that not uploading a photo (many won't upload photo) or not uploading a good photo. 50% failure is because of not taking/uploading a good looking photo.
• Remediation: Tie-up with local photographers and contract them to make a photo session for better pics to post. 
• Like 2-3 pics of Bride/Groom in normal, traditional etc dresses.
• One group pic for family
• One video/pic of their house
• Photo's is not just all about. Each has some reputation, some good things they have in their life. their family is also like your family need some consideration of these.
• Remediation: Background verification is one option to consider here. Background verification is not about love etc but how people, relatives treat/rate them. Need to look for better ideas in this.

• Instead of Send Interest, 
• Remediation: i want it to replace with a Video Call. Don't just send an interest but have a video call upon acceptance. Schedule a video call and see in live instead of just text messages.
• Each profile will have Storyboard kind of a journey map with details of each stage. like schooling and how he/she was then probably with some pics + studies + achievements + etc, so they will know better. 
• Share some info about your work and your knowledge. make use of LinkedIn etc.

So, at the end i am assuming 7 steps something like, (Ref-II)

1. When someone requests for a matrimony account, a request will be sent to local photographer/video maker who will take above mentioned snaps and upload to portal.
2. Additional pics will be taken of childhood achievements etc and a journey map will be crated which will be like a timeline story. visual representation may be give better experience.
3. When one likes others profile, they can schedule a video call. Multiple people can be invited and can introduce, talk know about each other.Other, problem with current matrimony sites is, wont receive replies from most. We force replying say like ok, hold or reject (for ex) post video call and before viewing other matches.
4. They can request for background check i.e. checking for common relatives and taking their opinions, neighbors opinions and rating/review by 7steps (need to think).
5. We will also supply the Kundali charts manually prepared (automated are not always correct) when people scheduled a call i.e. expressed interest.
6. Go further, for match making by marriage looks and engagement
7. Become together with 7Steps.

So, you are helping people to get better matches with better confidence, assurance and better details and charging will also be bit high compared to current. Since its a marriage people are ready to spend. its a win-win situation. Also, we will use above analytics in hinting the user about the probability.

Also, as phone number is becoming personal identity, we can keep it secret and can make everything via app (if security is becoming a concern, to avoid any unnecessary misuses of phone numbers)

"I am not trying to match the people requirement to find as per requirement, but trying to let them understand that there are other good matches to consider instead of pondering on infeasible requirement." [they can understand that and agree when they know about each other.]

7 Steps help you to find a match satisfying the 7 filters (Ref-I) in 7 stages of match making (Ref-II).

EDIT: Also, another observation is that, 75% of people who are registering with above kind of requirements are from the metros like Hyderabad etc. I think they are getting influenced with the city life styles, movies etc..

These are just my thoughts. Each of them needs to be refined and built.