Dinner with Strangers: How the Timeleft App Works

The platform just arrived in Brazil considers personalities and interests to bring together six strangers in a surprise restaurant

On a Wednesday evening, six people who don’t know each other meet for dinner at a restaurant. The exact location of the meeting was announced only on the morning of the same day, through an application in which everyone answered questions about their personality and interests. It might sound like something out of a futuristic movie, but it’s happening here and now. With just ten months of existence, the Portuguese startup Time left has already brought together 120 thousand people in more than fifty cities around the world, including large metropolises such as New York, Paris AND London. Since the beginning of March the experience has also been available in Brazil, more precisely in St. Paul, Campinas, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte AND Porto Alegre. The app’s debut in the capital of Sao Paulo saw more than 300 people dining at several restaurants.

Public relations officer Bianca Ferreira, 36, heard about the arrival of Time left through a friend and decided to sign up for one of the dinners that would take place on March 20th in the city where she lives, the Rio de Janeiro. “I’ve been single for almost three years. I have close friends, people who are very good to me and it made sense for me to be close to them. But I thought: ‘let’s see what it will be!’ Sometimes an interesting person comes to connect with me, sometimes an interesting friendship arises to break away from the cliché I’m used to, sometimes it takes me to new places,” she says.

OR Time left it can be used with the aim of finding a romantic partner, but not only and not necessarily. Entering the place or application (available for iOS and Android), the first step consists in answering a questionnaire that aims to map your personality (are you extroverted or introverted?, what sign are you?), interests (do you prefer arthouse films or blockbusters? , do you play sports?) and what is your goal with this experience. The options are: “meet new people”, “make new friends”, “find a relationship”, “explore new restaurants”, “try something new” and even “not sure”. “I wrote it all down! Maybe there are people who look at it and think it’s something with ulterior motives, but that’s not all I had in mind,” Bianca says.

After answering the questions, select the city and date you wish to attend the dinner. The meetings always take place on Wednesdays at 8pm. To make a reservation you need to pay a service fee of R$39.99 (there are also packages from R$59.90 per month, R$119.90 for three months and R$199.90 for six months). The organization of the dinners is taken care of entirely by the team Time left, in collaboration with restaurants. “You get nothing: there’s no welcome drink, nothing like that. But they book your table, you get there with everything sorted. I understand that you have to pay to maintain the app because no service is free,” he comments White.

On Tuesday, the app displays some information about your group: what area they work in, what nationality they are, and what signs they have (hello, astrology chart fans). Wednesday morning is the time to unveil the restaurant.

Initially, groups always consist of you and five other people. But in Bianca’s case, a man and a woman canceled at the last moment, also notified by the app. Questioned by VTthe consultancy of Time left said that tools are being implemented to avoid this as much as possible. The company claims that if someone shows up to a dinner and everyone else is absent, they can get a refund. Those who cancel the experience will only receive a refund if they cancel by midnight on the Monday before dinner.

In the end, due to cancellations, Bianca’s dinner consisted of her and three other people. There was only one man, aged 36, who works in IT, and two women, aged 33 and 34, one working on a cruise ship and the other in a fintech. During dinner the conversation touched on various topics: from children (Bianca was the only one at the table to have one) to work, travel experiences and things that everyone would still like to do, like skydiving. “The women spoke in a more general way, the man was a little quieter. But the conversation flowed very well, we had affinities. The ages were close, the conversations matched, there was no one who clashed or disagreed a lot between them, I think there was a synergy there”, evaluates Bianca.

In order to increase the chances that the members have some compatibility with each other, the Time left Use the questionnaire responses when creating groups. Some questions are primarily aimed at identifying differences that could generate friction during the dinner, such as religion, political positioning, social class, recreational drug use and politically incorrect humor. Participants also indicate how much they like or are willing to talk about politics and news. In Bianca’s case no one touched on very controversial topics: “it was a very light and pleasant conversation”.

However, there is always the possibility that there isn’t immediate chemistry between the group. For these cases, the application offers a sort of game with random questions and icebreakers that members can answer and, perhaps, start a chat.

Around 10.30pm Bianca’s group finished dinner. Everyone pays for what they have consumed and, so that the meal does not burden anyone’s pockets, the application asks in advance how much you are willing to invest. The categorization is somewhat relative: you need to indicate between one, two or three dollar signs. Overall, Bianca liked the choice of restaurant, which was in Botafogo, both in terms of price and location: “I live in Ilha do Governador, a little further away, but I’m a person willing to travel around Rio. On Wednesday-Friday , specifically, I was in the center for work and from there I took the metro to Botafogo, which is a very nice neighborhood.”

The startup recognizes that the fact that the venue is only informed on the day could be a reason to cancel attendees – and is already working on a solution. “Soon people will also be able to choose which area of ​​the city they prefer to dine in,” says the Time left. A VT carried out a booking simulation considering the city of St. Paul and, before even proceeding with the reservation, the application already indicated that the restaurant would be in the region of Partridges, Pines, Villa Maddalena, Objective, Gardens OR Moema. In other cities there is no such geographical delimitation.

After dinner there’s still more. In big cities like St. Paul AND Rio de JaneiroTHE Time left invite people from all groups that evening to meet for a last drink at a bar. According to the company, these capital cities average 300 attendees per night. Bianca saw the invitation, but preferred not to prolong the night. “For me the fact that it is Wednesday is a bit limiting because we are in the middle of the week. We paid the dinner bill at 10.30pm and in my case it would not be good to go somewhere otherwise later,” she explains. A Time left he explains that he chose Wednesday as the day for dinner with strangers because “it is a day that does not conflict with weekend times and it is more feasible to book good restaurants”.

But is it worth having dinner with strangers? Bianca discovered that she had some acquaintances in common with one of the members of the group, who ended up adding on Instagram: “he is a person with whom I felt an affinity, someone with whom I believe that he will allow us to meet again and have fun” .

Public relations does not intend to use the Time left back inside Rio de Janeiro, but sees potential in using the platform outside of the city where you live. “I don’t think it’s a necessity for me to make friends where I live. But I think it could be very interesting if you spend time in another city. If you just moved and have no friends there or if you travel and want to meet people. I think I would definitely try it again under these circumstances,” he says.

OR Time left She’s keen to point out that it’s not a dating app, which is in line with Bianca’s perception of the experience: “It doesn’t feel like it has a dating feel to it. It gives you, I don’t think that’s where I would find someone for me. But I think it’s really good for you to meet new people if you need to socialize.”

Source: Terra

Ben

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.