Why Dating Doesn't Need Another App, It Needs a Wingman (With Carly Malatskey, Founder of Joey)

Joey AI wants to kill the dating app — and replace it with a phone call. In this episode of Forward Thinking Founders, Mat talks with Carly Malatskey, founder and CEO of Joey AI, an AI matchmaker that lives entirely in your phone contacts. No app, no swiping, no profile — you call Joey, it gets to know you through an ~8-minute voice conversation about your everyday life (not a highlight reel), and then it texts you a match with context on why. Carly walks through how Joey acts less like a dating app and more like a wingman: telling you who should text first, coaching you through first-date logistics, and debriefing with you afterward to learn and improve the next match. Carly also shares the origin story — from obsessing over relationship science and evolutionary psychology as a Stanford freshman, to working as chief of staff to Ann Miura-Ko at Floodgate, to the fall-2024 voice-AI phone call that convinced her dating was about to change forever. She and Mat dig into go-to-market via trusted communities (alumni networks, professional groups), how she's hiring in the age of AI-assisted coding, and what she's learned from Floodgate's Mike Maples and Ann Miura-Ko about betting on founders and timing. **Topics covered:** - What Joey AI actually is and how the call-to-match flow works - Why Joey requires a phone call instead of just text - The "wingman" layer: pre-date coaching and post-date debriefs - Carly's path from Stanford → Floodgate → founder - The fall 2024 voice-AI moment that sparked the idea - Distribution through existing trusted communities - How Carly is hiring engineers and PMs in 2026 - Lessons from Mike Maples and Ann Miura-Ko on evaluating founders **Links:** - Try Joey: calljoey.ai or text/call (310) 234-5639 - Follow Joey's build-in-public journey: @calljoeyai on Instagram - Follow Carly: Instagram/LinkedIn @carlymalatskey [**★ Support this podcast ★**](https://forwardthinking.substack.com/ "★ Support this podcast ★")