I sat through 30 elevator dating pitches in one night — and somehow had a blast

The event venue, situated in the heart of Singapore’s central business district, was crowded when I arrived.

The participants, between 25 and 44 years old, were dressed to impress but not to stand out — think jeans, polos, dressy blouses, and neutral colors.

Some people stuck to their friends, while I could see others trying to make small talk hesitantly.

As I settled into a high seat, I was immediately pulled into a conversation with a group of women sitting around me. Within minutes, I knew all of their dating histories — and most were bleak.

The first rule of the night was to be respectful: “no heckling, no jeering, no catcalling.”

And secondly, don’t bore the crowd with a pitch longer than two minutes. The host had a stopwatch, and she prompted people when they had 30 seconds left.

People brought their A-game when pitching their friends. Several came up with campaign slogans, touted their cooking or photography skills, and made the crowd groan with lame but endearing jokes.

The crowd skewed more millennial than Gen Z — half of them were in their 30s, per CMB, and showcased their very millennial interests. My new friends and I decided to take a sip of our drinks every time someone said they liked hiking or traveling to Japan.

They also took the pitch in pitch night seriously, with pie charts and SWOT analyses of their friends.

Credentials took center stage in status-obsessed Singapore, with screenshots of stacked LinkedIn profiles, startup pitches, and small business plugs.

It wasn’t all hype. A 44-year-old woman said she had signed up for the event to get over her stage fright, which drew a loud round of applause from the crowd.

My favorite moment was when two men vouched for their friend, Ben, and ended their pitch with the slogan, “Get more Ben for your buck!”

Another woman declared, “I would like an orgasm before I die,” which made me die a little inside.

Juay, CMB’s CEO, said that the event was an attempt to create a space for offline dating.

“Even though we’re a dating app, we’ve always believed that real connections happen offline,” she said. “This event was our way of creating more spaces for that to happen, and we’re excited to keep experimenting with new ways to make dating more intentional, real, and a lot more fun.”

One of the participants, Adlin Jaya, came with her work bestie. She told me she was looking for a night out and to make new friends.

“Being a critical care nurse, we rarely get nights out like these, so when the opportunity came, we thought it’d be fun,” Jaya, 29, told me.

She said she had tried dating apps, but they hadn’t worked for her — she confessed to being a poor texter — and she disliked the men she had talked to on the apps.

“I’d love to meet someone in person. It’s easier to suss out vibes,” she said. She added that she was “awfully introverted,” and putting herself out there in a roomful of strangers was like exposure therapy.

I saw more platonic friendships being forged at the event than romantic ones, with groups of women banding together and shoring each other up with affirmations.

When I left the event, heart full from a night of laughing with new friends, I remembered how important in-person events are.

When the 9-6 corporate grind reigns supreme, daters face swipe fatigue, and there are limited opportunities for a “meet-cute,” CMB’s pitch night was a breath of fresh air.

While I didn’t see any happy couples by the end of the night, it was a good start.