Yesterday, the workforce behind the parody Amazon Dating delivered us Postdates. It’s like Postmates, however for getting your stuff again out of your ex.
Postdates appears to be like just like the precise Postmates web site — you possibly can choose a kind of relationship (“casually dated,” “lived together,” “one night stand,” and so on.) prefer it’s a kind of restaurant. Then, you possibly can select from preset objects to retrieve (live performance tickets for those who had been friend-zoned, household heirlooms for those who had been divorced) or add a customized merchandise. Delivery begins at $25 in LA and $30 in NY, together with a further emotional labor charge of $3.99. Yes, you possibly can truly use this service for those who’re in one in every of these two cities, however Postdates isn’t right here to remain — it’s a pop-up enterprise. Or, as Postdates “founder” Ani Acopian places it, “It’s kind of like watching a ‘Black Mirror’ episode, but it’s your real life.”
You would possibly bear in mind Elon Musk’s failed comedy startup/”intergalactic media empire” Thud, which aimed to create immersive digital experiences that blurred the strains between what’s actual and faux. Or, you may not bear in mind Thud, because it failed spectacularly and wasn’t very humorous. Postdates struck the satire gold that Elon Musk dreamed of with Thud, solely they did it with out $2 million {dollars} in funding from one of many richest males on this planet.
TechSwitch talked to conceptual artist Ani Acopian, producer Suzy Shinn and product developer Brian Wagner to get the lowdown on simply how legit Postdates is.
Image Credits: Postdates (opens in a brand new window)
TechSwitch: Why Postdates? How did the thought come about?
Suzy Shinn: At the beginning of quarantine when all the things was falling aside, Ani and I made ScrubHub, like PornHub for hand washing. We raised $50,000 for charity.
Ani Acopian: I believe we had this inventive juice inside us that we wished to search out an outlet for.
SS: Then, we had the Postdates thought, and we truly tried to get traders and artists to fund it, as a result of we had been like … This goes to price one thing, we wish to make it actual and truly perform. No one wished something to do with it, as a result of they had been like, “What’s the return?”
AA: And we had been like, “Well, the return is that it’s a vibe.”
SS: No one wished something to do with us fundingwise, so we constructed it ourselves.
So, you possibly can truly use this?
AA: Yeah, we partnered with two native courier firms, Gourmet Runner in LA and Airpals in New York. We wished to verify we work with those that deal with their staff proper.
SS: You can put in a request, and the ex has to consent clearly and be like, “Yeah, I have this stuff for you, I’ll put it outside,” and our couriers have Postdates luggage that we give to them. But legitimately, you should use it in each of these cities so long as you’re not sending a cat, or a baby, or alcohol, or medicine, or one thing that gained’t slot in a bag.
AA: We spent a variety of time on the workflow to verify no addresses are shared, that everybody’s consenting to be concerned, and we’re making an attempt to maintain it no contact, so we’re asking folks to place stuff on their door deal with. You’re not charged till your ex accepts the order.
Image Credits: Postdates (opens in a brand new window)
You simply launched yesterday, however have folks truly been utilizing the service thus far?
Brian Wagner: We had some individuals who would publish a screenshot in response to Ani’s tweet and be like, “Oh snap, I actually got Postdated by my ex!”
SS: There’s about 30 to 40 pending requests, and we’ve gotten a handful that simply as of this morning have been delivered efficiently.
Do you suppose this could possibly be a viable enterprise?
AA: Not all the things must be a viable enterprise. I’d truly be … not shocked, however upset if this truly turned a factor, as a result of I don’t suppose the world wants that degree of stuff, however I believe we’re just about already there. All you are able to do is maintain the mirror up.
Image Credits: Postdates (opens in a brand new window)
As satire, what are you making an attempt to say with Postdates?
SS: I believe within the tech world, it looks like all of those tech startups get loopy quantities of funding, and so they spend a lot cash, and so they take themselves so severely. The three of us, with the assistance of our pals, had been in a position to do that, and we didn’t want $13 million in funding or 5 years. But we had been staying up till like 5 a.m., and we had been like, “Can we hire someone to help us?” however we had been like, “No, we can’t pay.”
BW: Especially with the rise of the gig economic system, we’ve seen some positives and a few fairly critical negatives, particularly throughout quarantine. It helps folks get the issues that they want, but in addition, a variety of staff aren’t being paid pretty and don’t have medical insurance. So there’s a sentiment much more typically now that a variety of tech is redistributing labor, and also you’re simply paying for folks to be moved round. So in a manner, we’re kind of like … We’ve redistributed emotional labor right here.
There’s an emotional labor tax on the positioning, yeah.
BW: There’s a little bit of poking enjoyable of that, saying how far will we go when it comes to truly shifting labor alongside for cash. Will folks pay for another person to cope with the emotional dealing with of a state of affairs?

How did Postdates construct upon Amazon Dating?
AA: We’ve made two parody websites now, and we wished to take that to the following degree and make it experiential. It’s sort of like watching a “Black Mirror” episode, nevertheless it’s your actual life.
SS: What is the literal worth you’ll pay to not see somebody? This is an actual factor that occurs on a regular basis — my pals might be like, “I broke up with my girlfriend, I need you to go get my stuff,” and I’m like, “I don’t want to go get your stuff.”
AA: I don’t suppose we must always outsource it, although.
So you don’t suppose we must always outsource it, but in addition, you made Postdates.
AA: I believe that’s the entire …
That’s the joke.
AA: Yeah.
What does it say about startup tradition to make a product that you just don’t suppose ought to exist?
SS: Startups are so, so critical, there’s no humor in it, and so they suppose it’s going to final ceaselessly. Well, we’re doing the alternative.  We’re going to make this final a few weeks for a restricted time solely, after which we’re gonna take it away. But we’d like to preserve doing these, making one thing the place artwork meets tech meets leisure.
BW: Companies and experiences can simply be enjoyable. They don’t need to be a billion greenback thought, they don’t need to be one thing that’s going to go on “Shark Tank.” Imagine us getting into “Shark Tank … .”