As head of sales at an events company, Natalie Hawthorne's job is selling an experience. But on Thursday night Hawthorne, 30, will be pitching a different type of experience: dating her friend Olivia Bury.

"Olivia deserves to find her person, so why not be open-minded and try something a little out of the box?"

Olivia Bury and Melanie Hawthorne are among the Melburnians signed up to a start-up style dating night.Credit:Joe Armao

Hawthorne and Bury, 33, are one of 10 pairs of friends taking part in 'Date My Friend.ppt', a night where friends treat single mates like start-up businesses, presenting PowerPoint slides and leading audience Q&As to find them a date.

The concept was created last year by Boston young professionals Nancy Zhang and Jackie Li, 25-year-old friends working at biotech start-ups.

"We were both single, and I was complaining a lot about dating in Boston and dating apps," Zhang recalls.

"She makes pitch docs all day in her role and I'm a data scientist. And we just thought: we know how to convince people to invest in companies, wouldn't it be funny if we use this same terminology for having people pitch their friends?"

After hosting their first event before Valentine's Day ("we arrived at the venue half an hour before and there was already a massive line"), the women have organised five more across the US.

Thursday's event, held at Richmond's Moon Dog Brewery, is their first international foray. It is being hosted by Damian Png, a 27-year-old from Collingwood working in venture capital technology who discovered the concept while reading an industry email newsletter.

"I saw them laughing in the entertainment section about some new 'Date My Friend.ppt' launching in New York from Boston," he says. "I like hosting 'blind date bonanza' parties with my friends, so I reached out and said, 'I already run singles parties, I'm happy to launch you in Australia.'"

Although they originally thought the night would only be appealing to "start-up people", Zhang says a "real range" of singles apply.

Start-up inspired dating craze ‘You Should Date.ppt’ has been a hit in the US.Credit:Lee Hatfield

"Going across the US we've really found the idea resonates with lots of young professionals: anyone who is familiar – and frustrated – with the online dating experience."

Each participant has three minutes to pitch their single friend, who sits with them in front of the crowd. Then they take part in a two-minute audience Q&A. After everyone has presented there's an "unstructured socialising time".

"The record we've had is six dates after one of these events for someone being presented, but we have had a few relationships that were not necessarily due to the presentation but indirectly as a result of the event," says Zhang. "Everyone in the room is there for a reason."

She believes the best pitches come with "a mix of sincerity and humour".

"They might bring lots of graphs and charts that are in the consulting style, with KPIs or SWOT analysis. Or people might do a return on investment slide – like, okay, this person is currently in medical school, so right now they have a lot of debt and not a lot of time, but the return on investment graph is sky high."

Bury has "some nerves" about Thursday, although she is overwhelmingly excited. She got the final sign-off on Hawthorne's presentation, which is sure to be gushing.

Illustration: Matt GoldingCredit:

"Everything she has is a result of her hard work and determination," Hawthorne says of Bury. "She loves to travel, get outdoors and try new experiences. As you get to know her, you realise what a strong person this girl is and that she really deserves to find someone to share life with."

While it is ultimately a dating event, it is this "warm sense of friendship" that Zhang says she and Li enjoy most about the evening.

"It's very endearing to have a friend make a presentation about how great you are for three minutes; that's what motivates us to keep doing these events."

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