An Interview With Brooke Bohinc
Mindie Kaplan, the Founder of MaleRoom, is getting inside men’s minds to learn how they view dating and relationships.
Mindie never planned to enter the world of entrepreneurship. However, she noticed a significant lack of open conversations about singlehood and transparent dialogues with men. Leveraging her expertise in marketing, she started MaleRoom, a multimedia platform that challenges societal norms about being unattached while reshaping conventional views on relationship demographics. As the show's founder and host, Mindie interviews men globally, delving into their perspectives and relationship journeys. Thanks to Mindie's ingenuity and determination, MaleRoom has partnered with Snapchat and earned a prominent billboard in Times Square, amplifying its impact and reach.
We asked Mindie about the founding of MaleRoom, the achievements she’s most proud of thus far, and what’s next for her and her company.
Tell us the story behind your company’s founding. How and why did you start
working on MaleRoom?
I founded MaleRoom as a marketer and consumer who saw an obvious gap in content in the market. As a marketer, I discovered that most of the content out there for single women was self-help focused. I wanted to change the narrative around being single to “selectively unattached” based on how many people I saw holding out for the right relationship. From a marketing standpoint, there seems to be four main relational demographics: single, married, divorced, and overly independent. There’s nothing to represent those in between. I also noticed nobody was going straight to the men. At the same time, I was also having highly entertaining conversations with my guy friends about dating and relationships. I wanted to bottle them and put them out there. MaleRoom then became a podcast, video, and live event series.
In what ways has your upbringing or past experiences contributed to how you
operate as an entrepreneur?
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I’ve seen the highs and lows of the lifestyle. I told myself at a young age, after learning how a 401(k) worked, that stability would be for me. This initial fear drove me to companies such as Ford, Nissan, and Microsoft. I loved working with them, but it was only a matter of time until the entrepreneurial spirit caught up to me and the idea of “what if” was more haunting than any potential of failure. The idea of regret in not trying was stronger than it not working out. I could always go back to stability, but I'd never get the time back if I didn’t take a risk. So I implemented my “try anything for a year” philosophy and went for it. I applied this philosophy to moving to New York City, where I still live eight years later.
Talking about the achievements I'm most proud of doesn't feel like bragging at all since most have come from my scrappiness, persistence, asking for introductions—all of which are a choice.
Have you ever felt like you’re “different”? If yes, in what ways has this contributed to your journey as an entrepreneur?
From starting a home gym-based pyramid scheme at the age of eight by charging my parents for membership, I’ve always felt different, especially early in my corporate career. I loved and found security in networking, taking on different roles, and knowing my long-term professional path. I’ve always had a creative side and thought I’d do things differently. Even so, I was able to take what I learned in structure and format from my corporate background and apply that to my independent projects, which was great training for the future.
We dare you to brag. What achievements are you most proud of?
It doesn’t actually feel like bragging since most of my achievements have come from scrappiness, persistence, and asking for introductions—all of which are choices I have made. These attributes led to two exits in my emerging tech startup, launching the MaleRoom brand, and landing our recent partnership with Snapchat. It’s also led to beating breast cancer and creating a screening initiative called Mammosas.com that encourages women to get tested early.
What would you tell your younger self if you were to start your entrepreneurial
journey all over again?
Consistently live outside of your comfort zone; that’s where all the magic is. Who you know really is everything. Cultivate those relationships to make them mutually beneficial. Collect great people for your personal community, help them, connect them, stay in touch, and ask for what you need. Be as direct as possible so as not to waste your time or someone else's.
What’s next for you and MaleRoom?
We recently just launched a new Snapchat series and were selected to be on a billboard in Times Square as part of the activation. The response to the show has been overwhelming in the best way possible. For the upcoming season, we’ll be taking the show on the road and traveling internationally to interview men around the world about dating in different cultures and communities. We will also be announcing some exciting brand partnerships, products, and collaborations.
