How Evan Rama Turned a College Jester Stunt Into a Viral Dating App Startup
Social Networking
USA
20 Years
It started with me dressing up in a jester costume (our university dorm was called the jester dorms). I would jump scare students, dine them in our dining halls, and make memories.
This was my marketing campaign to get the name/vision of Kupid out there! I did this for 6 months, all to promote 1 show :)
AI is taking over dating. I want to bring back genuine connection by building the FIRST irl/online hybrid dating app.
The evolution of dating is shifting towards AI applications, where students tell the bot their preferences, and it then matches you with another student of similar interests. This is terrible, no real conversations.
Our generation deserves the experience of meeting their future partner in a more unique way.
"I built Kupid Dating to make people feel again, in person, in real time."
What inspired you to start your own business?
I started this company because college campuses were boring. Every week, it was the same stuff. Business events, board game nights, nothing that made people feel excited to show up. I wanted to change that. Live shows mixed with tech. That was the spark. A new way to make college actually feel alive again.
When I was 15, I joined theatre and quickly became one of the top performers in the state. But my teachers weren’t motivated. They barely hosted shows and never pushed us to go bigger. Eventually, I lost the spark. I thought my dream of performing on Broadway was done. Years later, I realized I didn’t lose the dream. I just needed a new stage. That’s how the idea for Kupid was born. A way to bring live performance back into my life, but this time, on my terms.
How did you turn your idea into a business?
I was alone for the first 6 months. Just me, a jester costume, and an idea I couldn’t shake. I spent months walking around campus in that costume, passing out flyers, getting laughed at, but making sure people noticed. At night, I’d drive Doordash to fund everything… every flyer, every piece of marketing, every tiny expense. It took 4 months just to get a venue approved, so I used that time to make sure the whole school knew who I was. By the time the first show happened, we sold out. That’s how Kupid started. Just showing up every day, funding it myself, and being loud enough that no one could ignore it.
How did you get your customers?
We got our first customers by being loud in real life before we ever touched social media. I walked around campus in a jester costume for months, which built curiosity and hype. Then I started posting videos of myself in costume, which made their way around campus group chats and went viral.
Once the first show sold out, we filmed everything, chopped it into short videos, and flooded TikTok. That got us 15 million views and 700K shares. Every time someone saw a clip, they’d ask when we were coming to their school, so we built a waitlist system for each campus. From there, we layered in Instagram, college ambassadors, and email marketing to keep students engaged until the next show or app launch.
What is your average monthly revenue?
We have had 8 shows, averaging 500 students per event. Our app is not live yet (this is where revenue will come from)!
How are you doing today and what plans for the future?
Today, we’re building faster than ever. We’ve sold out shows across multiple campuses, racked up millions of views, and have a global university tour ahead of us. Our app is finally in development, and we’ve got sponsors lined up to back the next leg of growth.
What’s working is the strategy of making every live show a marketing machine/engine. We film everything, turn it into content, and let that drive both app downloads and waitlist signups. Partnerships have also been huge and working with sponsors that students already love has added credibility and cash flow. (Opill, Fetii, Easel AI, Pinyada, etc)
One of the best decisions was building loud in public. Showing the journey, the wins, and the Ls made people root for us, not just the product.
The hardest part was doing this with zero funding early on. I bootstrapped it with Doordash money, which slowed us down. I also waited too long to hire a real team. For months, I thought I could carry it all, but growth really happened once I brought on a strong C-suite.
Biggest missed opportunity? Merch. We went viral multiple times and never capitalized on it with products or drops. That’s something I’m fixing this year.
What advice would you give to budding founders?
It’s ok to be alone when building in the beginning. All you need is a vision and ambition. After you see traction in the early stages, seek c-suite members that can take over your weaknesses.
Also, move as fast as possible. You should be working on your company to some capacity every day!
Where can we find you?
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