The Scoop: Many Muslim singles throughout North America turn to dating sites or friends and family members for guidance when trying to meet a future spouse. However, they’re often matched with incompatible people, including those who aren’t ready for marriage. This is why BeyondChai was founded. The matchmaking company relies on proven methods to offer quality matches for Muslims looking for a life partner. Along with matchmaking, BeyondChai’s diverse team of professionals provides image consulting and dating coaching, so clients can be completely prepared to find love.
The founders of BeyondChai saw the challenges of the Muslim community, in terms of marriage, and the limited avenues that they had to find spouses, which is why they decided to start the matchmaking firm.
BeyondChai takes its name from a common form of introduction in Muslim communities, as many potential marriages begin with families meeting over chai tea. However, the problem is family members often only have so many connections, and there’s no guarantee that the two people they bring together will have anything in common. Times have changed for Muslim singles.
BeyondChai provides a more modern style of matchmaking. Its matchmakers lay the groundwork for finding suitable companions and offer opportunities for social interaction with potential partners through events. BeyondChai also offers premarital counseling and other services to clients in hopes of establishing strong, lifelong bonds.
Since launching a few years ago with a handful of matchmakers, the company has grown into a large team of professionals who use a variety of methods to find quality matches for clients throughout North America.
Pairing North American Clients Based on True Compatibility
A hallmark of BeyondChai is that its matches are about quality — not quantity. Some clients turn to matchmaking after finding little success viewing profile after profile on other Muslim-focused dating platforms. The BeyondChai experience is far different.
Many singles on dating sites or apps aren’t ready for serious relationships, much less marriage. In contrast, the singles who come to BeyondChai are serious about marriage, and they want to ensure that anyone they meet is also ready.
“We look at compatibility, values, and religion because, even within Islam, people practice differently. You could have someone who faithfully follows all of the religious laws and another person who is more moderate or liberal,” Shradha said. “We look at all of those things when we learn about our clients and what they are looking for. We take all of those things into consideration.”
BeyondChai’s clients all identify as Muslim, but there’s a wide variety within that group. Singles on BeyondChai range in age from 22 to 65 and include clients who are single, divorced, and divorced with children. BeyondChai serves Muslims of all ethnic backgrounds who live in the United States and Canada.
“Marriage is an important part of our community throughout the world. To find the person to love, cherish, and respect you, and have it reciprocated, is really important,” Shradha told us. “We focus on making meaningful connections. With other services, you can look at a bunch of profiles, but we focus on sharing one profile at a time. We encourage clients to take the opportunity to consider one person. Our matchmakers are matching you for a reason.”
Matchmakers Look to Understand Individual Needs
When clients sign up for BeyondChai, they’re connected with a dedicated matchmaker. The process starts with an in-depth phone consultation that allows the matchmaker to understand the client better and determine the type of person he or she is looking for in terms of personality, profession, location, and religion.
While clients work with one matchmaker, in reality, the entire team of BeyondChai professionals is working together for the benefit of all clients. That’s because it isn’t a database service. Instead, the matchmakers use networks within their own families and in different communities to find the perfect match.
“We do look within our client base, but we have personal connections and networks throughout the United States. We also use social media because we see a lot of Muslim websites and Facebook pages that do the matrimonial side,” Shradha said. “We look everywhere. We work together as a team and also consult with external matchmakers to find the most compatible match for our clients.”
Most of the matchmakers with BeyondChai have shared experiences with clients. Most are now happily married, but they’ve been in many of the same situations, so they understand their clients’ frustrations and concerns. They appreciate vulnerability and listen intently.
In fact, BeyondChai matchmakers consider themselves the client’s first match.
“We really focus on customer service and experience and we believe that by creating that authentic connection with our clients we can help them in a unique way,” Shradha said. “We share their vulnerabilities because we have been through what they are going through one way or another.”
The matchmakers aim to foster a bond with clients through consistency, communication, respect, honesty, and trust. The ultimate goal is that clients can have an authentic, enjoyable experience that is far different than their previous attempts to find love.
“We may have a client come to us who is really frustrated, and says how they tried this or that, and all of our matchmakers can understand those avenues. It’s a younger group of individuals,” Shradha said. “We are looking deeper into the things the clients care about and value and match them based on who they are and what they’re looking for.”
BeyondChai Helps You Move Forward in Your Love Life
Because of the challenges facing singles of Muslim faith, Shradha said it’s common that the BeyondChai matchmakers will meet with successful professionals who have very little experience in talking with members of the opposite sex. That’s why the firm goes beyond matchmaking to offer holistic services.
“Not only do we bring people together, but we offer relationship coaching and image consulting. Our relationship coach helps clients build on their strengths and figure out what they’ve gone through and what avenues they’ve used before. Many of our clients have exhausted all of their possibilities, and they come to us as a last resort,” she said. “When you’re searching for your spouse, sometimes it takes time and it takes patience. It’s a reset. We’ll start over, and this will be a hopeful process and make it as convenient and effortless as possible.”
Other times, clients may just need help writing their online profiles or selecting good pictures. In today’s era of dating sites and apps, it’s easy to pass right by someone who may be perfect for you. That’s why BeyondChai has launched a new campaign called “Look Beyond.”
“Maybe people don’t take the best pictures, or this is a new experience, or they come across awkward. The campaign we are working on is to look beyond that. When a client sees a photo and biography, they may say they’re not attracted to that person. But we tell them that they’re not attracted to that photo,” Shradha said.
Another way they encourage this is through new game nights, which have been held in Baltimore, Houston, Anaheim, and Chicago, with more cities to come.
“We want to bring people face to face. That makes a difference in how you connect with people,” Shradha said.