I Make $15K/month Teaching Men How to Date

October 11th, 2025

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About
Business

Vincent Chan

Founder, Based Dating

$15K

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Based Dating

baseddating.net

from Portland

started March 2024

$15,000

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

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Who are you and what business did you start?

Hello! My name is Vincent Chan, and I run Based Dating, a premium dating profile photography and coaching service. I help professional men, especially Asian guys in tech, finance, and other high-achieving fields, transform their dating app results through world-class photos, strategic profiles, and coaching that builds real confidence.

What makes my business unique is that I’m not just a photographer, and I’m not just a coach. I combine both. I lived through the same struggles most of my clients face, and I developed a system that took me from zero matches to consistent dating success. Now I deliver that system through custom photoshoots, profile rewrites, and coaching that actually gets results. Today, the business brings in around $15,000/month and is growing quickly as I scale my reach through content and ads.

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How do you come up with the idea for Based Dating?

The idea for Based Dating came directly from my own struggles. A few years ago, I was like most of my clients. I was working hard in my career, but frustrated on dating apps. I tried every piece of generic advice online, and nothing worked. The “aha” moment came when I realized that my photos were the biggest bottleneck. I started experimenting with photography, style, and profile presentation, and within weeks, I went from almost no matches to consistent results.

That experience gave me confidence that this wasn’t just about luck. It was a system that could be taught. I combined my background in photography with years of self-education in dating psychology, communication, and branding to create a unique offer not just taking great photos, but giving men the full playbook to succeed. I validated the idea by working with friends at first, and then early clients from Reddit and YouTube by getting the same breakthroughs I had. That feedback made it clear this was the right business to pursue, especially since no one else in the space was combining photography with actionable coaching at a high level.

How did you launch Based Dating and get initial traction?

Before Based Dating, I had already built an online fitness business after investing heavily into a fitness business coach. That experience gave me the foundation to sell online, structure offers, and understand how to attract clients. When guys started reaching out to me from Reddit posts and YouTube videos I made about dating, I realized I could apply the same business model here helping them as clients, just like I did with fitness.

My launch wasn’t flashy. It was mainly posting content, sharing transformations, and starting conversations with men who were curious to learn more. The first client I ever signed came from a Reddit post where I detailed a friend’s transformation that I had done for free. That post got traction, and one reader reached out. He first booked a coaching call, and as we talked, it became clear I could do more for him. That was my first paid client in October 2023, about a year after I had helped my friend in September 2022.

From there, momentum built as I engaged with online Asian male communities on Reddit and Discord. Word of mouth and results carried me forward, and each client win reinforced that I was on the right track. The lesson I learned was that building authority and trust through real results is the best launch strategy. No paid ads or flashy funnels were needed in the beginning, just authentic proof and conversations.

What was the growth strategy for Based Dating and how did you scale?

At first, my growth came from organic content and conversations. I wrote Reddit posts, engaged in Discord communities, and uploaded YouTube videos where I broke down my findings for free. On YouTube, I kept a call-to-action in the description so guys who wanted to learn more could book a call with me. I also pivoted my old fitness business Instagram into dating coaching and began posting dating-related content there.

One strategy that really took off was experimenting with educational dating IG reels with meme energy. I combined everything I had learned about content creation such as storytelling, hooks, editing, and pacing to turn 60-second profile reviews or texting interactions into catchy, educational, and funny videos. The response was huge. Within four months, I doubled my Instagram following from 3,000 to 7,000 and racked up over 5 million views. Not only did this explode my reach, but it also brought in paying clients who told me directly that they related to my humor, saw me as authentic, and trusted me as someone who actually understood their struggles.

This worked because it wasn’t just content for content’s sake. It was educational, entertaining, and authentic all at once. Aspiring entrepreneurs can learn from this: don’t just chase views. Make content that actually speaks the language of your audience and shows that you “get it.” That’s how you stand out and attract customers who are eager to work with you.

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What were the biggest lessons learned from building Based Dating?

The biggest mistake I’ve made is waiting too long to start. The type of content I create today peaked in the early 2020s. If I had started back then, I’d be 100x further ahead with a fraction of the effort. Instead, I’m doing the heavy lifting now to catch up. That delay taught me a hard lesson: the best time to start was yesterday, the second-best time is today.

What’s kept me going is persistence. Over the years I’ve gathered enough proof of concept through clients getting results and content resonating, that I know this business works and has real value. My challenge isn’t whether it can succeed; it’s figuring out how to consistently market it with enough exposure to reach the right audience. That means I’m always experimenting, always testing new tactics, and always learning.

The main lesson I’ve learned is that consistency beats everything else. When I started making 60-second dating reels, I assumed they’d perform like my old fitness content. Instead, my third reel blew up. I rode that momentum and posted consistently for weeks, which led to millions of views and new clients. But I also made the mistake of deviating through posting low-effort content or taking days off. Every time I let momentum slip, I saw my results dip. I’ve had multiple swings like that: a big surge of views, followed by burnout, followed by chasing the next spike.

If there’s one thing I’d tell other entrepreneurs, it’s this: ride momentum while you have it, and build systems that keep you consistent even when motivation drops. Chasing virality is out of your control. What you can control is your output, your persistence, and your willingness to keep showing up. That’s what separates people who build something lasting from those who fade out after a single big hit.

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