Founder of QUNA

We interview the latest newcomer to the exciting scene of Speeddating, Viviene Ma!  As a young start-up Speeddating Organizer of the group QUNA, she brings fresh ideas and heavy doses of creativity to each of her events in Hong Kong.

1.  When did you start and what inspired you launch Quna?

There were lots of different things that gave me inspiration.  I worked for the language division of an international human resource relocation company, where I met many different people every day, speaking different languages. When we would have a trainers’ meeting, every trainer would have their own mother tongue, so we had to communicate in English.  One day I was in my friend’s place to watch “Fight Club”, which is a very cool movie. That was the turning point of setting up a club for many different individuals to get together. That is also why I named it QUNA.  Quna is derived from the Latin, QUAERO UNA, which means Get Together. Literally,  “I seek togetherness”.

But the most important thing is my best friend Sarah, a successful entrepreneur; she is always encouraging and helped me to setup Quna

2.  How many events have you organized so far?

Quna is relative new, but we have already organized many different types of events.  Every week we have 3-4 events, so our members can expand their social life. Qunas (Quna Members) always have somewhere exciting or unusual to go.

3.  What is the most unique /creative event you have organized?

We love to organize creative events for Qunas.  Beside some classic social networking and speed dating events, we have “air soft” (a shooting experience day), “high heels party”, “Coffee Corner for Entrepreneurs”.  We’re planning more “cool” events for Qunas in 2010.

4.  How is your group different from the others?

We do believe every group is unique – Quna as well.  Quna is not only a platform for people uncovering new friends; Quna is also a universal “language”, for people with different interests get to know each other in Quna.  Even more, we do special, personalized event planning for our members as well, Quna is an easy way to manage your entire life experience.

5.  How many registered members do you currently have?

Our members are not only registered in Quna site, we also have members from other bars and restaurants.  We have more than ten thousands members in total.

6.  What is the key to your success?

From the very beginning we worked very hard to be successful.  Relationships are the key to the Quna philosophy and with this in mind we concentrate on building strong relationships with our members.

Quna has very good connection with other organizations as partners.  That helps us to maintain our service standard. Our goal is flawless execution – we don’t take shortcuts on quality.

We are consistently working to develop our network, to provide more and more benefits to Qunas.  We will launch QUNA ASIA Membership card to Qunas.  Our members will get special treatment or discounts by using Quna’s membership card at our partners’ shops.

7.  As a promoter, what are your biggest challenges in this line of work?

Making as many people as possible aware of our services.  There is so much information inundating people, it can be difficult to spread the news about the innovative services we provide.

8.  Besides Speed Dating events, what other activities do you organize?

That is my favorite part – organizing events.  As I mentioned, we have activities such as “air soft”, “Coffee Corner for Entrepreneurs”, and country outings. Some events we are now planning include painting, short trips, even contests inspired from The Amazing Race.  Anything and everything you can or can’t think of.
9.  What is your advice to someone who is too shy or nervous to go Speed Dating?

At Quna, we call it “Speed Meeting”, because is our members are not dating someone, just meeting someone, in a casual way.  We help new members overcome their shyness, encouraging them to enjoy trying different things, spending a few minutes with someone new – maybe he or she will be your good friend in the future.

10.  What can your guests expect at your events?

People, who join Quna, want to enjoy their life in a different way, get to know different people with different experiences.  If our members don’t meet someone who they want to see again at a Quna event, their next event is on us!

11.  How would you describe the people who join your events?  More expats or locals?

Personally, I have more friends who are expats.  In Quna, there are more expats than locals– people from many different backgrounds and experiences. We have growing number of locals joining Quna to expand their social network.

12.  Do more men or women sign up for your events and why?

We do have more female members than male. That is why we have some outdoor activities and other active, unusual events to encourage many guys to join and have fun together.

13.  Since you started, have there been any changes in attitudes towards speed dating?

Speed dating is getting more and more popular, people have started thinking out of the box.  It’s not just “dating” anymore, but more like social networking, meeting new friends and making connections.

14.  Are there seasons or special days (i.e.: Valentines Day) that are generally more popular for speed dating?

Yes, absolutely.  These holidays are more enjoyable when shared with other.  Actually, Quna is not only for singles, nowadays, many couples like sharing Christmas or other holidays with new friends.

For more information on QUNA, visit their website:
www.Quna.com.hk