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Jasbina Ahluwalia: Matchmaking Queen
We chat with Jasbina Ahluwalia, who has become a match making queen for the Desi community in
the US.
by Archana Chaudhary
Community » Culture Features » 2011
The first image that conjures in
your mind when you think of a
desi match-maker is that of an
over-bearing, meddling and
interfering middle-aged aunty!
But California based Jasbina
Ahluwalia totally defies this
image and is a striking surprise.
A second generation Indian and
a former Attorney, Jasbina
launched Intersections Match,
the only national elite
personalized matchmaking,
dating and coaching service for
selective South Asian singles in
2007.
Her approachable persona
coupled with a professional
attitude has seen her business
soar even in trying financial
times, in 2009 Intersections was
named the Best Business Idea in
the IndUS Business Journal's
Women in Business Awards
Supplement. Jasbina also hosts
a lifestyle based radio talk show and was one of the front runners in Oprah Winfrey's contest: Search
for the Next TV Star.
Desiclub.com brings you Jasbina's success story in her own words...
Where did the inspiration for Intersections come up?
As a result of my personal experiences searching for a life-partner as a practicing attorney, I believed
there would be demand for a premium service to assist selective young professionals in navigating
this most important life decision. I noticed many young professionals had difficulty balancing their
professional life with their personal life. In particular, this can be a common issue for young
professionals from South Asian backgrounds, people whose cultures discourage early dating and teach
young people to first focus on their education and other self-development. Despite the great demand
among South Asian professionals for an elite personalized introduction service, there was nobody
meeting the need. Given my personal, professional and cultural background and experiences, I felt
that I was in a unique position to provide value to clients.
There are a number of online dating sites for South Asians - As an elite personalized introduction
service, how are you different?
Firstly, we are not an online service. We provide a premium service which differs from online dating:
Our service involves a highly-personalized, consultative and feedback- centric process. Before a client
meets any matches, I learn our client's needs, wants, values, priorities, lifestyle, personality and
background via an extensive and interactive Personal Consultation. Our personalized service is
specifically designed to take over the time-consuming task of screening so that our clients are able to
strategically spend their limited time and energies focusing on matches with real potential. In
addition, we do not limit our search plan clients to meeting other Intersections' clients exclusively.
Rather, the idea is to exponentially expand our selective clients' universe of potential matches.
Matches come from our exclusive "Search Plan" client base; our pool of stand-alone "Personal
Consultees"; our "Register For Free Database"; events we and our nationwide scouts attend
throughout the country; our relationships with matchmakers throughout the country; customized
personal ads we run in various upscale publications throughout the country; as well as our everyday
lives (including various professional, cultural, social and charitable organizations). Each match is
pre-screened, and a criminal background check is run before introductions are made.
What are other services that one can avail at Intersections?
Our services include: stand-alone Personal Consultations, customized Search Plans, and dating
coaching. We have also helped clients with their online search and profiles. The Personal Consultation,
