Logo in header courtesy of Micropolitan Matchmakers
 

Born out of the pandemic and now four years strong, Micropolitan Matchmakers has blossomed into a one-of-a-kind business that’s more than just about finding “the one.” Co-founded by local entrepreneur Becky Daniels, the business hosts singles events and offers a personalized matchmaking service. Every February, Micropolitan Matchmakers organizes a series of events during Singles Week around Valentine’s Day.

Ahead of this year's Singles Week, we sat down with Becky Daniels to learn more about the story behind Micropolitan Matchmakers and what people can expect. Whether you’re seeking love, friendship, or new experiences in the area, read on to discover how Micropolitan Matchmakers is fostering connections in the heart of Albany County.

Let's start with an introduction about yourself and what Micropolitan Matchmakers is, in your own words.

We started in 2021, which is hard to even fathom now that we're in 2025. So, we were still in the thick of the pandemic. At that time my co-founder, Gabby Fisher, and I were both single and unhappy with the options we had to meet people. I think a lot of people felt that too.

So that summer, when it was the first opportunity to get together safely, we decided to hold our first in-person event. At that point it wasn't even a business idea. We just wanted to get people together. We had 80 people show up to our first event. We realized from there that there was just such a need. 

So, we had a couple more free events before we thought "this could really be a business." We continued with events and kept hearing that people were interested in matchmaking too. So, we've also been matchmaking for two and half years. It's been fun to see those success stories start to grow.

When you first started hosting events, how did you get the word out?

That's the crazy part. It was so new, and no one was doing anything like it, we had a ton of great media exposure. Right before our first event we ended up on the cover of the Times Union. I remember saying to Gabby, "oh great now everyone knows we're single." But that was a really critical turning point, it became so much more than just us wanting to meet new people.

For a lot of people, it was an embarrassing thing to talk about. But there's a lot of us in the same boat and a lot of people want to meet each other. There's no shame about it. Let's be open about it. That's how you're going to find your person. 

What are some of your upcoming events?

We've got some great events coming up. We've done some version of Singles Week every year. We have eight events over ten days around Valentine's Day.

During the Virtual Singles Mix and Mingle on February 10, we will go over the rest of the events, I'll be there for a Q&A, and we'll do some mingling and matchmaking too. 

What event are you looking forward to the most?

I'm super excited about Take a Shot at Love (a singles mixer followed by the Siena Men's Basketball game vs. Marist at MVP Arena). We're going to have a contest to win a date with the team's academic advisor. Three lucky men will get to go onto the court at halftime, I'm interviewing the candidates ahead of time.

For singles attending the event, the basketball game is also something to focus on. You don't have to feel like you have to hold a conversation the whole time. If you need a break, you can take a beat, watch the game, and restore your resources a little bit.

What's some of the feedback you've heard? What brings people to the events?

I think feedback I'm hearing is that we're really open, we're there for everybody, we're there to help people mix and mingle.  I think we're really here to help people find community as much as we are to help people find love. I think all of it ends up supporting that higher purpose.

You might not find someone who's a romantic connection at every single event you come to. But I've seen it work for the people who come, who talk to everybody, who are open-minded. I've seen attendees introduce each other to people in their networks that might not be at the event.

I'll give the distinction here too. Maybe you're a little bit more extroverted, you don't like icebreakers or questions and just want to come survey the crowd. Happy hours and our larger events are really good for that mindset. For folks who want a little more help or structure, we have coffee hours once a month and activity-based events.  

I think it's sweet that everyone who goes knows they have at least one thing in common

I always love to tell this story. At our very first event there were five guys in their early to mid 30's that came, and each had separately said "I'm the last single person in my friend group, all my friends are married, some have kids, we don't hang out like we used to." And I had identified with that too. Two weeks later, I saw those five guys at a baseball game. So even though they didn't meet someone at that event, they found other people to go out and do things with. 

What's unique about planning dates, meeting people, or offering this service in Albany County?

That really goes to the root of the name, Micropolitan Matchmakers, right? So "micropolitan," we might not be as big as a huge metropolitan area like New York City or Chicago but in the Albany area we're half a million people strong. We have so much culture, so much life, so many businesses. We have so much history, like the Albany Institute. We have so much culture like the Palace Theatre or Albany Symphony. We've got big sports. Even with cuisine, you've got everything from dive bars and breweries to high end fine restaurants. It's all very accessible, everything is in a 30-to-45-minute drive. I've always wanted this business to support really cool community partners that not a lot of people know about. There's something for everyone, and that's what's really unique.

How can people get involved? What should they look out for?

This is such an appropriate conversation to have around Singles Week, because I think events are just the best place to start. If matchmaking is something someone is interested in, coming to events first and getting to know the community gives me a chance to get a sense of someone's energy in real life.

Get on our email list, follow us on Eventbrite or social media and come to an event or two.

Singles Week Events in Albany

  • Thursday, February 6: Beginner Bachata Class

  • Monday, February 10: Virtual Meet the Matchmaker Mix and Mingle 
  • Wednesday, February 13: 55+ Happy Hour
  • Friday, February 14: Take a Shot at Love with the Siena Men's Basketball Team
  • Sunday, February 16: A Symphony of Singles Mixer and Concert with the Albany Symphony Orchestra 
Singles Weeks Events in the Surrounding Area