Ancient Wisdom Modern Love
| Type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Matchmaking, dating services |
| Founder(s) | Cassindy Chao |
| Area served | United States |
| Key people | Cassindy Chao (Founder); Dana Sundblad; Soronny Lee |
| Services | Professional matchmaking, relationship coaching, date concierge |
| Website | https://www.awmlove.com/ |
Ancient Wisdom Modern Love (commonly referred to as AWM Love or AWML) is a United States-based professional dating and matchmaking firm. Created by author and relationship specialist Cassindy Chao, the elite boutique agency primarily targets high-achieving, affluent singles, with a specialized emphasis on serving Asian and Asian-American professionals. The company focuses its operations in three major metropolitan markets: the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and New York City.[1][2][3]
Brand overview and concept
[edit | edit source]AWM Love positions itself as a premium, VIP matchmaking service, explicitly rejecting algorithmic or app-driven models in favor of highly personalized, human-curated introductions.[4][2] The firm caters to an exclusive demographic of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and driven professionals who are actively seeking committed, long-term partnerships.[1][2] To differentiate itself from historical practices, the agency promotes the tagline that it is "not your grandmother's matchmaker." It clarifies that it does not orchestrate traditional family-arranged marriages, but rather facilitates modern, enduring romantic relationships for individual clients.[1][5]
The agency shares its name with Chao's published work, Ancient Wisdom Modern Love: Chinese Wisdom for Dating Success. The book utilizes chengyu—traditional four-character Chinese proverbs—to deliver contemporary dating guidance.[6] Drawing on a long-standing family background in the field, Chao promotes herself as a third-generation Chinese matchmaker, or hóngniáng (紅娘).[1][7]
Company background
[edit | edit source]The agency's origins trace back to Cassindy Chao's undergraduate years at Wellesley College, where she informally ran a dating operation out of her dorm to connect local college students.[2][8] Following her graduation, Chao spent years as an investment banker for major Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Bear Stearns. A 2021 feature in the Piedmont Exedra noted that after living in Hong Kong and working at a Silicon Valley tech startup, she gravitated back to the matchmaking industry. To formalize her skills, she completed training under dating coach Rachel Greenwald before launching her own practice.[8]
Chao ultimately left her finance career to pursue professional matchmaking full-time, a pivot that was later chronicled by Business Insider.[9] She scaled the business alongside Dana Sundblad, a former Wellesley classmate equipped with a Harvard MBA and extensive marketing experience.[2][10] According to the agency's marketing materials, the combined team possesses over 15 years of industry expertise and is credited with facilitating upwards of 50 marriages and long-term commitments.[2][7]
Methodology and offerings
[edit | edit source]AWM Love provides various tiers of service, ranging from its premier VIP matchmaking to dating concierge packages, relationship coaching, a specialized traditional Chinese matching (紅娘) track, and "dating readiness" consultations.[1][2]
Operating strictly as a boutique firm, the agency intentionally caps its active roster to a maximum of eight clients at any given time. This limitation ensures the founder can remain personally engaged in the screening and matching phases, maintaining a high standard of individualized service.[2] Client memberships are generally structured as six- or twelve-month commitments, which include the flexibility to freeze the account if needed.[2]
The matchmaking pipeline begins with an intensive vetting phase, featuring detailed applications and in-depth, one-on-one interviews to thoroughly understand the client and their ideal counterpart.[4][2] The firm also provides supplementary lifestyle services, including wardrobe consulting, professional photography, complete date curation, and practice ("mock") dates.[11][2] Active clients typically receive between two and four carefully selected introductions each month. Following each date, the firm gathers feedback from both parties to continuously calibrate future matches. While the agency promises high-caliber introductions, it explicitly notes that it cannot guarantee marriages or permanent relationships.[2]
Press and community engagement
[edit | edit source]Both the agency and its founder have garnered significant attention from the press. Chao's career shift from high finance to matchmaking was the subject of a Business Insider profile in January 2026, and she made broadcast appearances on NBC News Daily in October 2025 and NewsNation in early 2026.[1][9] Prior media spotlights include a 2024 feature in Voyage LA and a 2021 interview in the Piedmont Exedra.[8][3] Beyond media coverage, AWM Love is active in the community, organizing social mixers and cultural events, such as mahjong gatherings held in collaboration with groups like Asian Health Services.[1]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Asian Matchmaker Cassindy Chao | SF, LA & NYC", AWM Love (awmlove.com). Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://www.awmlove.com/
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 "VIP Matchmaking – How it Works / FAQ", AWM Love. Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://www.awmlove.com/matchmaking
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Meet Cassindy Chao of Ancient Wisdom Modern Love", Voyage LA Magazine, 11 March 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://voyagela.com/interview/meet-cassindy-chao-of-ancient-wisdom-modern-love/
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "#1 Matchmaking in San Francisco, CA", AWM Love. Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://www.awmlove.com/matchmaking-in-san-francisco
- ↑ "Los Angeles Elite Matchmaker", AWM Love. Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://www.awmlove.com/losangeles
- ↑ "Ancient Wisdom Modern Love: Chinese Wisdom for Dating & Relationship Success" (book listing), Amazon. Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Wisdom-Modern-Love-Relationship/dp/B0CKSG13VD
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "About Cassindy Chao", cassindy.com. Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://www.cassindy.com/about
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "The Dating Game: A professional matchmaker shares advice about finding your match", Piedmont Exedra, March 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://piedmontexedra.com/2021/03/the-dating-game-a-professional-matchmaker-shares-advice-about-finding-your-match
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "How a Goldman Sachs banker became one of America's top Asian matchmakers", Business Insider, January 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://www.businessinsider.com/left-finance-side-hustle-matchmaking-54-ageism-2026-1
- ↑ "Matchmaking & Speaking with Cassindy Chao", cassindy.com. Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://www.cassindy.com/home
- ↑ "Matchmaking in New York, NY", AWM Love. Retrieved 22 June 2026. https://www.awmlove.com/matchmaking-in-new-york-ny