Founders
Meet the team
Our Story
Zachary and Hayley are a brother and sister duo who created SaySimons. After watching their older brother struggle with dating apps that felt difficult to interpret, Hayley began to recognize a broader pattern. Many people weren't struggling with connection itself, they were struggling with how little structure existed around expressing interest, reading intent, and understanding one another. What should feel intuitive often turned into guesswork. We lose all nonverbal social cues when we speak online (tone of voice, body language, eye contact). That led her to consider, what if there was an app that helped translate some of this ambiguity to help simulate more of a real world setting? Hayley called on her tech brother Zach and they immediately got to work. Their mission was to create a dating app that did not stop after the initial "match". SaySimons was born to provide that necessary structure to help facilitate positive, productive, and meaningful interactions, while still providing the convenience and ease of doing so through an app. SaySimons turns modern dating from a guessing game into a clear, confident connection.
Product and Engineering
Zachary Simon
Co-Founder and Technical Lead
Zachary Simon is co-founder and technical lead behind SaySimons, a personality-driven dating platform. With a background in building data-driven systems and automation tools, his work has consistently centered on solving complex, real-world problems through thoughtful, practical technology. Zachary has a degree in computer science with a strong foundation in systems, software development, and AI. At SaySimons, he leads both product and engineering, with the goal of creating an experience that turns behavioral insight into something structured, intuitive, and actually useful. He is currently pursuing a Master's of Science in Artificial Intelligence, to continue his focus on how intelligent systems can better help people.
Behavioral Design
Dr. Hayley Simon
Co-Founder and Behavioral Lead
Dr. Hayley Simon is a postdoctoral fellow in psychology and the behavioral lead behind SaySimons, bringing a research-driven understanding of human behavior, communication, and relationships to the product's design. At SaySimons, Hayley leads the behavioral design of the platform, helping shape features that make dating conversations easier to navigate and connections more intentional. Her expertise helps ensure the product is grounded in research while remaining practical, approachable, and focused on helping people communicate with greater confidence. Hayley has a deep understanding of interpersonal communication, relationship development, and the ways digital interactions influence modern dating, helping translate behavioral research into an experience that feels natural, thoughtful, and genuinely useful.