walking dogs and I realized: a dog is only valuable 5% of the time,” he said. “So, what if we got a guy who would babysit the dogs and other people could rent them out?” Another start-up, called InvisibleBoyfriend, allows users “to design and build a believable social partner who is everything you want and is always available to talk, whenever you want”. The end result is a “boyfriend” who can text with you all day. Founder Kyle Tabor launched it to give users a faux boyfriend to deter unwanted advances but has found people have grown attached to their algorithmic partners: “Many more users are seeking companionship through conversation rather than external 'proof' of a relationship to get people off their back.” For Sullivan and Tabor, the surprise was the real relationships that have formed with their customers. Sullivan says he has begun to see himself as a sort of relationship consultant for the boyfriends. Sullivan admits he’s made mistakes. Early on, the packages included receipts that had his name on them, Dan Sullivan. “One of the boyfriends wrote to me and said, 'Listen, dude, she’s not mad but Cynthia found out'.” About 50% of the women BetterBoyfriend.me deliver packages to know about his involvement in their relationships: “It’s correlated with age. I think, after you’ve been married a while, you don’t keep many secrets.”