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What if modern dating wasn’t done with your thumb?

In this refreshing episode of The Big Silence, Karena sits down with Stephanie Fischer, attorney-turned-tech CEO of NeverMissed, a proximity-based dating app designed to get you off your phone and into real life, safely.

From a hilariously infamous childhood story to caregiving through cancer, and building a women-led tech company, Stephanie serves up honest, witty, and deeply practical wisdom on love, boundaries, burnout, and choosing yourself.

By stripping away the endless swipes and curated profiles, Stephanie argues that confidence, clarity, and community are built in person, one real conversation at a time.

• NeverMissed’s premise: check in at your current location and only see others who’ve opted in there. Meet IRL, then put the phone down.
• Control & safety: you decide when you’re visible, you can check out anytime, and profiles are photo‑verified to be the real you.
• The point isn’t more messaging. It’s better matching energy in the room, not just in the feed.

• Early chaos taught self‑advocacy: “Being ‘so mature’ was a response to chaos, not a compliment.”
• Humor as a coping tool: the infamous urologist‑dad pool becomes a lifelong icebreaker and puts a lens on embarrassment and identity.
• Takeaway: Name the chaos, keep the humor, and own your story—it stops owning you.

• Left Dallas for DC to break stagnant patterns: if your environment doesn’t support growth, change the room.
• Dating “decades” shift: bars → questionnaires → intentionality.
• Action: Audit your current circle & city: Do they match who you’re becoming? If not, move or shake up routines.

• Opt‑in visibility only when you check in at a venue; no searchable database.
• “Fleeting Moments”: post a sighting (“saw you at…”) to reconnect; uses simple descriptors to help find the person.
• Goal: to complement other apps, not replace them. Meet people doing what you already love (gym, tennis, concerts).

• Navigating “men are talking” energy with receipts: you pay the bills, you set the tone.
• Reframe “bitchy” → clear, paid, and prepared; assertiveness ≠ aggression.
• Tip: Put decisions and boundaries in writing; lead with outcomes and timelines.

• Cared for mom and now dad: same love, different game plan.
• Labs don’t lie: cortisol, hormones, sleep. If you don’t delegate, your body will.
• Action: Create a care team (siblings, friends, hospital resources); schedule your appointments first each month.

• Ditch the artificial timeline (“married by 28”); Stephanie married at 39; right person, right time.
• Know yourself → know your filter. Less noise = better choices.
• Micro‑goal: 1 real‑life conversation per week (bookstore, class, coffee line). Momentum beats swiping.

• Meet in public somewhere you...