At least four or five times a day, we get an email, phone inquiry, blog comment, or other form of communication that goes something like this:

I met a girl last night and I didn’t have the courage to ask her for her number. I got the impression she wanted me to ask her out, but unfortunately I missed my opportunity. I don’t know her name, but wanted to see if you could help me find her. We were at the 7:30 p.m. showing of Jurassic World in Park City, Utah. I don’t think it’s going to be such a difficult case.

And more times than not (many more times), we’re hearing this from a man trying to find a woman.

About 86.4 percent of the time, they were in a bar, nightclub, or movie theater; the rest of the time they were on vacation in a faraway place.

Most of the time, they don’t even have a name, only a description of the person; and if they do have a name, it’s only a first name.

They usually have a few more details, like “she was from the Midwest somewhere.”

They never think it will be that hard to find her, either.

And it wouldn’t, if we could just get the DNA from all the popcorn scraped from the floor so that we could match that up against the FBI’s national DNA database, if we can figure out a way to hack our way into that.

Or, if we could just hack our way into the movie theater’s computer database to access all the credit card receipts to match the girl’s name (e.g., “Jenna”) with first names on the cards.

Or a photo of every tattoo from every person on Earth, so we could match what they thought they saw to a national tattoo database (which only exists on television shows).

The same holds true for “this girl from Chicago who was on the Grandeur of the Seas last week.”

Or “Bethany from New Jersey,” who was at Fat Tuesday in Cancun and had an affinity for frozen Dirty Monkeys.

Those of you who have been watching too much CSI are probably not catching the sarcasm here, but finding the 20-to-25-year-old Jenna who was at AMC Cinema in Utah last night is just not possible.

Actually, I take that back.

It might be possible if we spent hundreds of man-hours combing through social media, interviewing people at the movie theater, and revisiting the movie theater every night for the following few weeks in the hope that she would show up again.

But even then, we probably still wouldn’t find her, and our client would be out tens of thousands of dollars.

Unless, of course, this girl posted a desperate message all over the hundred or so social media channels she uses, trying to find this guy she met at the movie/nightclub/bar or on vacation who she was “sure” was going to ask her out, he will never, ever find her.

I hate to sound like an old fart (I’m not all that old), but in my day, you couldn’t ask someone out on a date by text, or anonymously Snapchat a message, or dump someone via a post on Facebook.

You actually had to have some guts — and you had to put yourself out there.

So until you get over your fear of rejection, people like Jenna will just be a distant memory.

Trustify, previously known as FlimFlam, is a D.C.-based start-up that wants to make the process of hiring a private investigator (PI) — on demand, in small and inexpensive blocks of time to conduct surveillance — a whole lot simpler.

With the iPhone app or online platform that Trustify has created, anyone can simply type in the information about why they need to hire an investigator (such as “my partner is cheating on me”), give them an address where they want the investigator to go, and “sit back and wait” for photographs and other evidence. The first hour of surveillance investigation is $99, and each additional hour is $75.

While Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and Betterment are examples of how technology has disrupted (and arguably, enhanced) the video rental business, retail, the music industry, and even the wealth management industry, respectively, this application of technology in the investigative business world caught me by surprise. But as a technology geek who has a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit, when I first heard about this I was absolutely fascinated.

I got a chance to sit down with founder Danny Boice a few weeks ago at the Trustify offices in D.C. and learned that Boice’s big vision involves “making private investigator services affordable to the average consumer.” Boice was pretty candid about the fact that they have had to overcome some unforeseen challenges, but I couldn’t help but be excited for them and about the possibilities associated with this new approach. Despite other investigators’ apprehensions, I think Trustify can realize the very real opportunity to service an important niche in the investigative world.

Let’s face it (and my own experience verifies this), there is an enormous demand for these types of services — mostly from people who are “curious” about their partner or loved one. But the process of finding and hiring an investigator, especially for things like surveillance, is laborious. And, certainly for most “casual consumers” of PI services, finding a trusted private investigator is not always easy.

On the flip side, one of the most laborious processes for an investigator is doing the due diligence on the client/consumer. What if the consumer is a stalker? Or has ulterior motives?

Will this work?

I honestly have no idea. But I think this may close up a significant buyer-seller gap that exists in the market — allowing certain clients and PIs to “meet in the middle” when it suits their respective needs.

From a consumer’s perspective, I can certainly see the appeal. I personally see a market that is willing to shell out a few hundred dollars to satisfy their curiosity. While a typical investigative firm would probably not “leave their house” for just a few hours of surveillance, Trustify will satisfy the demand for quick on-demand services.

For the professionals, this new business model could help legions of solo operating investigative firms (and there are literally tens of thousands in the U.S.), pick up a few hours of work a week in between their full-scale surveillance investigations.

Why do I think this has a chance?

First, because the investigative business is absolutely ripe for disruption. The business is also highly fractured, with thousands of small players scattered throughout the country, which makes for an inefficient business model that is primed to have an entrepreneur (enter Boice!) come in and fix the inefficiencies and create a more marketable product.

This is not an industry in which you often see innovation, so it’s encouraging to see someone try to come in and shake things up a bit.

The reaction from other investigators?

Not surprisingly, some of the reactions from the investigative community have been pretty negative. “Too many problems to list,” one investigator told me. “Why don’t they [Trustify] need to be licensed?” asked another.

One thing’s for sure: Trustify will have many more unforeseen problems just like any new start-up does. But entrepreneurs are not ones to shy away from potential problems.

Do they really need to be licensed? I have heard more than one investigator question this, but I don’t see licensing as an issue. Trustify is working as the “middleman” between the investigators and the ultimate consumers. It’s like saying Angie’s List needs to be a licensed plumber because they refer business to plumbers.

As an investigator, I am not going to dismiss Trustify’s idea — and I am also not going to simply ignore them.

After all, I think it’s pretty clear that Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, and Betterment are not passing fads.

“I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

Life isn’t a lottery.

It’s not a win-some-lose-some kind of thing.

It’s about choices.

And making smart decisions about those choices.

That “lucky” person we all seem to know?

It’s really a undercover disguise for hard-ass work.

So make some good choices and work your ass off.

Then, go ahead and play the lottery.

Maya Angelou, one of the most well-known writers and poets of our time, passed away last week. Upon her death, what came as a surprise to many is that she held a long string of jobs throughout her life, from a cable conductor to a nightclub dancer to a magazine editor to a cook. She was even a prostitute.

It’s hard to believe that such a prolific writer would have held such an inordinate number of odd jobs throughout her life, but as one article pointed out, “these were the experiences that made [Maya] the person she was.”

While my career plane has almost no resemblance to Maya Angelou’s, it got me thinking.

“I kind of fell into the business.”

Many moons ago, early in my investigative career, I was visiting with a hedge fund client in New York City with a senior director of the firm I was working for. I had developed a good relationship with one of the analysts at the hedge fund, and when I got there, we chit-chatted for a bit. One of the more senior members of the hedge fund later joined us, and the discussion got more serious. Eventually, he asked us about our history and how we had gotten into the business.

“I kind of fell into the business, quite honestly,” I said. I went on to tell him that I had been working in the sports industry and was not happy with where it was going when my father offered me a job at his investigative firm.

It was a harmless but true story.

But when I left, the other investigator chastised me for saying what I said. At that point, I had been in the investigative business for a few years, and he suggested that I highlight my accomplishments in the investigative world and not discuss my previous experiences, as that may change others’ perceptions of me.

He was right, but I’ve never forgotten about it. In part, it gave me a complex about my past and my capabilities. My history was not dotted with law enforcement experience, and for the next several years—and while I would never have pretended to be more than I was—I really wasn’t all that confident.

Be Proud of Your Past

But as the years have gone by, I have shed that complex.

I know who I am and what I can do. And after working with hundreds of investigators over the years, I know where I stand.

Instead of being ashamed of my past, I highlight it.

I don’t mind telling people that I rode in the blimp for the 2000 Subway Series while working for Major League Baseball and learned some valuable lessons about work and dedication.

I don’t mind telling people that I interned for the public relations team for the New York Giants (the football team), which taught me some valuable lessons about running a business.

And I don’t mind telling people that I really did fall into the business and I am still here after more than 13 years.

Not everyone may appreciate the honesty. A potential client might want only someone who has law enforcement experience or 30 years’ experience in the business and might not give a hoot about my other experiences.

But that’s not who I am, and there is no sense in hiding it.

My past experience has shaped me into what I am today.

And I am pretty proud of it.