About Takes Two

Once upon a time...

We are in the business of making relationships awesome

Original Takes Two Happy Couple

Like so many amazing things, Takes Two began in the late 1990s—just like frosted tips, Harry Potter, silk shirts, and Justin Timberlake's music career.

Our experience at Kolbe Corp has taught us a lot about human behavior and how to assess innate strengths. That behavior stuff is something businesses just eat up, but we kept hearing from couples asking for our advice on personal relationships.

In 1996 we developed Takes Two. It was a good effort, but we really needed another 20 years—and thousands of hours of research, analysis, sleepless nights, and sacrifices unknown to mankind—to get it just right.

 

Meet the Crew

David Kolbe

Chief Visionary

David, CEO of Kolbe Corp, has lived and breathed the Kolbe Concept® his whole life and was super instrumental in the design and development of Kolbe Theory. He's also the author and visionary behind Takes Two. David has been married 22 years and is the resident dad-joke teller in his house.

Amy Bruske

Queen B.

Amy literally wrote the book on family business, Business is Business, together with Kathy Kolbe. She is an unstoppable business dynamo and winner of the Small Business Owner of the Year award from NAWBO. Her husband, Jim, was a professional baseball player so she knows how to handle a curveball in a relationship.

James Trujillo

Code Wrangler

James is our VP of Technology and Development and is the mastermind behind the Takes Two technology platform. There is very little that Kolbe produces that doesn't have his fingerprints (or cookie crumbs) all over it. He works with Zurb and Epicenter to transform design and code into beautiful magic.

Christine Ayala

Duck Row Keeper

Christine cracks the whip and keeps her rubber duckies in line as the Product Development Manager behind Takes Two. She brings valuable experience from her work at Google – and her background in the world of spiritual service helps make Takes Two a religious experience (nearly?) for many people looking for more fulfilling relationships.

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  • What is Takes Two?

    It's a relationship advice platform that helps you and your partner discover a blissful new relationship... or it just helps you fight less about chores. What you do with it is up to you.

    We give you a customized relationship guide with advice for your relationship. The magic of Takes Two is that it's based on your natural, instinctive strengths. We identify your MO based on your honest answers to super scientific questions and then we run some fancy algorithms and create a customized report tailored for your relationship.

  • What is Kolbe?

    Kolbe is many things. It's the name of the company behind Takes Two. It's the last name of our CEO (David Kolbe), our founder (Kathy Kolbe), and a Catholic saint with an inspiring story. It's definitely not a delicious variety of Wisconsin cheese, even though it's pronounced the same way...

    Most notably, Kolbe is a theory of human behavior pioneered by Kathy in the 1980s. Kathy studied a third part of the mind (aside from emotion and intellect) that governs behavior and instinct. This part of the mind is known as "conation" and has been studied and discussed by philosophers going back to Plato. Conative strengths are instinctive and are an unchanging, driving force in every person so Kathy developed an assessment to measure one's MO, or modus operandi. This assessment is the Kolbe A™ Index and is included in the Takes Two purchase (if you haven't done one already).

    Kolbe Theory has affected millions of people around the world by helping them measure and understand their striving instincts and how they drive success, satisfaction, and stress.

    Learn more about Kolbe at http://kolbe.com

  • What does Takes Two cover?

    Takes Two covers a lot of ground. In the initial report you'll get customized advice on how you and your partner deal with important issues like communication, finances, household chores and vacations (fun!). It doesn't explicitly cover other hot button issues like slurping soup, leaving the toilet seat up, and why your partner insisted on wearing those awful cargo shorts last week but ya never know, it might give you some really fascinating insight into these areas too.

  • How can you measure love?

    TL;DR we actually measure your strengths, because it works better.

    That is a very tricky question... According to most psychologists, love is an emotional construct, but there is a lot of disagreement about the latency and emergence of love as an emotional response. Takes Two avoids the confusion and inaccuracy of emotional measurement by instead measuring your MO (or modus operandi), your partner's MO, and the interplay of your innate strengths. In other words, we measure the strengths you both bring to a relationship, which is way more practical and scientific and less convoluted than trying to measure emotional responses.

  • What is love?

    We can't say definitively, but Baby don't hurt me. No more. (Haddaway - What Is Love)

  • What if I find out we're incompatible?

    You can breathe easy, because Takes Two doesn't even score your compatibility. *sigh of relief. In our view almost every relationship can be awesome as long as you have a foundation of mutual understanding and respect. That's where Takes Two makes a difference. We measure strengths and use that information to create helpful advice on how your strengths and your partner's strengths play together in a relationship. There are no wrong answers and no incompatible couples.

  • My partner won't fold laundry. Will Takes Two compel them to get off their ass and do some chores?

    Yes. It will. That's the whole reason for this report. Congrats on finding that out. Now get off your ass and buy the report. Note: results may vary.

  • What if my partner or I don't care to talk about feelings?

    Honestly, Takes Two might be perfect for you. I know what you're thinking, "Could there be anything more painful than sitting down with my partner to actually talk about our relationship?" The answer is "Yes, there are more painful things." Trust us on this one.

    First, it should be delightful to connect in meaningful ways with your partner. Second, even if you have a tough time connecting, Takes Two makes it easy. The whole process of Takes Two is built on your own personal strengths—from the personal strengths assessment to the report itself. It won't tell you what's wrong with you or your relationship, only what's right and how to make a thing go right.

  • Is Takes Two the same as counseling?

    Takes Two is customized, practical advice for couples, but it is not counseling like you might get from a licensed marriage therapist. We are not accredited therapists or psychologists, but we know Takes Two can be a positive first step toward therapy if needed, and can even assist a therapist in understanding you and your relationship. Takes Two is all based on positive appreciation, so it works equally well for strong healthy relationships as well as relationships on the verge of crisis. In many cases it can just be an easy, fun, and positive way to appreciate each other and actually have a better time doing stuff together.

  • My partner sent me a Takes Two invitation. Does that mean I'm in trouble?

    No. Takes Two is not a sign of trouble and it won't get you into trouble. ...Unless maybe if you blow off the invitation and don't take your assessment. Then all bets are off.

    But seriously, Takes Two is completely positive for couples. If anything, it's a sign that your partner really really likes you.

  • Can Takes Two help me if I'm single?

    Umm.. Probably not? Takes Two is a relationship guide for couples so you have to have two people to get the report. (Quick hint: It's in the name.)

    And even though we believe people can have fulfilling and meaningful relationships with ice cream, we can't provide you a relationship advice report without a human partner.

    If you want to learn more about yourself we highly recommend taking the Kolbe A Index assessment at Kolbe.com.

    If you still have an overwhelming urge to buy Takes Two, you can buy it and bank it for later. Who knows? Or you can buy it as a gift for a couple you care about.

  • Can Takes Two help me find true love?

    Yes! Takes Two can absolutely deepen your existing relationship. If you're looking for a new partner though, Takes Two is not a matchmaking service.

    If you want to learn about yourself in a way that can make you a better future partner, we recommend taking the Kolbe A Index at kolbe.com.

  • What if I'm in a committed public relationship, but I want to get a Takes Two report with my mistress/secret affair partner?

    Can I do that?

    We won't judge or tell anyone, but for the purposes of this report we recommend the age-old advice, "Dance with the one who brung ya."

  • Can I give Takes Two as a gift?

    Yes. You can check out as a guest or create a profile to purchase a Takes Two package (report and assessments) for anyone who could use some customized relationship advice (e.g. everyone in a relationship). What are you waiting for... it's a great idea. Purchase now.

  • How much does it cost?

    Compared to most personalized relationship advice on the market, Takes Two is a bargain at $149. Takes Two includes three parts: One Kolbe A Index result for you, one Kolbe A Index result for your partner, and a customized relationship guide (the Takes Two report). The Kolbe A Index results sell for $55, and if you already have one or two Kolbe A Index results we will credit the purchase toward Takes Two.

  • Why do I have to choose my gender?

    Honestly it doesn't matter to us, but since the report is written in the darn English language we gotta use some pronouns for you and your partner. Rather than guess you prefer "he" or "she" (or gender neutral options "he/she") we ask you to point us in the right direction before you get your report. For now we don't have other options, but if we get to know you, we'll call you whatever you would like.

  • What does it take to make a thing go right?

    It Takes Two - (Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock - It Takes Two)

  • What about making it outta sight?

    It Takes Two - (Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock - It Takes Two)

  • Why did I get a text from 602-362-7224?

    Don't worry. It's not spam. Your partner asked us to send you an invitation by text to Takes Two, a custom relationship advice platform. The next step is to click the link and take a personal strengths assessment so you can get your Takes Two report. We won't save your number and we won't use it again. (Unless your partner asks us really nicely to text you again.)

  • How do I delete my account?

    There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only two ways to leave Takes Two.

    First (and this works best for most people) you can make your account private by viewing your Profile and editing your Searchable settings by clicking the pencil icon. Marking yourself as NOT SEARCHABLE will hide your name, picture, and result from anyone except connections.

    Second, you can delete your account permanently by calling Takes Two Customer Service (602) 840-9770 option 3, during business hours, or emailing info@takestwo.com from the email address associated with your account.

    Deleting your account will also permanently erase your Takes Two report, and your customer history. Your individual Kolbe A Index result will be deleted from the Takes Two platform. If you also have your Kolbe A Index accessible on Kolbe.com or in a business account, we won't delete it from those places unless you specifically ask us to. We never store your credit card information. However, if a transaction was made, the transaction record will not be deleted (billing details) and the account associated with it will be redacted.

    We don't mean to be a pain with the whole deleting your account thing, but that's the way it is.

  • Who wrote this awesome copy in your FAQ section?

    A really great copywriter who deserves so much appreciation. Never Gonna Give You Up



"[Takes Two is] Spot on. I've learned that we're a lot more alike than I thought. Structure is good for us." Tina K, Takes Two fan


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