A Seattle startup is in the news for investing in divorce – its business model is based on the fact that nearly 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the US end up parting ways. SwanLuv offers to pay couples for their dream wedding, but the money will have to be returned with interest if they ever get divorced.
西雅圖一家創(chuàng)業(yè)公司因?yàn)橥顿Y離婚而上了新聞。該公司的商業(yè)模式是基于美國有近40%-50%的婚姻以離婚告終這一事實(shí)。SwanLuv公司為新婚夫婦提供資金籌備夢(mèng)幻婚禮，但一旦他們離婚，公司會(huì)連本帶利地收回其資金。

So if you’re about to get married and you apply to Swanluv, they’ll run your profile through an algorithm, study your relationship, and select you if you meet their criteria. Then, they’ll offer you a loan of up to $10,000. You don’t have to return the money, ever, as long as you stay together. But the moment you decide to get a divorce you’ve got to cough up the original amount, plus interest. And stronger relationships are assigned higher interest rates, so the longer couples stay together, the more they’ll stand to lose if they split.
如果你們是即將步入婚姻殿堂的情侶，就可以向SwanLuv公司提出申請(qǐng)。該公司會(huì)通過計(jì)算機(jī)演算程序分析你們的個(gè)人資料，并研究你們的關(guān)系。若是能達(dá)到其標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，你們就成功入選了，然后會(huì)得到該公司提供的高達(dá)一萬美元的貸款。只要你們的婚姻不破裂，就無需償還。但如果你們決定離婚了，你們面臨的不止是償還本金，還要加付利息。夫妻關(guān)系越穩(wěn)固，利率就越高。也就是說，夫妻關(guān)系維系的時(shí)間越長(zhǎng)，離婚給他們帶來的損失也會(huì)越大。

When you think about it, that’s kind of like the opposite of how insurance works. You’re supposed to get paid when things go wrong, but with SwanLuv, it’s the other way round.
當(dāng)你考慮到這一點(diǎn)，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，這種商業(yè)模式和買保險(xiǎn)是截然相反的。如果你買了保險(xiǎn)，事情出現(xiàn)差池，你應(yīng)該得到一筆錢。但SwanLuv公司的模式正好與之相反。

CEO and co-founder Scott Avy says SwanLuv is like a casino for marriages, but the company doesn’t really stand to lose because the odds are 50 percent in their favor. He does want all marriages to succeed, but the statistics clearly show that not all of them will. And that’s what the company is heavily banking on. “It comes back to statistics,” Avy said. “We’ll have the right odds so we’ll be OK. But they won’t be so crazy that no one wants to do it.”
SwanLuv公司總裁斯科特·阿維認(rèn)為，他們公司就好比一個(gè)婚姻賭場(chǎng)，輸贏幾率均等，他們也不會(huì)一直賠錢。他個(gè)人希望每樁婚姻都能美滿，但數(shù)據(jù)清楚地顯示，結(jié)果并不會(huì)總是如人所愿。該公司對(duì)這一點(diǎn)深信不疑。阿維說道：“用數(shù)據(jù)來說話，我們是有勝券在握的，我想我們的模式不會(huì)有問題的。但這并不是說情侶們沒有機(jī)會(huì)贏，那樣的話他們就不會(huì)參加了。”

Avy insists that couples can actually stand to gain from the scheme, if they’re confident their relationship will last. It gives them a chance to gamble on themselves, and it also raises an important question: “Should we be getting married if we’re not willing to sign up?”
阿維始終認(rèn)為，實(shí)際上，如果情侶們真對(duì)維持他們的關(guān)系有足夠的信心，他們就能從這個(gè)項(xiàng)目中獲利。這讓他們有機(jī)會(huì)將賭注押在自己身上。同時(shí)也向他們提出了一個(gè)重要的問題：“如果我們連報(bào)名都不愿意，那我們應(yīng)該結(jié)婚嗎？”

“It really depends on where you are in your relationship,” Avy said. “I’m betting on my relationship I’ve established with my soulmate. It’s going to be a no-brainer for the ones it makes sense for.”
“這完全取決于你們之間的關(guān)系處于哪個(gè)階段，”阿維說：“我就把賭注下在了我和愛人經(jīng)營(yíng)多年的婚姻關(guān)系上。對(duì)于那些認(rèn)為婚姻是有意義的人來說，將它維持下去也是輕而易舉的。”

There will be clauses in the contract that protect one or both partners. So if a marriage ends in abuse, only one person is responsible for paying off the debt. And to help couples beat the odds, SwanLuv offers free marriage counselling when things get rocky.
合同中將包含各項(xiàng)用以保護(hù)夫妻一方或雙方的條款。如此一來，如果婚姻是因家庭暴力而告終的，那么，只有一人需獨(dú)自承擔(dān)債務(wù)。當(dāng)婚姻狀況出現(xiàn)危機(jī)的時(shí)候，SwanLuv公司會(huì)提供免費(fèi)的婚姻輔導(dǎo)服務(wù)，希望幫助情侶成功拿到貸款。

It certainly is an unusual and a rather controversial business model, but according to Avy the math makes sense. He claims that he’s already talking to angel investors, but it’s unclear whether the company has managed to raise funds or not. If the idea does take off, there’s bound to be criticism over the fact that SwanLuv essentially gambles on people’s lives and happiness. But the company’s website insists that they do not actually profit from divorces.
毫無疑問，這是一種與眾不同的商業(yè)模式，同時(shí)也飽受爭(zhēng)議。但是，阿維認(rèn)為數(shù)學(xué)思維是有道理的。他聲稱自己已經(jīng)與天使投資者進(jìn)行了商洽，但該公司是否成功籌集到了資金還暫不明確。如果這個(gè)想法真的成功實(shí)現(xiàn)了，必然會(huì)有人出來聲討SwanLuv公司實(shí)際上是將人們生活和幸福視為了賭注。但該公司網(wǎng)站堅(jiān)稱自己并未從離婚中獲益。

“100% of the money collected from members who are later divorced is used to provide funds for future couples’ dream weddings,” it states. “SwanLuv keeps the dream alive.”
“那些以離婚告終的參與者需貸款連本帶利償還給我們，我們將這些錢全部投資到今后準(zhǔn)備結(jié)婚的情侶中，為他們籌備夢(mèng)幻婚禮，”它稱：“SwanLuv會(huì)讓夢(mèng)想閃耀。”

Avy says most people have reacted positively to the concept. “They’re signing up for it,” he said. “We’re not forcing them. It’s all by choice.” He is accepting applications from couples and hopes to start making payments by Valentine’s Day next year. Would you be willing to bet on your relationship?
阿維說這個(gè)模式得到了大多數(shù)人的支持。“他們踴躍報(bào)名參加，”他說：“我們并沒有強(qiáng)迫他們這樣做。全憑個(gè)人意愿。”他接連不斷地受到情侶們提交的申請(qǐng)，并希望在來年情人節(jié)前開始出資籌備婚禮。你是否愿意用你的婚姻關(guān)系打個(gè)賭呢？

Vocabulary

cough up: 被迫付出
bank on: 指望；依賴
no-brainer: 無需用腦的事；容易的事

英文來源：odditycentral
譯者：孫慧
審校&編輯：丹妮