Eric Strauss: How to Position Your Dating Business for Acquisition

Posted on September 10, 2026

LTR – In this conversation, Mark Brooks sits down with Eric Strauss, former Founder and CEO of Cupid.com and President of Transworld Business Brokers in Manhattan, to explore the realities of building a business with an eventual exit in mind.

Eric reflects on the sale of Cupid.com and Regional Help Wanted, before sharing lessons from his years helping entrepreneurs sell their companies. They discuss how to prepare a business for acquisition, why clean and transparent financials matter, how valuation and pricing affect the sales process, and why overpricing can actually make it harder to attract serious buyers.

The conversation also explores how buyers are identified, how a competitive process can help drive the best outcome, and why founders should start preparing for a sale long before they are ready to put their business on the market.

[**See the video here on YouTube**]

The February LTR was kindly sponsored by HubPeople, LeadThink and Courtland Brooks

Greek-American Matchmaker Charges $5,000 a Month to Find Love in New York

Posted on September 9, 2026
the logo of Agapé Matchmaking

PROTOTHEMA – New York-based Agape Match, founded by Maria Avgitidis, takes a personalized approach to matchmaking. The agency builds detailed client profiles and may interview up to 30 people before arranging a first date. It works with no more than 15 active clients at a time and has a database of 30K+ candidates. Clients also receive dating coaching. Avgitidis says Agape Match has arranged ~7K first dates over 18 years. Services average ~$5K per month. She has also expanded into singles communities, dating retreats in Greece, the Ask a Matchmaker podcast, and a dating advice book.

See full article at ProtoThema

Coffee Meets Bagel Launches in Australia

Posted on September 9, 2026
Coffee Meets Bagel ad

LBB ONLINE – Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) has launched in Australia with its “Let’s Get Serious” campaign, targeting singles frustrated with low-effort dating, ghosting, and endless swiping. The campaign promotes CMB’s curated daily matches, Topic Suggestions, and Real Dates features.

See full article at LBB Online

ATEAM Launches Dating App After Building 10,000-Person Waitlist 

Posted on September 9, 2026
Logo of ATEAM

INC – Wellness-focused dating and social platform ATEAM has launched its app after building a 10K+ person waitlist and hosting ~30 IRL events attended by 2K people. The $39.99/month membership connects people around shared health and wellness values for both romantic and platonic relationships. ATEAM has partnerships with SoulCycle and Lifetime Fitness and backing from a 35-person investor group, including former NFL player Dale Moss. After launching in New York, it plans to expand to Miami, West Palm Beach, Austin, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

See full article at INC

Grindr to Pay £26M to Settle UK Data Privacy Lawsuit

Posted on September 8, 2026
Grindr logo

BBC – Grindr has agreed to pay £26M to settle a lawsuit alleging it shared users’ sensitive data, including HIV status, sexual orientation and ethnicity, with third parties. The case has more than 11,000 claimants and relates to data practices before 2020, when Grindr was owned by Chinese company Kunlun. Grindr will pay £13M by the end of 2026 and another £13M by March 2027. Grindr says it stopped sharing HIV data with those companies and has overhauled its privacy practices since 2020.

See full article at BBC

New Gay Dating Apps Put Privacy and Community Control First

Posted on September 7, 2026
Hank Social

OUT.COM – A new group of gay dating and hookup apps is putting privacy and community control at the center of their products. Meetmarket, founded by Calum Bowden, raised €161,456 through crowdfunding and is developing an ad-free app with end-to-end encrypted messaging and a decentralized identity system. Other newcomers include Goose, an “anti-algorithm” dating and sex app with human-screened applicants, and Hank Social, which is aimed at the kink and fetish community and emphasizes discretion and human moderation. The growth of these platforms comes amid wider concerns about how dating apps collect and manage sensitive user data.

See full article at Out.com

Get Online Personals Watch by Email

Posted on September 7, 2026
Logo featuring the letters 'OPW' on a gradient blue background.

OPW – We’re dedicated to providing you with quality daily executive summaries and intelligence. Subscribe here, and send to a friend. We find news and info that will help make you smarter and help you make better informed decisions. Online Personals Watch has been run by the Courtland Brooks team since 2004.

EliteSingles Launches $499 Monthly Membership

Posted on September 6, 2026
EliteSingles logo

PRNEWSWIRE – EliteSingles has launched Elite Select, a one-month membership costing $499. It includes priority access, increased profile visibility and support from a human concierge. Members also receive a visible badge and a membership card that can be shared on social media. All profiles on EliteSingles are verified by video selfie.

See full article at PRNewswire

Match Group Pushes AI Matchmaking Into Europe

Posted on September 6, 2026
Match Group logo

SIMPLY WALL ST –  Match Group is rolling out new AI-powered matchmaking tools tailored to Europe’s online dating market, along with features focused on safer user experiences. The company is adapting its AI systems and subscription to align with GDPR and growing privacy expectations.

See full article at Yahoo Finance

PositiveSingles Holds First In-Person Meetup in Atlanta

Posted on September 6, 2026
Positive Singles logo

THE NATIONAL LAW REVIEW – PositiveSingles held its first Atlanta meetup on Aug 29 as part of a trial of offline events. The company plans to use attendee feedback before considering meetups in other US cities.

See full article at The National Law Review