Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Fireside Chat With Ethan Martin

LTR - Ethan Martin, founder of Gen Z-focused dating app SLIDE, shares insights from his journey as an entrepreneur. Having learned a thing or two from his previous food delivery app, Round, he stresses the importance of solving one's own problems to devise impactful solutions. SLIDE caters exclusively to 18–28-year-olds, addressing their desire for safety and authenticity with mandatory ID verification. Slide launched in 2023, built off of extensive market research, using humor and relatability across platforms like TikTok to engage users. Ethan's bold vision positions SLIDE as a standout in the dating app market, focusing on a safe and lively community for young people.

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

The October LTR was kindly sponsored by ParshipMeet Group, RealMe, Dating Through Curiosity, along with Courtland Brooks and Matchmaker.com

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Interview With CEO of G-commerce Service, RealGifts

OPW INTERVIEW - RealGifts is our newest (Courtland Brooks) client and OPW sponsor. They do G-commerce (at scale) for dating. Here is my interview with dating industry veteran Ruben Buell who is CEO of RealGifts. - Mark Brooks

What is G-commerce?
G-commerce is gifting commerce. We take E-Commerce and tailor it to the act of giving and receiving. In dating, this means we enable one dater to give a gift to another, without disclosure of mailing addresses. Due to the increase in globalization, internet penetration, and the post-corona trend of working from home, this vertical is set to grow at a rapid rate over the next several years.

There is a major increase in demand for instant, last-minute gifts and easy gift exchanges. Personalization is also key - people want an experience that caters to them, and gifts that they have specified, rather than something that they will inevitably return.

Studies reveal that for every $10 the average American spends, $1 is spent on buying someone a gift, and on average this amounts to $1,851 per year spent on gifts. According to stats, the global personalized online gifts market amounts to $31.36 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 9% per year.

People naturally express their love and emotions through gifts, and as our lives shift online, so do our habits. Gift-giving is a fundamental part of human relationships, and we are reinventing it, and making it even more accessible.

What is RealGifts?
RealGifts is a widget that enables users to send each other personalized, self-chosen gifts without disclosing any personal information, ensuring privacy and security. Through this, RealGifts both boosts UX as well as the level of engagement among users.

The widget itself is an award-winning end-to-end solution that provides a selection of best-selling products from brands that truly embody luxury. Users can create personal wishlists, and from those wishlists, other users can send gifts across mobile applications and traditional websites.

How does it help singles connect?
Gift-giving is a love language in and of itself.

RealGifts is the method through which people can speak that particular love language. They can express their feelings - recent or more long-term - with these self-chosen gifts, deepening connections and making the online dating experience far more real and intimate.

RealGifts creates a memorable experience for users - but more than that, it makes the experience real and tangible. It’s the stepping stone for taking the online dating experience into the real world, and gives couples something that is shared, and that represents the depth of their connection.

How long has it been around, and at what scale is the platform tested to?
RealGifts has been around since 2006, and has been tested for a scale of over 150 million users globally.

What are the most popular gifts?
RealGifts has a vast range of gifts, but the most popular categories that we've seen chosen by our members, and purchased by our members are:

• Fragrances
• Earrings
• Floral Chocolates
• Bags and Wallets

How does it help dating apps monetize?
Dating apps receive a 10%-30% payout on all gift sales.

There is no outside link when using the widget; everything happens on your app or on your site, so the engagement time vastly increases. We've found that each member spends an average of 11 minutes creating their wishlist and browsing the selection available, greatly boosting their ARPU.

Contact: [email protected]

Interview With Jamie Wykes-Hobday, Founder of FITFCK

OPW INTERVIEW - Last week, the fitness dating app FITFCK announced an investment at $3M valuation from OnlyFans founder, Timothy Stokely. We have reached out to Jamie to learn more about his app and the investment.

What made you start FITFCK?
FITFCK was created when my girlfriend broke up with me just weeks before my first bodybuilding show due to my excessive training commitments and lifestyle. So you could say that the motivation comes from the fact that the founder is an actual case study of the problem we are looking to solve!

How is FITFCK better than other dating apps?
FITFCK offers a niche for gym lovers to connect through their common love for fitness, which they would not be able to do on mass market dating apps. We are also focused on building a multi level consumer brand, not just a dating app.

How did you meet the Founder of OnlyFans?
Through an Instagram DM!

What will you do with the money to grow FitFck?
We will be using the money to build our audience and complete our app build which is releasing in November.

How does the OnlyFans founder view the investment, FitFck and the dating space in general?
Here is his quote: !I am delighted to have had the opportunity to invest in FITFCK" says Timothy Stokely. "Having known Jamie for over 3 years now, his vision, drive and determination coupled with the brand concept is something that I fully believe in and I am looking forward to seeing it realise its global potential as a multi level consumer brand."

How are you planning on building your audience? i.e. influencers?
Social media marketing across a number of platforms, including influencers.

See the top news on FITFCK

Interview With Aurora Townsend, Founder & CMO of Planet Theta

OPW INTERVIEW - Planet Theta is the world's first Virtual Reality dating app. The app's founder and CMO, Aurora Townsend, believes metaverse is the future of dating because it addresses the top concerns that people have with traditional dating apps - privacy and security.

The metaverse is considered the next step in the evolution of the Internet, but how close are we to the real experience?
Real metaverse experiences are already here, and there are many things to do in VR, such as playing poker, going out to comedy clubs, playing tennis, or shopping. As the VR user base continues to double every year, we can expect the variety and quality of metaverse experiences to scale to that need, bringing endless opportunities. This November, Planet Theta will be open to the public.

What is Planet Theta's founding story? How did you come up with the app's name?
Planet Theta's origin was covid. Most of the people I know became lonely and depressed and began looking for ways to connect and date other than meeting in person. Many of us tried group phone and video calls, but they did not fill the void. One day I was playing a VR game with a couple of friends, and it dawned on us that we may have found the answer - using VR, technology's most immersive way to connect. Theta means rebirth, and we created Planet Theta to help foster a rebirth of dating culture. We push personal interaction and chemistry back to the forefront of dating. We call it Microdating. Instead of focusing first on profiles, on Planet Theta matchmaking is about testing chemistry.

How is the app funded?
Our CEO, Chris Crew, contributed ~$1M to start the development of Planet Theta. Since then, we have raised funds from a few seed investors and are currently looking for a larger investor to help us navigate our launch. If you are interested in investing in Planet Theta, please take a look at our investor's website: https://investplanettheta.com.

What are the biggest challenges you are facing right now?
VR is expanding so fast that our target audience is an ever-changing factor of demographics as it grows. This is a unique challenge for our marketing team.

How does Planet Theta stand out from other dating apps, and how does it work? Describe the experience.
Most dating apps are matchmaking apps - there is no dating within the apps, and there is no chemistry testing, which is an essential part of any relationship. On Planet Theta, we have replaced Swiping with Microdating. A user selects Microdating within the app, and the AI sets the user up with three consecutive 75s Microdates with three users the AI thinks they may like. After each microdate, users will be prompted to rate their date with a thumbs up or down. At the end of the three microdates, users will be notified of their new "matches" (where both users gave a thumbs up) and be encouraged to invite them to a Coffee Date. Matches can chat on our associated phone app (mainly to schedule a Coffee Date) but will not be able to share pics or see each other's profiles until after going on a Coffee Date. The Coffee Date is a 3-minute date in our cafe. This is a chance to find out if you can have a good conversation. We encourage couples to go on a few dates, like taking a walk in our Enchanted Forest together or watching a new movie at our allrites© theater.

Who do you consider your biggest competitor in the metaverse space?
To our knowledge, we are building the only VR app dedicated to dating. People have been dating in VR for years on VRChat, Altspace, and other social VR apps. We don't see Social VR apps as competitors. Their environments are almost entirely user-created, allow children, and most importantly, the apps are not focused on dating. Some really cool web 2.0 apps are matchmaking apps in the traditional sense, just focused on helping people make VR connections. We see these apps as partners rather than competitors.

How do you protect your users from abuse?
A lot of our vision is about prioritizing the comfort and safety of women. Planet Theta helps them filter out who they want to meet in the physical world. There is no way to look through a list of profiles or to message random people. Users can only see the profiles of other users after going on a short coffee date in Planet Theta. Some of the more apparent features include an ability to silence, block, or report other users, we'll be using human moderators in public spaces, and of course, a personal bubble that protects your space from being intrusively invaded. The personal bubble will not be an on/off switch but a decreasing setting relative to how much time other users have spent with you in Planet Theta. The longer a couple is dating, the smaller the bubble until it disappears altogether.

Where do you see Planet Theta a year from now?
We expect Planet Theta to be the fastest-growing dating app on the market. Word of mouth will propel Planet Theta into the mainstream as women explain to their friends how much safer and easier it is to date on Planet Theta than on traditional dating apps. By next year if you haven't yet been on a VR date, I expect you'll know someone who has.

See the top news on Planet Theta

OPW Interview With Mark Kapczynski, SVP of OneRep

OPW - Mark Kapczynski is SVP of OneRep.com, which helps consumers and employees protect themselves online. (Full Disclosure: OneRep.com is a client of Courtland Brooks) - Mark Brooks

What does OneRep do?
OneRep scrubs unwanted personal information off the Internet. Google yourself right now: full name + city, state. You're likely to see listings from privacy-breaching websites that reveal your street address, phone number, email, age, and loads of other details, including your work, finances, political affiliations, etc. Such information can be used for staking, harassing, identity theft, and even a physical attack. We remove sensitive personal information from Google and 100+ websites to keep you private and safe.

How does OneRep work?
We SCAN 100+ sites to find where an individual is exposed. We then erase personal information from these sites and continuously monitor all the 100+ sites to ensure people remain private.

How does this help dating/community users?
Helping daters stay private online leads to safety in real life. They choose when to divulge personal contact information; that choice is not made for them by Google. For dating websites, offering members a service like this would help differentiate your brand and foster loyalty by showing you really care about member safety. OneRep complements your existing security programs, giving members more ways to stay protected while dating online.

What is the offering for dating/community apps?
There are two main ways to engage:
A. For dating websites and apps, offering OneRep annual subscriptions via an affiliate model is an easy, no-risk way to test whether your members will value this type of privacy protection service.
B. Directly integrate OneRep via API or SDK for tighter integration with your existing user flow and experience.

How is OneRep distinguished to do this job?
OneRep has been protecting consumers since 2015, being the first and only service to fully automate personal information removal from the web, making the removal easier to scale and more affordable. Our founder, Dimitri Shelest, was named Top 25 Cybersecurity CEO for 2021 by The Software Report. His expertise has been published in CPO Magazine, Safety Detectives, Hackernoon, and others. OneRep has proven consumer demand, with ~400K active users and ~ 6M public records removed from the Internet.

See the top news on OneRep

This Is the Story of the Global Christian Network

OPW - Global Christian Network was the world's first and largest Christian Social Media network that dates back to 1995. What started as simple online chat rooms turned into one of the top trafficked sites with 4M subscribers and a $400M valuation. The site was launched by David Fritsche, a former NASA engineer, and his brother Bob. David was also a youth pastor and youth sports coach at the time. The Global Christian Network was launched in 1995 with new services being added over the next couple of years, such as Classifieds, Prayer web, Studio – online chats with celebrities, Newsletters, Instant Homepage, and Singles - The world's first and largest Christian focused dating service. In the late '90s, there was only one online dating service of note, Match.com. ~300 couples were married through the site. In 2000, GCN raised $45M. Then in June 2000, Microsoft lost the antitrust lawsuit and the US Congress voted to break up the software company. That day, the market crashed and so did the value of every internet-based company, including GCN which went from $400M to $40M in just one week. In 2001, GCN was sold to a public company called iExalt. iExalt was later sold to Salem Media Group, a public company that still owns the domain and the rights.

Read the full story here

Gitte Bendzulla - Driving Growth and Innovation in the Pandemic Environment

LTR - May 19 - The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on online dating companies. Gitte Bendzulla, COO Spark Networks, discusses the challenges of operating a publicly traded dating company in the current global environment with Mark Brooks, CEO of Courtland Brooks. Spark Networks SE completed its acquisition of Zoosk in July 2019 to improve its position against Match Group. The combined company experienced impressive growth during 2020 as more people turned to online dating during the pandemic lockdowns. The momentum appears to have faded during Q1 2021. Companies must continue to innovate to drive growth as the world transitions to a post-pandemic environment. According to Bendzulla, Online dating company IPOs have brought positive attention to the market and help to establish better relationships with payment providers and investors. Gitte Bendzulla provides her unique perspective on the online dating and social discovery industry in the latest video in the LTR Conference series.

LTR stands for Love, Technology, Relationships and the online conference covers the Internet dating and Online Social Communities space. It is for members of IDEA and OSCA.

The February LTR was kindly sponsored by RealMe, vPaaS by The Meet Group, Tawkify, Real Gifts & Courtland Brooks.

Patti Stanger - Dating Apps Should Partner With Matchmakers to Provide a VIP Experience

LTR - May 3 - Patti Stanger, CEO & Owner of Millionaires Club, discusses her invaluable experiences as The Millionaire Matchmaker in this interview with Mark Brooks, CEO of Courtland Brooks. Finding love for the ultra-wealthy presents unique challenges and requires a comprehensive approach. The personalized matchmaker approach can be scaled to integrate into online dating. Stanger believes that dating apps should form alliances with matchmakers to provide a high-service option for users who desire assistance. There is an excellent opportunity to increase revenues by servicing these VIP customers. Patti Stanger discusses the benefits that matchmakers can bring to dating apps in the latest video in the LTR Conference series.

LTR stands for Love, Technology, Relationships and the online conference covers the Internet dating and Online Social Communities space. It is for members of IDEA and OSCA.

The February LTR was kindly sponsored by RealMe, vPaaS by The Meet Group, Utopia Analytics, Tawkify, Real Gifts & Courtland Brooks.

RSVP Bought by Oasis Founders, Current Managers

OPW INTERVIEW - Mar 16 - Daniel Haigh (Dir. Product RSVP/Oasis since 2014) and Dave Heysen (CEO of RSVP/Oasis since 2014) created Oasis, which was bought by RSVP in 2014, the original Internet dating service at scale, in Australia. RSVP was bought by Fairfax Media in 2005, which itself was bought by Nine. Now Daniel and Dave are acquiring RSVP and will run it, along with Helium Dating, and launch a new app. I asked Daniel and Dave about their plans. - Mark Brooks

Why did you buy RSVP back?
Fairfax Media was acquired by Nine Entertainment in 2018, and as a result Nine became the major shareholder of RSVP. Since this transaction we recognised that RSVP would be better placed as an independent business and we (Dave & Daniel) are excited to have had the opportunity to complete a company buyback in January 2021. However, our relationship with Nine is still strong and we have an ongoing multimillion dollar media spend agreement in place over the next 3 years. The majority of this advertising will be for ongoing marketing of RSVP in Australia.

What will you do with RSVP next?
Although RSVP has certainly been affected by overseas competition, we are very confident about the future, and have a strong position in the Australia market. Our current focus is improving the services provided by RSVP. We genuinely want to help our customers find a lifelong partner, and will always refine our online dating platform while providing a high level of customer care. We are also completing the development of a brand new native app which we are super excited about.

How about Oasis?
Sadly we decided to close down our Oasis.com / Amorenlinea.com brands in December 2020. We had some serious backlash (to put it mildly) from our members upon announcing this decision as Oasis had a very strong following throughout Australia, UK and South/Central America. The service was no longer viable. Oasis was a free site and advertising revenue has been steadily declining year after year, while the technology platform was becoming more expensive to maintain.

You launched a new app recently. Can you tell us more about it?
We soft launched a new online dating app called Helium at the end of 2020. Although we are still rapidly developing the app we are excited about initial numbers with almost 200,000 users having signed up to the service. Features include direct contact (none of this swiping or liking stuff), fully featured (and encrypted) messaging platform, mini-video calling, 'Really Me' verification and so much more! Helium is available worldwide in all English and Spanish Latin American markets. See https://www.heliumdating.com.

See the top news on RSVP
See the top news on Helium

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments

Interview With David Stephen Hyatt, Founder & CEO of Luxmada

OPW INTERVIEW - Feb 17 - Luxmada has developed a new matching algorithm for online dating sites that predicts cohabitation compatibility which is an essential component of long-term relationship stability. It is called the Cohabitation Index. Here is our interview with Luxmada Founder & CEO, David Stephen Hyatt.

Can you tell us about the science behind your cohabitation test?
In a nutshell, the Cohabitation Index (CI) is a completely new, patent-pending algorithm that utilizes, among other things, asymmetric probability modeling to predict shared-space (i.e., domestic) compatibility. We use carefully crafted questions developed from peer-reviewed literature on (romantic) dyad matching and a robust mathematical design that moves beyond the fuzzy imprecision of current metrics (e.g., Likert scales, personality tests, etc.). The CI algorithm essentially measures the amount of predicted volatility with respect to the domestic space, and that's an incredibly important idea because relationships inevitably succeed or fail based on how well couples can navigate their shared-space landscape. Dating is only the first (and easiest) hurdle if you're even remotely interested in anything beyond hook-up culture.

Why is cohabitation so important compared to other compatibility aspects?
Great question. There exist two principal reasons. First, as we discuss in our report, recent academic studies suggest coeval matching algorithms are statistically insignificant and do a poor job of quantifying the kind of compatibility that leads to long-term relationship success. Unfortunately, these (dis)similarity measures are the only game in town with respect to curated matching, so they're not going away any time soon. The CI algorithm, which we assume will be used alongside the panoply of current (if flawed) matching techniques, focuses on those critical variables that academics suggest do portend relationship stability, giving users greater control over, and confidence in, their dating choices.

Second, cohabitation in the U.S. - to take one sizable market - has increased 900% since 1970, yet only 30% of cohabiting couples survive marriage. In fact, reported incompatibility has become a significant reason for relationship dissolution. This evinces the chasm between modern matching algorithms and the needs of online users who seek a long-term, meaningful relationship. Cohabitation compatibility, as an ineluctable component of a successful relationship, simply isn't being addressed by the online-dating industry; meanwhile, users invest time, money, and energy into relationships that could be doomed from the beginning. The CI algorithm measures that circumscribed aspect of relationship risk.

How do you see this integrating into a dating app?
There is nothing to suggest app integration would be a problem. Backend implementation across all modalities is seamless and nearly identical to current approaches. Users answer specific questions as they build their profile, and those responses are then used to construct a unique, precise, and asymmetrical "CI score" against any other profile in the database, a metric that even permits filtered searches based on any desired compatibility threshold. We also establish subcategory metrics so users can locate the locus of conflict and begin a targeted dialogue with potential matches about their domestic expectations. We believe the process of identifying potentially suboptimal matches by quantifying the likelihood of domestic conflict in inchoate relationships is as valuable as any matching strategy in use today - perhaps even more so considering what's at stake.

Why should companies use Luxmada's services rather than just go it alone and design their own test?
The short answer is convenience. We've already done the heavy lifting for you. We've examined the relevant literature, developed the mathematical framework, and performed robust statistical tests to measure the CI's predictive power against stochastic responses. See our report for details

The long answer comes in three parts. First, we have zero interest in market entry. Luxmada is an international think tank, which means we're not a dating site and we don't offer services of any kind. We developed the Cohabitation Index as a pragmatic response to a vital industry need, and we're advertising our IP for sale (or licensing) to interested parties. Think of us as intellectual facilitators rather than competitors. Second, it would be very difficult to reverse-engineer the CI infrastructure based solely on the prompts. The algorithmic magic resides in our specific mathematical design, and, as we all know, not every model generates meaningful data - even if the math works. Third, but certainly not least, our patent would likely create legal complications for foreign companies with a digital footprint in the States - while providing a complete barrier to development for American companies - but we've also engaged Oyen Wiggs, a prominent IP firm based in Vancouver, concerning PCT filing, which means there isn't much wiggle room for those who might wish to chart their own trajectories.

Do you have plans to offer more compatibility profiling?
The power and flexibility of the CI algorithm permit a range of interesting applications - from business management and team building to applicant profiling - and we're currently exploring those tangents, but, no, this is very likely our singular foray into the universe of online dating. At the moment, we're consumed with a number of high-profile projects, including cryptanalytic software and quantum-resistant authentication technology for primary-market consumer goods, but we hope we've convinced more than a few readers that cohabitation compatibility is an indispensable metric that must be addressed as the online-dating industry forges ahead. As we said when we began developing the CI algorithm: True compatibility doesn't begin until the honeymoon is over - an aphorism industry professionals should take seriously.

Interview With Adam Cohen-Aslatei, CEO of S'More

OPW INTERVIEW - Jan 30 - S'More raised $2.1m. What are they up to, and where will they go. I interviewed the CEO of S'More to find our more. - Mark Brooks

What's your #1 priority for your money raise?
Focusing on building out the product in a cost-efficient and timely manner so that we can expand across the U.S and then start work on Android. We still have so many cool features that are not yet present in the app, not to mention premium functionality that I can't wait to announce!

What will S'More look like in a year?
S'More will feel much more like a discovery community rather than a transactional dating app. What I mean is that there will be new ways to meet people in more organic ways. So for those who hate dating apps or for people who are not looking to date, but just want to meet and chat with cool people, S'More will become your destination! These community features are coming soon and we are even bringing in our S'More Live celebrity dating show inside the app!

Does Tinder have a future or will interest wane in your opinion? Why?
My view is that the industry is changing fast and we are entering a major era of disruption. People are looking for more, and current offerings are just not addressing consumers' changing behaviors. People have been swiping for years, and while fun, it can get a little boring and repetitive. S'More brings a totally new approach to the industry, tackling the bigger issue of "discovery": how do you really get to know a person beyond just a headshot....

Insta, Facebook, PPC, influencers, what's working best for you?
We think about marketing holistically not by tactics and quite honestly you need to employ all marketing tactics to build a solid and durable brand. S'More has always been a brand-first company, and we stand for anti-superficial relationships, and everything we do supports that belief. The core way we drive awareness is through our weekly celebrity dating show. We've shot 65 episodes in the last 6 months, and the show is now covered by celebrity news and by lifestyle reporters, dramatically expanding our reach beyond what any start-up at our stage should be able to generate. The show also gives us a great connection to Hollywood, which we are leveraging for a forthcoming tv show, and many of the singles we interview are actually on our app! Data from the show is also used for performance marketing.

How would you like to see the dating industry work together?
So many brands are doing great things, and I am so fortunate to have so many relationships with well established players in our space. I'd like to see us do more on data and security and verification. Just like Airbnb did a few years back, we as an industry must come together and require that 100% of users are verified. Let me be clear here, 100% catfish free, meaning your photos are of you and not of someone else, that is one of the biggest concerns we face and we need to establish better ways to keep bad actors out of our communities and be more proactive in doing so collaboratively.

How do you think the dating industry will be entirely different in 5 years?
I think A/R and V/R are coming fast, and we at S'More are getting ready. A/R and V/R will take virtual dating to a new level and as headsets become more widely available people will want to take part in these super cool and immersive experiences.

See the top news on S'More

Dua Signs Romania Partner, Interview With CEO Valon Asani

OPW INTERVIEW - Oct 16 - Dua is a dating and networking app for Albanians and diaspora. But that's not the entirety of their business play. They're proving out their app in Albania but then they've been on the prowl for partners to expand to other countries with considerable portions of their natives who form as diaspora around the world. They're uniting diaspora in their apps. Brilliant. We've seen World Singles do something similar in the past with Eligible Greeks and Iranian Personals. Now Dua is following a similar path. Starting with Albanians, and now Romanians. They just announce that they have a partner helping them to expand into Romania (see news). I interviewed CEO/Founder Valon Asani. - Mark Brooks

How is Dua different from the likes of other matchmaking and online dating apps? What is your focus?
260 million people are living outside the country they were born in. We are on a mission to revolutionize the way how globally fragmented communities connect with each other. We understand the importance of the community and how to connect people living in diasporas with their home countries. Diaspora Intelligence is the new way of operating diaspora engagement and interconnecting people of global communities.

Our focus is not only in niche markets, but we have a hyper-focus on niche markets with a huge diaspora. Our Diaspora Intelligence Platform is made to connect people from the same community within the diaspora and with their home country. Specific features like 'Change virtual location', 'Hot Places' & 'Cross-Path' make that possible.

Why is Romania your next partner-vertical?
Romania is a super interesting market, over 26 million people and 6.6 million Romanians living in the diaspora. In Europe, Romania is the third largest remittance recipient. The diaspora is well connected and sends over 4 billion Euro yearly back to the home country. 10% yearly growth in social media users. The country is investing billions in digitalization. A perfect match for our matchmaking technology with our local partners in Romania. We started with the Albanian market (dua.com) and the Romanians have a similar culture and therefore the differences are minimal, which makes it easier for us to enter this market.

What are you looking for in an ideal partner?
We're looking for marketing partners who understand the local culture and help to connect their diasporas. People with an entrepreneur spirit, well connected, understanding the value of technology and matchmaking. These are the basics. From that point, we can start talking about how to implement our Diaspora Intelligence Platform with our partner into the next market.

What will Dua look like in 2 years time?
We will have crossed 10 million users in 4 different countries with big diasporas. Our Diaspora Intelligence Technology is changing the way how global communities are connected.

One day, all people who got separated from their communities will have the opportunity to connect again with their community members. Anywhere. Anytime. Anyone. People of socially connected communities are more likely to thrive, to love, to make an impact. Social impact. Business impact. Positive impact. Sources: dua.solutions & dua.com/en/

See the top news on Dua.com

Relationship AI Interview With CEO Karinna Karsten

OPW INTERVIEW - Apr 3 - I met Karinna several years ago in California. She's entirely devoted to the relationships and dating industry and has created an app that help daters keep track of the people they're dating, and their dates, and most importantly to help them make sense of it all. Think of Relationship AI as helping them with their dating decision making and life. I really think this is an essential tool for daters, and highly complementary with the dating industry. Here's my interview with the Karinna, the CEO. [Full disclosure: RAI is a client of Courtland Brooks] - Mark Brooks

Why did you start Relationship AI?
I spent years working as a relationship advisor and the CEO of LOVE TV, where I addressed the challenges facing millennials in dating, wellness, and building relationships. During this time I came to realize that dating has become increasingly complicated. Keeping track of your dating life in today's app-jungle, including real-life encounters, is becoming almost a full-time job.

Daters really need help in managing their dating activity and making the best choices around matches.

Relationship A.I. was born from the accumulation of all my data, research and work in the dating industry over the past 10 years.

What does Relationship AI do?
Relationship A.I. is a personal CRM to increase the ROI on the time spent dating. We are giving daters the ability to track their dating activity and create metrics to improve effectiveness and efficiency while dating. This has positive implications for the dating industry. It’s never been done before.

What is the pricing model?
We run a Freemium model, with paid features and upgrades coming in 2020.

How does it serve the interests of dating app owners?
Relationship A.I. provides a compelling incentive for daters that can reactivate a dating app's dormant database. We keep your brand top of mind with daters who are juggling anything between 2 and 7 apps at a time. Lastly, we add to your bottom line. There's rev share opportunities for dating app partners from our (upcoming) paid upgrades.

How far along is the app development?
We have just launched v1 on IOS. We are developing early traction and partnerships.

What are your plans for 2020?
Complete seed round funding and launch version 2 with out first paid upgrades on IOS and Android. We want to secure strategic partnerships with a few dating industry leaders.

How can the dating industry help, and work with you?
Relationship A.I. is designed as a complement, a unifier, a revenue enhancer and an evolutionary next stage for the dating industry. We welcome dating app owners and executives to reach out and discuss partnership opportunities with Relationship A.I. for your audience at [email protected]. You can also find out more at www.relationship-ai.com and www.Karinnakarsten.com.

See the top news on Relationship AI

Ever Heard of Free.Date?

OPW INTERVIEW - Jan 14 - Have you ever heard of Free.Date? I think you will. They're one to watch. PlentyOfFish's tagline was "100% free. Put away your credit card." Which was a great and unique position in the market 10 years ago. Now everything is freemium and noone seems to be entirely free. Free.Date intends to take the "put away your credit card" position, essentially. Its actually not possible to spend money with them. Here's our interview with Jason Lee who is busy growing this property. - Mark Brooks

What is Free.Date?
Free.Date is a totally free, ad-supported dating site. Our users never have to pay for online dating. Our focus is on offering the best experience, and our goal is to be a basic and reliable free dating site. Some people might argue that it is not enough but if we look at the history of some of the top free dating sites, that is exactly what they did before being acquired by larger conglomerates, caving to financial pressures, and ultimately charging customers for what used to be free.

What's your founding story?
After college I could not find a good, totally free dating site. Most dating sites and apps focus on gimmicks and try to get people to pay a membership fee. Frankly people should not have to pay for online dating because there are tons of companies willing to buy ads. Dating sites can still make a great profit. As a user of a dating site/app, you get two very simple things - access to a database of singles and secure method to contact them. This is basically all dating site is. So why isn't there a boatload of free dating sites?

What's your position in the market?
First off, I think you would agree that user acquisition strategies are what most dating sites lack when they launch. This is also why most dating apps fail. The reality is the cost to get users is oftentimes higher than the value of the users. Our goal is to sustainably grow without amassing a large debt load. Our marketing team is based in India while I am working between S.E. Asia and the U.S.. Meanwhile, our programming is done in China. Most people look at Internet dating as a market where the leaders will always be the same. In our opinion that is far from the case. The mobile transition was the grand reset button. 25% of the top dating sites from a decade ago are no longer mentioned in mainstream media, while other big names like DateHookup and Perfect Match do not even exist anymore.

Do you have a mobile app?
We are launching our "Free Dating" app soon.

What's your biggest mistake so far?
My biggest mistake was thinking it would be easy, and not understanding the difficulties when building a scale-able websites. I have also learned how to delegate better and focus on what the data is telling me versus hunches. Another mistake during the first few years was not realizing how gifted our programmers are, and truly appreciating their skills.

And your biggest win?
Our original concept included building free niche dating sites and giving people the ability to join those and also become a member of Free.Date simultaneously. While our focus is now entirely on Free.Date, these small communities continue to grow around us as well and drive lots of new members to the Free.Date community. So proof of concept was the first big win. Secondarily, we've been profitable for 4 years now. But my biggest win is in the satisfaction of knowing that tens of thousands of people visit the site each day and are able to connect with other real local singles for free.

Interview With BHOC Director Dan Wohlfeiler

OPW INTERVIEW - Oct 29 - TellYourPartner.org is a new STD prevention tool launched by Building Healthy Online Communities (BHOC). It allows users to anonymously text or email a sexual partner that they might be at risk of an STD. We have interviewed BHOC director Dan Wohlfeiler about how dating apps can help stop the spread of record high STD infections among their users.

What dating apps have signed up to assist?
Grindr includes the link to TYP in its sexual health FAQs. Daddyhunt is currently designing new reminders to get regular sexual health check-ups, and what tests those should include. GROWLr, Grindr, Adam4Adam, and Daddyhunt have incorporated suggestions on profile design related to sexual health options.

How are they working with TYP, and BHOC?
BHOC works closely with apps to help customize HIV and STD prevention strategies. We've worked with them to design profile options that help users exchange information about whether or not they are taking Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), have an undetectable viral load, and/or prefer to use condoms. This helps users make informed choices, and importantly, promotes norms about taking active steps to promote sexual health. BHOC has worked with apps to help users sign up for automatic testing reminders at their choice of three or six-month intervals. Based on app owners' requests, BHOC also developed an extensive sexual health information resource guide, and continues to update it regularly. We've also worked with apps to help inform users about outbreaks. We're also partnering closely with Grindr to promote home-based testing. We have also partnered with apps to produce public service announcements, and are developing a clearinghouse of campaigns for public health organizations to share. This will reduce their need to invest in developing new creative, freeing up more funds for ad placement.

What would you like to see dating apps support TYP and BHOC?
One key strategy is to regularly and consistently promote getting tested, and let people know about TYP and the other resources that BHOC has available. Our research shows that app users look favorably on apps that take proactive steps to support their health, so it's a win-win for the industry and for public health. Profiles should have options to enable users to exchange clear information about sexual health strategies. Dating apps can also show support by promoting our digital anti-stigma campaign, NiceAF.org, and by offering discounted ads for public health departments and non-profit organizations, all of which have extremely limited budgets.

How is BHOC funded at this stage?
BHOC has been funded by Gilead Sciences, Inc., Google, Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, and private donations. Additionally, our public health partners and apps have dedicated considerable time and energy in helping obtain and provide input from their members and users that guide our work. We're particularly grateful to those apps that have made changes in their platforms, such as profile options and testing reminders. They serve a life-saving role in the same way as banking curves on a freeway reduces automobile accidents. Once they're in place, they provide a huge benefit to the health of the entire community.