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

Plentyoffish Shutters Fastlife

OPW - June 19 - It seems POF is refocusing its business, and high-end speed dating company Fast Life is no longer part of its plan. Plentyoffish acquired the company 21 months ago. The company operated in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and UK and was unique because of its high price points and offering exceptional venues and service. I think POF had the intention of moving up the value chain, and rounding out its offerings a la Match. Likely this proved to be too much of a diversion. Events are tough. They pull attention. But they can be powerful real-world experience and branding pieces.

If you're planning on acquiring a company as a strategic asset, I generally recommend keeping the team as an autonomous unit. I'll be presenting a special session on innovation at iDate London in October, bottling some of what I learned from Clayton Christensen at HBS, and discussing innovation through acquisition.

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Post by Mark Brooks @

HeyLets Startup App Wants To Cure Boredom

BUSINESS INSIDER - May 20 - After establishing online furniture site Zanui in Australia, founder Dean Kelly went to San Fran and met his future business partner, Justin Parfitt, who at the time was working on high-end speed dating events called Fast Impressions which he later sold to POF. They launched HeyLets after they wondered why they were reading negative reviews about experiences from people they had nothing in common with. The founders recently closed $1.65M in seed funding from Blue Sky Ventures and a handful of angel investors. The app startup is aiming to raise its series A round in the next three to six months. There have been ~100K downloads to date and an Android version is on the way. Built for mobile, users upload a photo and 200 characters about an experience they enjoyed, rather than a review of a place so it focuses on recommendations.

by Alex Heber
See full article at Business Insider

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PlentyOfFish Acquires FastLife

CNW - Sep 18 - POF is acquiring FastLife, the world's largest speed dating and singles event company. "The direction of online dating is undeniably headed towards a merging of the online and offline worlds," said Markus Frind, founder and CEO of POF. FastLife holds ~2,400 events a year. These events have generated annual revenue of ~$2.5M. POF and FastLife will be rolling out singles events in US over the next year. FastLife was created by a husband and wife team, Justin and Annabelle Parfitt. Annabelle will continue as CEO of FastLife, which is branded as Fast Impressions in Australia. POF wants to invest ~$30M in the next 12 months."

The full article was originally published at Yahoo Finance, but is no longer available.

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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

'No Asian. No Indian': Picky Dater Or Racist Dater?

THE GLOBE AND MAIL - Feb 23 - Racial filtering is alive and well on mainstream dating and hookup sites, which give users the option of checking ethnic preferences alongside ideal body types and social habits like smoking and drinking. While most critics agree that the ethnicity checkbox is vastly preferable to specifying 'No Asians,' they disagree about whether the option is a step backward. Is it any different than hunting through niche sites like Shaadi or JDate? Grindr acknowledged that users can list race in their preferences, but can be banned for posting material "perceived to incite racism". "We also encourage our users to state what they are looking for as opposed to what they are not looking for." A dating poll of 2K Lavalife users found that 74% of women surveyed said ethnicity affected their dating decisions, compared with 49% of men. "Men are more open to meeting people from different communities. They tend to concentrate on physical aspects whereas women are much more interested in lifestyle and background," said Justin Parfitt, CEO of speed-dating company FastLife International. "People should be free to have sex or not have sex with anyone they want", argued Harry Reis, a psychology professor at the University of Rochester who co-authored a review of 400 studies on online dating. "In my estimation, it is fine (although self-limiting) to be racist with regard to sexual preferences", he said. "Throw out the checklist," Mr. Parfitt advises. "What you think you want and where you end up finding chemistry are often two very different things."

by Zosia Bielski
The full article was originally published at Globe and Mail, but is no longer available.

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The World of Niche Online Dating

VANCOUVER SUN - Sep 30 - Specialized dating sites such as JDate.com, SeniorPeopleMeet.com, VeggieDate.org and even PiratesPassions.com allow users to meet their match based on factors including ethnicity, age, religion and lifestyle. There’s even AshleyMadison.com, a site for cheaters. Niche dating may sound unromantic, but details matter when it comes to love, says relationship expert Dr. Terri Orbuch. Orbuch is a psychologist and relationship expert for PeopleMedia, which operates more than 20 niche dating sites, including BlackPeopleMeet.com, RepublicanPeopleMeet.com and SingleParentMeet.com. Over 105K Canadians used dating sites run by PeopleMedia last year. Not all niche dating is done online. FastLife organizes speed dating events in Vancouver such as East Asian Dating, Tall Men Dating and Executive Dating. Justin Parfitt, the company founder and CEO, says speed dating is more fun and efficient than its online equivalent. “You’re instantly evaluating people and figuring out if there’s chemistry. There’s no hiding behind a fake photograph or fake profile,” he said.

by Laura Kane
The full article was originally published at Vancouver Sun, but is no longer available.

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Naked Speed Dating With Fastlife.ca

PRESS RELEASE - Apr 1 - FastLife.ca, the world’s largest speed-dating company, is introducing the Naked Date. The innovative new concept invites FastLife.ca’s singles to bare all and speed date in the nude. “Our busy, professional members are facing ever-mounting pressures on their time and meeting that special someone is a constant challenge. So, we decided to remove that last layer of inhibition and allow them to truly get to know their next potential mate by dating in the buff. As we figure, why waste time wondering what they’ll look like naked when you can find out right away?”, said FastLife.ca CEO Justin Parfitt. The event sold out within hours of its announcement and drove so much traffic to FastLife.ca among the dating firm’s members that it crashed the website.

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Daters Seek Bad Boys/girls

POSTMEDIA NEWS - Mar 15 - Toronto-based FastLife.ca reports that, based on its analysis of ~40K speed-dating interactions, men and women who "drink often, smoke occasionally, and enjoy frequent rolls in the hay are considered more attractive by the opposite sex" than people who exercise greater self-control in those areas. "At our events, you spend eight minutes chatting with somebody, and if you like them, you put a 'yes' next to their name," says Justin Parfitt, CEO of FastLife. Social drinkers earned a "yes" 44% of the time, and non-drinkers 37%. Secular men and women boasted a success rate of 46%, on average, compared to 42% for the religious. Liberal views on sex correlated with 47% success, while a more conservative outlook saw an average score of 40%.

by Misty Harris
The full article was originally published at Canada.com, but is no longer available.

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Finding Success In The Matchmaking Industry

FINANCIAL POST - Feb 28 - It's hard to calculate the exact size of the North American dating industry since many companies are privately held but a Dec '10 report from IBISWorld puts the U.S. dating industry at US$2-billion. 54% of that was driven by online dating, followed by mobile dating, matchmakers, singles events and personal ads. In Canada, online dating alone accounts for $200M. FastLife International, run by Justin Parfitt and his wife Annabelle, calls on 120 hosts in 65 cities across Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand and Britain to run 2,400 annual events for 60K. Events, held in upscale venues, cost $50 to $80. Sam Moorcroft, President of ChristianCafe.com, decided to tackle the business -helping Christian singles. Mr. Moorcroft, who founded the business with his brother Philip, initially advertised at Canadian churches, singles events, and in Canadian media, but within a year realized his market was in the United States, where he says 30% to 50% of people identify as Born Again Christians.

by Suzanne Wintrob
See full article at Financial Post

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FastLife.com Site Review

COURTLAND BROOKS BLOG - Nov 13 - Here's an example of a site review that the Courtland Brooks team ran, a year ago, fyi.

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7 Cities, 9 Flights, 2 Week North American Tour

OPW - Nov 10 - I started my tour by jetting off to London to keynote at the White Label Dating / Global Personals annual partner conference. It was fascinating getting the inside-track on the company, attending their two day conference. They've had a tough year beating off scammers, and then elevating their conversion factors to new highs. They've done some especially innovative work turning their customer service department into a profit center. Next, Toronto, to meet with Justin and Annabelle of Fastlife.com. I paid Noel at Avid Life Media. The Toronto IDEA soiree went very well. In L.A. a visit with Spark Networks, and then eHarmony to meet the CEO and tour the eHarmony Labs. Absolutely fascinating!  Its so nice to see some true primary research coming from an internet matchmaking company. I ran a little IDEA soiree in L.A. A quick trip to Palm Springs next, to pay Conciant a visit. They have an interesting offering in the works for idating companies. San Francisco next, to visit Zoosk. I first met Jeff at iDate Miami 2004. He was one of the best speakers the conference has ever had the pleasure of hosting. In Dallas, Mandy is driving Match.com to new heights. $106 million last quarter. I caught up with Trish from TRUE. It will be a nice acquisition target in a year or so. - Mark Brooks

Read an extended post on Seasonal Paradise.

Shaadi.com, A 20-million-strong Indian Matrimonial Site

THE GLOBE AND MAIL - Aug 6 - Unlike Lavalife and eHarmony users, members on sites such as Shaadi.com often have a parent looking over their shoulder – if not running their profile outright. About 30% of the Canadian profiles on Shaadi are made by parents for their sons and daughters – and scrutinized routinely. Among other criteria, the site lets members search by community, religion, caste and sub caste. The company recently teamed up with FastLife International, which organizes speed dating and singles' events around the world. About two years ago, FastLife launched events for Hindus, Christians and Jews, as well as East Asians. For this community, they host four events monthly in Toronto and two a month in Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa.

The full article was originally published at Globe and Mail, but is no longer available.

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The Art Of Flirting, In 140 Characters Or Less

CTV.CA - Feb 13 - Typing or texting to Twitter is becoming a go-to way to flirt and find love as people become more comfortable in the Web 2.0 world. "Flitter," a flirting game that was hosted by speed dating company FastLife, gave singles the chance to tweet flirty messages to others at the event. FastLife founders Justin and Annabelle Parfitt said flirting through Twitter allows people to come out of their shells and begin to interact.

The full article was originally published at CTV.ca, but is no longer available.

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Founders Of FastLife In A New Reality Show

NATIONAL POST - Jan 11 - Justin and Annabelle Parfitt are the stars of Love Incorporated, a new reality TV series airing on the Slice network. Justin and Annabelle own FastLife, a speed dating company that operates in Canada, Australia, US, UK and China. The couple lives a semi-nomadic existence, bouncing between desks in existing offices and meetings in developing markets. The 13-episode series focuses on the couple's relationship and their business, zeroing in on some of FastLife's 150-200 monthly events.

The full article was originally published at National Post, but is no longer available.

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Prestige Speed Dating w/Honesty Online

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS -- Sep 7 -- Prestige Speed Dating is a new service catering to "successful" singles, launched by dating firm FastLife.com and Honesty Online, an identity-verification service. FastLife says it has identified an increase in concern among its members about finances, as opposed to appearance and age. All Prestige members will meet minimum financial criteria. "Recessions cause people to alter their behaviors, and dating habits are no exception," says FastLife founder Justin Parfitt. FULL ARTICLE @ SEATTLE TIMES

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Lookin' For Love In Canada

CANWEST -- Aug 16 -- A growing number of Canadians are willing to pay for services such as online dating, speed dating, singles groups and matchmakers. Kim Hughes, editor-in-chief of Lavalife, says there are two key reasons that people pay to date: efficiency and customized searches. It's Just Lunch is a matchmaking service that works with upscale restaurant partners and charges $1,995 for one-year membership. Meet Market Adventures is a more casual singles service. It is a "pay-as-you-play" model with no membership fee, but individual fees are charged for each event. Meet Market organizes approximately 35 to 45 events every month. Justin Parfitt was single and looking to improve on existing speed-dating models when he founded his company, FastLife, in Australia in 2003. FastLife is now based in Toronto and has expanded into Canada, the U.S., New Zealand, the U.K. and China. The price of a standard event is $79 and includes an open bar.

The full article was originally published at The Windsor Star, but is no longer available.

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