FINANCIAL POST — July 20 — Markus Frind runs one of North America's most popular dating Web sites, taking in millions of dollars a year, and he does by himself from his 900-square-foot apartment. Plentyoffish.com runs itself. A free service, it was the 82nd most-visited site in the United States last month, according to Hitwise. It ranks third in U.S., ahead of Match.com and eHarmony. Because plentyoffish.com generates more than 400 million page views per month in Canada alone, he wants to switch to banner ads to expose more users to more ads, and make more money.
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I think Markus is engaged in a little bit of hubris here. The barriers of entry are really low and the initial capital expenditure is low as well. There is little government regulation and, the competition is getting tougher. Buyers (members) are expecting more and more each day and they want it all for free. Markus will have to evolve with his site if he wants to leave the entrepreneurial stage and grow.
I think Markus is engaged in a little bit of hubris here. The barriers of entry are really low and the initial capital expenditure is low as well. There is little government regulation and, the competition is getting tougher. Buyers (members) are expecting more and more each day and they want it all for free. Markus will have to evolve with his site if he wants to leave the entrepreneurial stage and grow.