Month: October 2011

Ross Williams Crowned ‘Young Gun 2011’

Posted on October 31, 2011
Ross williams money weekPRESS RELEASE – Oct 31 – Growing Business has announced its top list of companies with founders aged 35 or under for 2011. Each year Young Guns recognizes the fastest-rising and most exciting young entrepreneurs running UK businesses. Ross Williams, co-founder and CEO of Global Personals, made the elite list of entrepreneurial talent. Launched in 2003, Global Personals owns and operates its own online dating sites including Singles365.com, DatingAgency.com and JustSingleParents.com, whilst its B2B service, WhiteLabelDating.com,

See all posts on WhiteLabelDating.com

Match.com Launches Free Facebook Dating App

Posted on October 31, 2011

MatchlogoMARKETING WEEK – Oct 31 - The app, dubbed Matchlist, allows Facebook members to register with the site for free and find potential partners in their area. Users can also make a shortlist of potential dates and ask selected Facebook friends for feedback via a private message.

by Lara O'Reilly
See full article at Marketing Week

See all posts on Match.com

Deceived by Great Expectations

Posted on October 31, 2011

Greatexpectations.net logoSTAR TRIBUNE – Oct 29 - A Burnsville woman wants Great Expectations to return the $2,705 she forked over to find Mr. Right. They say she's "being dishonest." In Washington, the state attorney general took action after reviewing nearly 60 complaints about the service. Among the company's alleged misrepresentations: significantly overstating the number of eligible members. In 2010, Great Expectations agreed to a settlement that provided partial refunds to some customers and restricted the way the company markets its services in Washington.

See full article at Star Tribune

See all posts on Great Expectations

The Changing Face of Marriage in Asia

Posted on October 31, 2011

No marriageEHARMONY LABS – Oct 28 - People are delaying marriage. In Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, the mean age for marriage is 29-30 for women, 31-33 for men. The percentage of those never married before age 40 has been on the rise. Educated women are less likely to marry. This is the opposite trend compared to those in the US and Europe, where marriage is more common among those more educated.

by Erina Lee
See full article at eHarmony Labs

jDate Study Claims More Jewish Marriage Matches Than Its Competitors

Posted on October 28, 2011

Jdate logo newJEWISH JOURNAL – Oct 27 – jDate recently announced results from a study that claims the site is responsible for facilitating more Jewish marriages than all other dating sites combined. The study, commissioned in-house by JDate’s parent company, Spark Networks, and conducted by the research company ResearchNow, was based on a survey of 948 Jewish Internet users who have married since 2003. Of those surveyed, 52% said they met their match on JDate, compared with Match.com, which facilitated 17%, and eHarmony, which can claim 10%.

by Danielle Berrin
The full article was originally published at Jewish Journal, but is no longer available.

See all posts on jDate

Company profile – Zoosk

Posted on October 27, 2011
  Zoosk logo new
Zoosk is a social dating community, with millions of singles from around the globe using the service each month. Zoosk provides a safe and fun online dating experience that users can easily access from Zoosk’s website, social networking applications, mobile services, and downloadable desktop application. Zoosk is available in more than 20 languages and has subscribers in more than 60 countries. The service enables users to join, browse, and send a limited number of messages for free. Zoosk users can upgrade to a premium subscription for full access or purchase virtual currency to buy select features and virtual gifts. The site has a strong presence across Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, and Friendster.
 
Website: http://www.zoosk.com
Owned by:
CEO            		 Zoosk Inc.
Kelly Steckelberg
Former CEOs: Shayan Zadeh
Alex Mehr
 
Business address: 475 Sansome Str
10th Floor
San Francisco
CA 94111
 
Phone: 888-939-6675
Email / Contact form: https://www.zoosk.com/support.php?subject=press&from=contact
 
Number of employees:  168 (OPW, May ’14); 15% laid off in 2015
 
Blog: http://blog.zoosk.com/
Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoosk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Zoosk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Zoosk
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/210827
 
Date Started: 2007
Founders: Shayan Zadeh & Alex Mehr
 
Investments:

The company filed an S-1 for a $100M IPO (December 2014); has submitted a regulatory filing to withdraw its plan to go public in May 2015
ATA Ventures, Amidzad Partners, 11/07, $400k
Canaan Partners, ATA Ventures, 6/08, $4.1M
Canaan Partners, ATA Ventures, 6/09, $6M
Bessemer Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, ATA Ventures, 11/09, $30M
Keating Capital, 12/05, $3M

Acquisitions                Woo Media (Nov ’11)
Financial results: $178.2 million revenue in 2013 (OPW, May ’14)
 
Countries served: worldwide, 26M members
 
Business model: freemium
– free to join
– premium upgrade available
$39.99/month for 1 month
$24.99/month for 3 months
$16.67/month for 6 months
 
Category: general
 
Affiliate program:  no
 
Traffic: 1 104 508 UV (Compete, June ’15)
   

See all news on Zoosk on OnlinePersonalsWatch

Courtland Brooks clients can access the top 20 company profiles.

How to Get Software to Run Your Business for You – Mixergy Masterclass

Posted on October 27, 2011

Business-automation-toolsOPW – Oct 27 – If you'd like to get the inside track on the tools we use at Courtland Brooks, you may want to pick up a membership and watch this video on Mixergy. I give an overview of the following best-in-class tools in the course… My Intervals, Freshbooks, Tungle.me, EchoSign, Relenta (CRM), Cision (PR).

Nominations for iDate Awards End On Friday Oct 28th

Posted on October 26, 2011

Idate awards logoOPW – Oct 26 – Nominations for the 3rd annual iDate Awards end this Friday, Oct 28th. Please make your nominations now. The iDate Awards highlight the individuals and companies who exemplify the best, most innovative aspects of the Internet Dating and Matchmaking Industry. The Award ceremony will take place on the night of January 24, 2012 in Miami, as part of the 9th annual iDate (Internet Dating Conference). The twelve categories are:

  • Best Dating Site
  • Best Matchmaker
  • Best Software Provider
  • Best Mobile Dating Site
  • Best Dating Site Design
  • Best Dating Coach
  • Most Innovative Company
  • Best New Technology
  • Best Payment System
  • Best Affiliate Program
  • Best Marketing Campaign
  • Best Up and Coming Dating Site

The schedule for the nomination/voting process is as follows:

– Now through October 28, 2011 – Nominations Accepted
– November 10, 2011 through January 4, 2012 – Voting
– Jan 24, 2012 – Awards ceremony and winners announced.

Meet Locals – Facebook-Like Dating Site

Posted on October 26, 2011

Meetlocals logoFORBES – Oct 26 - Oxford University reports that 15% of people met their current partner online. Free dating site Meet Locals is similar to Facebook in design and navigation. The site allows you to add friends to your profile with whom you can share personal information and private photos.  The best features are the video chat and cam feature where members can engage 1 on 1 with their local partners.

by Jason Collazo
See full article at Forbes