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.
GDI – Mark Brooks spoke with Christopher Alesich, founder and CEO of Sister Wives and Matchmakers. Sister Wives is a dating site for people looking for polyamorous or polygamous relationships. Christopher Alesich discussed why mainstream dating apps do not work well for this market. He talked about changes to the Sister Wives matching system and Matchmakers’ 200-question matchmaking process. He also plans to launch more dating brands.
OPW – I've been working in dating since the late 90's and running Online Personals Watch since 2004, and IDEA since 2006. At this stage I have a database of over a 1000 people who have worked in the dating industry and left. Invariably they miss us. I often find myself delving into this database for clients to offer up experienced personnel for their teams, or to recruit new people onto the Courland Brooks team. We're here to help you grow your company, and hire great people.
For the price of a marketing manager you can get access to a seasoned team of online dating professionals. See Testimonials here. See pricing and service overview. Email mark@courtlandbrooks.com or simply book an opening call here.
OPW – The next LTR online dating industry conference is tomorrow (September 2nd at 12 PM EST). Mark Brooks will interview Markus Frind, founder and former CEO of Plenty of Fish. This promises to be a fascinating conversation with one of the industry’s most successful founders. Don’t miss it!
If you hold a full-time leadership role at an online dating, social discovery, or matchmaking company, you are welcome to join LTR events for free.
Why attend LTR?
🏠 Flexible: Attend from anywhere – no travel required.
⏰ Convenient: Live session. 90 minutes.
💰 Free: No registration fees.
See the LTR Edition 54 speakers and invite page here.
This event is kindly sponsored by HubPeople, LeadThink, and Matchmaker.com.
Email mark@courtlandbrooks.com to RSVP.
LTR – In this conversation, Mark Brooks sits down with Matthew Gain, CEO of ParshipMeet Group, to explore how one of Europe’s leading dating companies is evolving in a rapidly changing industry.
Matthew shares his perspective on the unique dynamics of dating businesses, the evolution of brands such as eHarmony, Parship, ElitePartner, and MeetMe, and the growing opportunity in the 40+ dating market.
The conversation also dives into some of the biggest questions shaping dating today: how AI should and shouldn’t be used in the customer experience, the growing importance of trust and safety, the future of compatibility and matchmaking, and why authentic human connection remains at the heart of the industry.
[**See the video here on YouTube**]
The February LTR was kindly sponsored by HubPeople, LeadThink and Courtland Brooks
OPW – An update to the online dating jobs listing is live here.
Below, see a couple of this month’s most interesting offers:
Bumble – Creative Director
Ditto AI – Head of Product
FFN – Director of Finance and Accounting Operations
Grindr – Director of Product, Ads
Hinge – Director of AI, Dating Outcomes
Hornet – Brazil Country Manager
Match Group – VP of Product Management, Trust & Safety
Matrimony – CFO
Muzz – Head of Safety and Support
Reflex Media – VP of People
Social Discovery Ventures – CTO (Cupid Media)
Together Light – VP of Talent
Do you have an idating industry job offer that is not included? Please, send it to tips@onlinepersonalswatch.com and we will add it to the list.
36KR – Chinese AI matchmaking startup Liangpei Technology has raised RMB15M ($2.2M) in angel funding from Capital Today for a 20% stake. Its AI matchmaker verifies users through real-name checks, facial recognition, and a 20-minute voice interview, then introduces one compatible person at a time instead of offering swipe-based browsing. The company launched its product 40 days ago and has registered ~10K users. Founder Zeng Xinxun previously worked on search recommendations at WeChat and TikTok and led AI search at Kimi.
OPW – The next LTR online dating industry conference is on September 2nd at 12 PM EST. In this edition, Mark Brooks will interview Markus Frind, founder and former CEO of Plenty of Fish. They will discuss how Markus built and ran one of the world’s largest dating platforms, the lessons he learned along the way, and his views on the dating industry today. This promises to be a fascinating conversation with one of the industry’s most successful founders. Don’t miss it!
If you hold a full-time leadership role at an online dating, social discovery, or matchmaking company, you are welcome to join LTR events for free.
Why attend LTR?
🏠 Flexible: Attend from anywhere – no travel required.
⏰ Convenient: Live session. 90 minutes.
💰 Free: No registration fees.
See the LTR Edition 54 speakers and invite page here.
This event is kindly sponsored by HubPeople, LeadThink, and Matchmaker.com.
Email mark@courtlandbrooks.com to RSVP.
The Global Dating Insights London Conference will take place on Wednesday, Sep 16, 2026, at the Richmond Harbour Hotel. Confirmed speakers include Matthew Gain, CEO of ParshipMeet Group; Karima Ben Abdelmalek, CEO of happn; Michael O’Sullivan, Founder of HubPeople; Benjamin Cooper, Director at Grindr; Mark Brooks, CEO of Courtland Brooks; Carsten Boltz, CEO, InSparx; Nicky Wake, Founder of Chapter 2 Dating; and others. Sessions will cover Trust & Safety, monetisation, AI, retention, changing dating audiences and M&A. On Tuesday, Sep 15, Mark Brooks will host the GDI London Leaders’ Lunch, a closed-door gathering for dating and social app CEOs and founders. Only 10 places are available, priced at £199 each. Pre-conference drinks will take place later that evening at The Roebuck in Richmond. The tickets for the GDI London Conference are available here.
PSYPOST – A 2026 study of 301 dating app users aged 18 to 86 found that older adults were more likely to use the apps for socializing, while younger users were more motivated by sexual experiences, finding relationships, and gaining social approval. Dating app use among older Americans is also relatively common: Pew Research found that 23% of people in their 50s have tried online dating, compared with 14% of those in their 60s and 12% of those aged 70 or older.