TOP 5 DATING WEBSITES

eHarmony is an online dating website that matches single men and women to other singles. In addition to singles matching, eHarmony operates eHarmony Labs, a relationship research facility, and publishes eHarmony Advice, a relationship advice site. The company, which was launched on 22 August 2000, is based in Pasadena, California and has operations in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the USA. eHarmony is privately held, with investors that include Technology Crossover Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Fayez Sarofim & Co.

eHarmony was founded by Neil Clark Warren, a psychologist and author of relationship advice books, and Greg Forgatch. In the late 1990s, after more than 35 years of work as a clinical psychologist and marriage counselor, Warren resolved to test his theory that individual characteristics can predict compatibility and lead to more satisfying relationships. After three years of research, working in co-operation with Dr Galen Buckwalter, Warren developed a compatibility model that is now the foundation of the company’s matching system.

The service was financed with a US$3 million investment from Fayez Sarofim & Co and individual investors. In 2004 eHarmony received the fourth largest venture capital infusion of that year, from Sequoia Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures. With its subscription approach, the service has since been profitable, reaching a milestone in 2009 as it exceeded US$1 billion in cumulative revenue.

Prospective eHarmony members complete a proprietary questionnaire that professes to identify individual characteristics, beliefs, values, emotional health, and skills. “Matching algorithms” – the basis of the matching system developed by Warren and Buckwalter, which the company believes matches two persons’ core traits and values to replicate the qualities of happy couples – employ those answers to match members with compatible counterparts.

Match.com is an online dating company which claims to have over 20 million members, with a male : female ratio of 49 : 51, and web sites serving 25 countries in over 8 different languages. Its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas, and the company also has offices in West Hollywood, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Beijing. Match.com is owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp and employs over 340 people worldwide.

The company was established by Gary Kremen in 1993. It was started as a proof-of-concept effort for his firm Electric Classifieds, Inc, aimed at providing classified-advertising systems for newspapers. Early on, Kremen was assisted by Peng T. Ong, who helped design the initial system, and Simon Glinsky, who helped develop one of the first-ever internet business plans for Match.com and also contributed management and marketing expertise. The initial business scope developed by this team involved a potential subscription approach and inclusion of diverse groups with high first-trial and market-leader status, comprising women, technology professionals, and the LGBT community. Fran Maier joined in late 1994 to lead the Match.com business unit; she significantly improved the strategy, to make Match.com friendly and accessible.

Match.com went live in early 1995 as a free beta version. In 1998 Match.com was purchased by Cendant. A year later Match.com was acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp (then still operating under the name TicketMaster). In late 1999, Match.com was transferred to Dallas, Texas, to merge with another matching site, One & Only networks, which IAC/InterActiveCorp had purchased the same year.

In November 2004, Guinness World Records declared Match.com the largest online dating site in the world. By then over 42 million singles overall had registered with Match.com since its launch in 1995, and worldwide there were over 15 million members using the service.

In late 2005, Match.com in the USA entered into a strategic partnership with “Dr Phil” (Phil McGraw, popular American TV psychologist) on a new US marketing campaign called “MindFindBind,” a monthly subscription program that Match.com members could access for an additional fee. 

In December 2006 the layout of the US site was redesigned, to parallel the recently launched series of black-and-white TV advertisements in the USA featuring Match.com members.

On 19 February 2009 Match.com divested itself of its European operations, which were sold to Meetic for €5 million and a reported 27 % interest in the company.

On 24 May 2010 Match.com became the exclusive provider of online dating service for Yahoo! via the formation of a co-branded site: "Match.com on Yahoo!".

PlentyofFish is a free online dating site that was founded in 2003. PlentyofFish was popular primarily in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the USA. Use of the service, which is based in Canada, is free; it generates revenue through advertising. The site also offers a paid version.

Markus Frind, CEO and founder of PlentyofFish Media, Inc, graduated in 1999 from the British Columbia Institute of Technology with a diploma in computer systems technology. In 2004, PlentyofFish became a full-time business for Markus Frind. He ran the site single-handedly until 2007, when he began hiring employees at his new Vancouver headquarters.

Lavalife is an online dating service based in Toronto, Canada. Lavalife was originally started by five entrepreneurs as an automated telephone answering service in Canada in 1987. It evolved into a telephone dating service known as Telepersonals, which remains a successful part of the company. The web-based version of the dating service went live in 1997 and has been particularly successful in Canada. Lavalife has achieved annual revenue of roughly US$100 million several times in its history. Only paying members can initiate contact; however, non-paying individuals may post a profile and respond to messages.

In 2007, Lavalife also started a website restricted to members who are aged 45 or over: PRIME.lavalife.com is one of the world’s first personals and social networking websites that is designed exclusively for singles aged 45 and up.

PerfectMatch.com is an online dating and relationship service based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded in August 2003 and is venture-capital funded. It was created and is managed by Duane Dahl, Cindy Henry-Dahl, and Jason McVey, who previously worked on and managed Kiss.com/uDate.com till that network’s membership exceeded seven million persons.Kiss.com/uDate.com was sold to InterActiveCorp (Match.com) in 2002.

The company’s Duet Total Compatibility System was written and developed by Dr Pepper Schwartz and the PerfectMatch.com team. This System analyzes each member’s personality, values and ideals, life, “lovestyle,” and preferences to identify and help that individual find the person who is right for him or her.

In January 2006, Dr Schwartz published the book “Finding Your Perfect Match” (Penguin) based upon The Duet Total Compatibility System.