Today, Markus incorrectly guessed that Union Square Ventures funded OkCupid to tune of $6 million earlier this year.
BZZZZZ Wrong.
I just got back from having a coffee (venti chai latte with soy) with OkCupid founder Sam Yagan in the Boston gardens. It was our first time meet and we lounged in the warm October New England sun, talking about our business pasts, why free dating could take even more users and revenue away from paid dating sites and the need for better metrics to measure success in the online dating space (advertisers want one number, site owners want another, users couldn’t care less about either).
I found Sam to be an extra-sharp guy, knowledgeable about the power of “Free” and he has a track record (SparkNotes, eDonkey) and refreshing perspective that puts my confidence level in a good place when talking about the future of his business and the models that drive it. I’m always on the lookout for interesting free dating sites. The problem is that most don’t meet both criteria. Anyone can buy traffic, all it takes is the right amount of bank(True.com). I’m not sour on paid dating, just hearing from some kick-butt entrepreneurs who are hell-bent on making life for Match, Spark Networks and eHarmony miserable. A breath of fresh air. But Sam, seriously, take the damn beta sign off the home page.
It’s about time there was another free dating site to talk about, besides PoF. Does Markus get his own conference track at iDate this year? Just kidding Markus, keep stirring up the pot, we need more people like you in the industry outrageous claims and all. Markus says he’s thinking about doing an affiliate program, I wonder how that’s going to work out? How many layers to the pyramid can PoF add to the mix?
As always, show me the innovation/traffic/revenue and tell me a good story about why your site matters and I’m all ears.
I had no idea Sam was only a few miles away in Cambridge. Boston recently lost 8 Minute Dating to Florida; Tom Jaffee was a frequent lunchmate, our offices were only a few blocks apart, Tom I miss you buddy.
Every once in a while I see Nelson, who runs LoveAccess, in Boston, although he got married this summer, which may explain his absence at our past few industry lunches. Nelson has jumped on the personal matchmaking bandwagon. Nothing like getting members to pay someone else to pick people up for them. I love that model and I can’t wait to see if that actually works.
Sam, you’re definitely invited to the next lunch. Are there any other Boston-area dating or social networking entrepreneurs that want to get together? Let me know and I’ll add you to the invite list for our next lunch, sometime in November. Who knows who else is lurking on here.
The networking scene in Boston is pretty much spent after you hit a few rubber chicken dinners. In general I avoid them like the plague. This town is too small and unless you need legal advice or a CPA, I avoid handing out my business card whenever possible. Call it network protection. You gotta earn your right to LinkIn to me and most people at these things are mid-level Account People and social malware.
Feels like it’s time to pony up and get some of that Boston internet buzz going again. Been very quiet the past few years, here’s to hoping that will change, because I really don’t want to move to San Francisco, much as I love visiting. Kind of how I feel about New York.
Gregpc and I are going to throw some sort of social/tech networking event here soon. He used to to PR for eHarmony and is now at Weber Shandwick. Greg, I just redesigned my other blog and added you to my blogroll, you can quit bugging me now.
Rumors, networking and rubber chickens, feels like Monday to me.
Technorati Tags: boston, networking, okcupid, sam yagan
