Re:Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund
by Tichy on Sunday July 20, 2008 @07:33AM
(#251292)
Is the critical mass really a problem for dating sites? In Germany, the big dating sites simply spend a lot of money on advertising, which seems to work well enough. Also, I would expect that people frequently switch dating sites, so new sites should have relatively good odds of attracting new members.
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Re:Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund
by foompy_katt on Sunday July 20, 2008 @08:01AM
(#251298)
I was just going off of what Graham wrote- "But no one wants to use a dating site with only 20 users—which of course becomes a self-perpetuating problem. So if you want to do a dating startup, don't focus on the novel take on dating that you're going to offer. That's the easy half. Focus on novel ways to get around the chicken and egg problem."
Since I have no specific familiarity with dating sites, all I could suggest was a vague, general approach. Of course a big dating site might have a lot of money to advertise, but a small one probably can't afford it. But that's obviously one possible way to get some users.
may be i'm asking a stupid question but can someone clarify what is the chicken and egg problem with dating sites?
It's difficult to attract people to a dating site that has very few members. You have to implement a non-tech solution, such as a huge mass-media advertising campaign (e.g. Dating Direct have ads in the breaks in Gray's Anatomy), which is hugely expensive. Or you have to have a viral idea, like OkCupid offering quizzes to LJers and getting them to create profiles as an aside.