Welcome to The Long Game
This blog was in part inspired by Markus Frind's blog, Adapt or Die. That message was timely and pertinent to what Markus did to, and for, the dating industry with Plentyoffish.com. He thoroughly disrupted it, to the point that Match Group felt they needed to cough up $575 million to bring his company into their fold and mute its effect on them. At the time, other companies really did need to consider adapting to stay ahead of the value curve that Plentyoffish was disrupting. They kept prices low.
'Adapt or die' was the right message for that era. In this day and age, The Long Game is the right title for this blog, because that's what we're playing, and it's what we think the industry should play. A long game.
An act of love
I'm starting The Long Game as an act of love. We love the dating and discovery industry and see its potential for the long term. If anything were to really undermine the industry's true potential, it's short-term thinking, hence the name. The integrity players in the industry have a long game, and we want to inspire more to take a long-term approach and use strategies that are good for their companies for the long term, which has the wonderful effect, IMHO, of also being good for the dating industry for the long term.
We're in a slump. Let's turn the tide collectively, by taking a longer term viewpoint.
Who this blog is for
Our readers are leaders of online dating and discovery companies, from startups to very established companies. Anyone who has influence over product, growth, and overall strategy is who we're writing for.
Where I'm coming from
The first company I worked for and created was a social club in Silicon Valley that grew to 3,600 members. I started that in 1998, then in 2000, I worked for my first dating company, Hypermatch, which was way ahead of its time and eventually sold to EZBoard. In 2004, I started Online Personals Watch, and in January 2005, I started the consultancy Courtland Brooks, when I was offered three jobs and decided to take them all: working for Cupid.com, Diet.com, and Webdate.com.
What the long game means
If you're leading a dating or social company, you need perspective on your end goals a few years out, and to work backward from there. We are in the age of disruption. AI will change everything. You have to adapt quickly, but know where you're going, and why.
What separates the companies that last
We've seen many companies come and go. The tune I hear from CEOs who look like they will be successful is a longer-term game. They have a proper sense of the market. They're ruthless in their analysis. They have a keen sense of their competitors and of what users want. These are the qualities that mark standout leaders in our space, and we hope to inspire more of them.
What you'll find here
Read this blog if you'd like a sense of what we're thinking about and how we're guiding our clients. We put our attention on strategy and long-term outcomes.
The one key question we always ask in considering anything we do, for ourselves or for our clients, is: Is this good for the industry? If it is, we do it. If it isn't, we do not. Period. That also marks the intent and the nature of the content you'll see here.
You'll see posts covering product marketing strategy, behavioral economics, platform mechanics, occasional M&A-focused topics, the top VCs, big raises, etc. The more thoughtful, longer-form pieces live here, and we'll always link out to our other blogs (GDI, OPW), so you're aware of pertinent posts.
We will always be upbeat and positive. That's the way we roll. We avoid negativity and subjects that are derogatory to the industry; it's just not who we are. You will always find a positive, upbeat, and encouraging tone here.
There's no set time for when we'll post. When we've got something interesting to say that requires longer form, we'll run something. If we don't have anything interesting to say, you will not find AI slop or guff filling space here.
One request
Please do share what you learn. These posts will also act as discussion points for your teams to consider. We hope to spur thought and discussion, and help you deliver on the true promise of the online dating and social discovery industries.