Meet Markus Frind, the Canadian who鈥檚 helped millions find love
From his downtown Vancouver, B.C. love lair, Frind controls the world鈥檚 largest dating website.
Since he launched it 11 years ago, PlentyOfFish.com has grown to claim 76 million users, all of whom are looking for a love connection.
鈥淲e generate millions of relationships a year and then 15 per cent of those turn into marriages,鈥�
When he started the site in 2003, the British Columbia Institute of Technology graduate was its sole employee. In the years since, his online love machine has kicked into high gear and now employs 75 people.
His secret to success? Making the website free for users. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really like that you had to pay for online dating, I was like I could this myself,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e hired a team of six or seven PhD鈥檚 and they spend most of their day building mathematical models to predict who will enter into a relationship with who,鈥� Frind said.
Beyond refining the science of matchmaking, Frind says he鈥檚 looking to modernize the business in other ways too, including bringing his service to the next technological frontier: wearable gadgets.
With a report from CTV Vancouver鈥檚 Brent Gilbert
