In a recent NY Times article, dating industry analyst Mark Brooks said that, “the only real entrepreneurial opportunities left in the online dating world lie in the niche market.” I look at this space from A to Z everyday and I can tell you that the niche dating space is saturated among the strongest revenue producing verticals (religion, race, sexual orientation). Are there still opportunities, yes, but those opportunities lie within increasingly smaller, more focused niches that can yield great margins but significantly smaller revenue potential.

Attractive verticals catering to religion, race and sexual orientation are now very difficult to penetrate. To become a player you have to offer a service that is innovative/differentiates itself from the pack, buy one of the niche leaders or be ready to bring a war chest of marketing dollars to the table.

That said, there are opportunities out there and I welcome anyone running a niche site to email me about a partnership or an acquisition. Brownie points if you are someone who is part of the community that you serve. I have always felt that sites founded by people that identify with and truly understand their community/audience have a leg up on those that run a network of cookie cutter sites. Drop me a line, let’s talk =)