Over the last decade, the popularity of Internet dating sites has increased dramatically and dispelled any lingering social stigma, that is, if there ever was one in the gay community.

In the last few years, countless lonely hearts have turned to sites like E-harmony or Match.com hoping to find love, and those searching have registered huge profits for sites with credible success stories. The popularity of E-harmony, though, and their unapologetic discrimination towards gay clients, has led entrepreneurs to rethink services specifically for gay singles.

Patrick H. Perrine MA, PhD (he's a clinical psychologist), is the founder and matchmaker behind myPartner.com. Perhaps you’ve seen myPartner’s advertisements on GFN, or other gay-friendly Websites; since their October launch their ads have been nothing short of ubiquitous.

Perrine has worked in the field of human sexuality since 1997, conducting research on human mating preferences, with an emphasis on the dating preferences of gays and lesbians. Originally making love connections through his high-end gay matchmaking organization, Perrine now hopes to help boys find same-sex love on an international level. 

With Valentines Day looming on the horizon, GFN spoke to Dr. Perrine about how he went from relationship counselor to online cupid.

GFN: Why enter into the competitive Internet dating world? Don’t we have enough hook-up Websites?

Patrick Perrine: Our original Website was a portal for our very successful exclusive executive gay matchmaking agency. That had started as an outgrowth from my work in relationship counseling, dealing with gay men who had relationship issues.  Eventually, I realized there was a major underserved market of gay and lesbians singles, nobody was providing a "well lit" space for dating. Nobody was providing a place with the right tools and resources to create positive relationships. So, we launched in June.

GFN: Some sites, like Gay.com have been catering to LGBT people for awhile. What did you learn from them to make myPartner different?

PP: Anybody developing a business needs to do a thorough examination of what is already out there. We looked at everyone: gay, straight, Jewish, black - any site with a niche focus.  We did a tough competitive analysis, and we took our initial user feedback very seriously.  We went through three different rounds of graphic and program development. We are catering to a very savvy market, so we knew we had to constantly change, develop and adapt. Match.com is incredibly successful because they are constantly changing. That was a big model for us. 

GFN: Where did you get the financing to nurture and develop the site?

PP: Initially, we were self-financed; I used my personal resources to develop the company. It helped that I had a financially secure life-partner, and could reinvest my profits. This allowed me to develop the company with 100% ownership. Recently, I did take on some angel investors. I wanted to take the company to a national/international market to be competitive, to be a unique brand, and niche service. I sought out people who could help take us to the marketplace.

GFN: You must have had a unique business plan to interest such investors.

PP: I had an extensive business plan, even when I was using personal resources. I had people in my life review it and I got feedback from a lot of financial institutions. I updated the plan every six months.  When I sought out investors this past spring, I had a leg up since I had a working model and a steady income through the private matchmaking service.  The investors who came on board knew I had the right approach to the marketplace and to generate immediate revenue.  

GFN: What is your advertising/marketing plan to get the gay market aware of myPartner? 

PP: Prior to launching the Website, we did limited advertising. Most of the clients were word of mouth. With the new Website, we get a lot of traffic from organic search. October 1st was the start of our major online advertising campaign.  We still get a lot of referrals from online people, a network effect.  We advertise online, but it is a personal service, so referrals and recommendations are excellent. Our private services, the prices range from 1k to 10k.  That is no small chunk of change.  Twenty-five percent of our members are looking for that private service, and the referrals and success rate help sell that package.

GFN: What about the controversial equation/analysis eHarmony, which excludes gays/lesbians. Is your Partner Perfect compatibility system similar to this? 

PP: E-harmony has taken a lot of flack for their system. Simply put, they developed for heterosexuals; we specifically designed for gay men. Another difference is that we realize gay men have different societal and cultural needs, and those need to be examined for a relationship to be a success.

GFN: You offer some other unique services that set you apart from your competitors.

PP: Gay men are early adapters, the first to use the Web for romance and intimacy. Now, people are looking for more then the just an online dating service. We are a website by gay men for gay men, and our goal is to find clients the right partner and then give them the tools to develop a relationship. We want to foster each member’s ability to find a partner and to develop a relationship that fits their specific needs and wants.

GFN: MyPartner is exclusively for gay men. Do you eventually want to address lesbians?

PP: I think there is a need for comprehensive dating services for lesbians and it may be something we tackle in the future.  Our current compatibility system has been designed exclusively for gay men and we would want to treat potential lesbian services with an equal amount of uniqueness in order to present perfect partners.  Just like there are similarities between gay daters and straight daters, there are also many differences. This is the case between gay men and lesbian women. 

GFN: So it would be like starting from square one?

PP: Essentially. If we offered lesbian services we would treat them as a new stream of business.  We’d want to devote as much time into R&D for the lesbian market as we did for the gay male market. In order to provide excellent services for lesbians, we would bring lesbian matchmakers onboard and conduct extensive research to develop a matching system that works for that individual population. It would be time intensive and a large financial commitment. In the online and offline industries, lesbians are underserved and I think there is great potential there for the right player.