Web Masters

Andrew Conru shares the story of building FriendFinder Network, the network of dating websites featuring Adult FriendFinder.

Show Notes

Not every online dating website needs to be for everyone. At least, that's what Andrew Conru believed. Rather than creating a single dating website and expecting everyone to join it -- which was the strategy of dating mega-site Match.com -- Andrew took a different approach to online dating. He launched a network of dating websites, each with their own theme designed to serve a specific niche of users.

Most well-known among those dating websites was Adult FriendFinder, the Internet's original "hookup" website. But Adult FriendFinder was just one site in a much larger network that Andrew grew into an enormous business. Unfortunately for Andrew, running the company took a huge mental toll, and he eventually had to sell it.

But the new owners mismanaged FriendFinder, plunging the company into debt and almost ruining it.

On this episode of Web Masters, not only will you hear how Andrew created FriendFinder, you'll learn about the unique way Andrew responded to another company nearly ruining the thing he built.

For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

What is Web Masters?

Web Masters is an original podcast that explores the history of the Internet through the stories of some of its most important innovators. In each episode, host Aaron Dinin, a serial entrepreneur and digital media scholar, talks with Internet entrepreneurs who created important websites, tools, services, and features. Some are hugely popular, some you’ve never heard of, and all of them have impacted everything you do online. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how the Internet has enabled -- and continues to create -- some of the greatest business opportunities in history from the people who have proven they know how to build successful Internet businesses.