SpeedDate.com

SpeedDate.com is a speed dating website started by two Stanford graduates, Simon Tisminezky and Dan Abelon after an entrepreneurship class at Stanford Business School co-taught by Eric Schmidt.

History
Originally a Stanford University business class project, Speeddate.com combines online dating and round robin-style speed dating, where singles spend five minutes or less connecting live with potential matches. The domain was acquired in 2007 and since its launch in late 2007, SpeedDate.com has hosted over 60 million online speed dates. Within an hour, users meet up to 15 people using live video and instant messaging. Each date lasts three minutes, after which users can continue the conversation or chat with someone else. SpeedDate secured U.S. Patent Number 7,203,674 covering key aspects of online speed dating.

Applications
SpeedDate.com has applications on iPhone, iPad, Android, Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and Meebo. Like many online dating sites, SpeedDate.com is a freemium service and its revenue comes from premium subscriptions.

Reception
After SpeedDate secured $6 million in Series B financing from Menlo Ventures, Jason Kincaid at TechCrunch reported: "Unlike most dating sites, there was no lengthy signup process – the site leaves the real matchmaking to your video chats. And while SpeedDate seemed to totally ignore the interests and personality traits I entered anyway, the experience was still surprisingly fun. I typically only had to wait a few minutes between each session, and girls I spoke to during my “dates” told me that their general experience on the site had been quite positive."