Sparkology

Company

Founder Alex Furmansky launched Sparkology in October 2011, with under $500,000 in seed funding. Sparkology was originally exclusive to New York City, but now includes Washington D.C. and has plans to expand to Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

As of April 2013, 7,000 people had joined the site and two Sparkology couples have gotten engaged.

Methodology and membership

Sparkology takes a more exclusive approach to online dating that seeks to focus on service and quality. The community is invite-only and men must be verified graduates of top universities as a means to filter out some of the pitfalls of other online dating services: dead accounts, fake profiles and spam. Regarding the site's model, Sparkology's Furmansky said, "The opportunity lies in focusing on a specific demographic and offering them a superior experience that a middle-market behemoth could never match."

The site's pricing structure seeks to further encourage quality. Women members buy monthly subscriptions while men purchase "spark packs." Sparkology describes spark packs as the "virtual currency to initiate conversations that eliminates unwanted impersonal e-mails. Women receive meaningful interactions from men that are genuinely interested, while men no longer need to spam dozens of profiles to get a response."

Sparkology also employs special behavioral algorithms to help match members and also has city concierges that can help write a member's profile or plan and book member dates.

Reception

FoxNews.com named Sparkology as the "best elite site" for online dating. According to CBS New York, "Sparkology is by and large the most innovative and honest online dating experience out there."

On March 26, 2013, Melissa Francis interviewed Furmansky about Sparkology on the Fox Business Network.