Concept Arbitrage: Match.com

In ancient India, there was a wonderful tradition called swayamvar, which facilitated the choice of husbands for women of rank. The swayamvar of a princess, for example, would attract the kings and princes from every corner of the country, assembled at the court of the father of the bride. The bride would go around the room with a garland, check the guys out, and put the garland around the neck of her chosen mate.

Read this article about Times Of India’s matrimonial site TimesMatri, which offers a creative spin on the Online Matrimonial concept in India, by applying the ancient swayamvar dynamic to it.

It is refreshing to see this “intrapreneurship” in the TOI Group. We see a lot less aggressive new media adoption by the New York Times!

Competitor Shaadi.com has received $8 M from Westbridge, and are leading the pack of independent ventures. Jeevansathi.com, Bharatmatrimony.com, and numerous other me-too sites and a minimum barrier-to-entry concept makes it an infinitely attractive category for entrepreneurs. Kleiner invested in the parent company of Jeevansathi earlier this year.

Traditional Indian society has used matchmakers and matrimonial ads in newspapers for as long as anyone can remember. I would say, this concept is far more successful given the Indian cultural context than it is in the US. Families get involved. People’s intentions are serious, thus you have less fiascos and harrassment cases.

This segment is a part in the series : Concept Arbitrage