ODDA member Michael O’Sullivan publishes Dating App, an insider’s playbook for the dating industry

The ODDA is delighted to congratulate Michael O’Sullivan, Owner of ODDA member HubPeople, on the publication of his new book, Dating App: How to build, survive and thrive in the world’s most human tech industry.

Written for founders, operators and investors, Dating App is a no-nonsense, practical guide to what it really takes to build and sustain a dating business. As Michael says, building a dating app is easy – building a dating business is brutally hard.

Drawing on decades of experience building global dating brands, Michael takes readers inside the challenges that define the sector, covering users who churn quickly, the threat from increasingly sophisticated fraudsters, advertising platforms pushing back, how payment providers are growing ever more cautious about the business of love, and regulators watching closely, looking for one wrong decision that can sink a company.

What’s inside

The book covers the full operating picture, including:

• The economics of dating platforms, churn, lifetime value and acquisition costs
• How to choose a niche and build a thriving community
• What users actually pay for in a minimum viable dating product
• User acquisition strategies, from affiliates and influencers to funnels and attribution
• Running operations, including fraud prevention, moderation and payments
• The metrics investors care about

It also features exclusive interviews with six leading operators from the global dating industry, sharing first-hand lessons from building, scaling and surviving real dating businesses.

What the industry is saying

Mark Brooks, CEO of Courtland Brooks and Matchmaker.com, describes the book as “refreshingly candid” and “the operating manual our industry has been missing,” noting that in more than 25 years advising dating companies, he has never seen the full playbook, economics, product, growth, operations and exits, laid out so clearly.

ODDA CEO Simon Newman adds: “A must-read for every aspiring entrepreneur in the online dating sector, drawn from nearly 20 years’ experience in the industry. Michael’s ability to unlock the secrets to building a business that lasts gives founders a simple, yet effective blueprint for success.”

Why it matters

Much of Dating App speaks directly to ODDA’s mission. Fraud prevention, moderation, payments and regulatory readiness aren’t side issues in this industry, they are the foundations of a business that lasts, and of a sector consumers can trust. Michael’s willingness to share the hard lessons of decades in the industry is exactly the kind of knowledge-sharing that raises standards for everyone.

Dating App is available now here