Mark Brooks operates a boutique consultancy that exclusively serves internet dating and social networking companies... more

Mark Brooks operates a boutique consultancy that exclusively serves internet dating and social networking companies. He has advised the CEO's of Friendster, Friendfinder, Cupid, Webdate, PlentyofFish, TRUE among others, and has worked in the online community space since 1998.

When Mark earned his B.S. Engineering Management from the University of Hertfordshire (near London), online dating was just beginning to take shape on the message boards and forums of the internet. He originally ventured to the U.S.A. to help start a community aerial photography company in Pennsylvania in 1991.

After graduating in 1994, he sold non-contact laser-based metrology and particle measuring systems to the likes of HP, Intel and Seagate.

By 1998, Mark saw the potential that the internet held for helping people connect and moved to California to start Ace-Club.com, an adventure and social club serving Silicon Valley, and then help start eturn (now Remoba), an early competitor to Plaxo. In 1999 Mark help