iDate Dating Industry Conference

What iDate Dating Industry Conference does

iDate Dating Industry Conference is a privately held trade show and event platform serving the global online dating, matchmaking, and social networking industry, founded in 2004 by Ticonderoga Ventures, Inc. (a New York-based company owned by I.B.C. LTD.) and led by President Marc Lesnick. The core offering is a series of multi-day in-person conferences held across multiple regions per year, including the flagship Florida event in January/February, plus European, West Coast, Asian, and South American editions. Events include an exhibition hall, seminars, workshops, networking sessions, and the gated Buyers and Sellers Gathering (a $100 add-on for M&A-focused attendees).

The company complements its event platform with an annual iDate Awards ceremony across 14 categories, the iDate Inside video interview series featuring dating industry CEOs, an iDate mobile application on iOS and Android, and the MOSOCIAL delegate networking app activated 7-14 days pre-event. Core technology is light: iDate is fundamentally a physical-event operator rather than a software company, with its organizer (Ticonderoga Ventures) providing virtual conference software through HVC.com as an ancillary capability.

The business model rests on three paid revenue streams: conference registration fees (multi-day passes with early-bird discounts; pricing not publicly disclosed), tiered sponsorship and exhibitor packages (Gold and Platinum), and the Buyers and Sellers Gathering add-on. The customer base spans dating operators (Zoosk, eHarmony, Match.com, Plenty of Fish, Ashley Madison, The League, JSwipe, Baihe, Zhenai, Jiayuan), dating software providers (Dating Factory, Pilot Group/DatingPro, Global Personals/White Label Dating), matchmakers, social networking executives, mobile carriers, affiliates, and investors. With 8 total employees and no external funding, iDate operates as a lean, founder-controlled niche media and events business.

Name

iDate Dating Industry Conference

Legal name

I.B.C. LTD.

Website

https://idateconference.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

iDate is a privately held trade show series serving the global online dating and matchmaking industry since 2004, running 5+ annual regional events in Florida, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. It monetizes registration fees, sponsorship packages, and gated M&A networking sessions for senior dating executives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Show and Industry Conference Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry-Specific B2B Trade Show Organizers (THAHABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

Keywords

• Dating industry conferences
• Online dating trade shows
• Matchmaking industry events
• Business networking expos
• B2B event management

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Conference Registration Fees: Revenue generated from attendee registration fees for the multi-day conferences. The conference is a private event requiring paid registration. Various sponsorship and exhibitor packages are also sold to companies wanting to promote at the events.
2. Sponsorship and Exhibition Packages: Companies can purchase sponsorship and exhibitor packages at different tiers (Gold, Platinum) to have booths and promote their products and services to attending delegates.
3. Buyers and Sellers Gathering: A closed-door networking event requiring an additional $100 fee to ensure serious buyers are present for mergers and acquisitions discussions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The iDate Dating Industry Conference is a multi-region B2B trade show series for the online dating, matchmaking, and social networking industry, held annually in Florida (largest flagship, January/February), Europe, West Coast (Los Angeles/Las Vegas), Asia, and South America. Each event comprises an exhibition hall, seminars, workshops, speed networking sessions, and keynote presentations; the program also includes the iDate Awards (14 industry categories), the Buyers and Sellers Gathering (closed-door M&A and acquisition networking with an additional $100 fee), the iDate Inside video interview series, and the iDate Industry App with MOSOCIAL pre-event delegate networking.

Product overview

iDate Dating Industry Conference operates as a multi-event conference platform for the online dating and matchmaking industry. The core offering consists of annual trade show events held in multiple regions (Florida, Europe, West Coast, Asia, South America), supplemented by the iDate Awards ceremony, iDate Inside video series, and networking tools including the MOSOCIAL App and Buyers and Sellers Gathering sessions. The company also offers a mobile application for event access and engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• iDate Awards: Annual awards ceremony recognizing excellence in the online dating and matchmaking industry with 14 categories, held during the January convention.

Products and services

• iDate Dating Industry Conference Multi-region B2B trade show event series for the online dating, matchmaking, and social networking industry, with annual editions held in Florida (largest flagship, January/February), Europe (Fall), West Coast (Summer), Asia, and South America. Each event includes an exhibition hall, seminars, workshops, keynote presentations, and networking sessions, with a multi-day all-inclusive pass.
• iDate Awards

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ senior executives attend major Miami events
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers26 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)minorOthers · 1 January 2022The Internet Dating Conference is proud to sponsor NCMEC, an organization that helps find missing children. Programs like NCMEC helped find Elizabeth Smart on March 12, 2003 after 9 months of being missing.
• Online Personals WatchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the iDate Awards program. Online Personals Watch is a leading industry publication that covers the online dating market.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Dreamforce: Salesforce's flagship B2B user conference, exemplifying the tiered sponsorship + exhibition + executive keynote format that iDate operates. Operates at much larger scale, but the underlying event architecture (paid registration, sponsor expo, networking, awards) is identical.
• Money 20/20: Flagship B2B trade show for the fintech/payments industry. Operates large-scale regional events (Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Singapore, Bangkok) with tiered sponsorship packages and a closed-door networking culture, structurally identical to iDate but serving a larger, better-funded buyer base.
• Web Summit: Large multi-continent B2B technology conference with tiered sponsorship, exhibition halls, and closed-door networking. Operates at a much larger scale than iDate but follows the same playbook of regional editions (Lisbon, Rio, Vancouver, etc.) targeting executives.

Emerging players

• Social Media Marketing World: Annual B2B conference for social media and digital marketing professionals, run by Social Media Examiner. Comparable in format to iDate (conference + workshops + networking) and targets a similarly niche executive buyer base, though with a broader digital-marketing scope.
• Affiliate Marketing Events (ASW, AIMA): Affiliate and performance marketing industry gatherings with sponsorship-driven revenue and small operating teams. Closely mirrors iDate's reliance on tiered sponsorship packages and the Buyers-and-Sellers-style M&A/partner matchmaking add-ons.
• RetailX (formerly IRCE): B2B trade show and conference for internet/ecommerce retailers, combining expo hall, workshops and executive networking. Comparable to iDate as a verticalized business-to-business conference organizer with sponsorship-driven revenue and a recurring regional/annual cadence.

Others

• Online Personals Watch: Industry publication and co-organizer of the iDate Awards program covering the online dating market. Functions as an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor, but shares the same dating-industry community.

Direct peers

• Affiliate Summit: Long-running multi-region B2B trade show series for the affiliate marketing industry, organized by a small founder-led team and operating physical events across the US, Europe and Asia. Closely analogous to iDate in format (expo + workshops + networking), business model (registration + sponsorship tiers) and niche-vertical focus.
• MJBizCon: Annual B2B trade show for the cannabis industry, run as the industry's premier expo with tiered sponsorships, exhibition halls, and educational tracks. Highly comparable to iDate as a founder/organizer-led vertical trade show that became the default gathering point for a once-niche industry.
• Traffic & Conversion Summit: Annual B2B marketing and ecommerce conference organized by a small founder-led team, monetized via tiered registration and sponsor packages. Mirrors iDate's niche-vertical focus and event-driven business model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/idateconference
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/idate-dating-industry-conference

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about iDate Dating Industry Conference