A Match Made In Microchips

By Ronald J. Polland, Ph.D., Florida State University

Is it true that "Love makes the world go round?" Well, two Tampa Bay entrepreneurs are banking on it. With the aid of their computers and match-making expertise, Lisa and Robert Bentsen are hoping to spread Love around the world. In the six years that the Bentsen's have been operating Single Search, their computer match-making enterprise, it's become the largest, most popular service in the southeast. Now, it's going National and International.

The rapid growth of Single Search has caught it's owners by surprise. "I'm still a bit awe-struck by it all," says co-owner Lisa Bentsen. However, Bentsen isn't blinded by success, "We hope to have the largest singles data base in the world by the end o f the decade," she says with an eye toward the future. In fact, Single Search is well-established in North, Central and South Florida and serves clients in Canada and London, England.

Although computer dating has been around a long time, it lost advocates because of limitations other services had with the software used to match potential mates. The Bentsens have overcome the flows apparent in other services with hours of painstaking c ompatibility research by Lisa, a former marriage counselor and Robert, a Fortune 100 software designer. The success of Single Search is catching on around the USA and Internationally as other entrepreneurs are purchasing licensed copies of their award wi nning software.

Technology and travel means that the girl next door could easily be in the next city, county, country or continent. If Love is universal, so is loneliness. "We have clients who travel back and forth across the Atlantic who would like to be matched up wi th someone from the state or country they are visiting." Computers have now made it possible for travelers to choose a non-smoking flight to London and have a non-smoking friend waiting for them when they arrive.

What is it about the English that attracts Americans and viceversa? "Americans love the English accent," Lisa says, "Americans are attracted to the continental savoir-faire of the Brits. Conversely, British singles like the spontaneity, the dynamic, ass ertive style of Americans.

Are her British counterparts as trusting of computer technology in choosing a mate as her American clients? Lisa explains, "Regardless of where they are, people aren't willing to trust computers to aid their choice for a mate until the benefits are expla ined. Once they understand that they make the choices, set the standards and have a huge potential base of members to choose from, they can't wait to sign up. The computer's role is simply to assist in narrowing the possibilities down to the most ideal selection of compatible partners -- and compatibility is the key to success in relationships.

Whether they're from London, England or Tampa, Florida, Single Search's members are looking for the same basic qualities in a match; someone who is intelligent, sensitive, humorous, faithful, likes reading, dancing, and family activities. A statistical p rofile of Tampa Bay members shows them to be well-educated, emotionally and financially secure and conservative.

72% are professionals or entrepreneurs aged 21-70
91% earn over $30K
50% are college grads
59% are divorced
30% never married
68% seek marriage