After troubles with venture capitalists over his insistence that the company serve profitable alternative market segments including the LGBT market, Gary Kremen left in March 1996, remaining on the board of Electric Classifieds. A year later was purchased by IAC (then still operating under the name Ticket Master).
In November 2015, the UK site was awarded Best Marketing Campaign at the UK Dating Awards. In 2002 and early 2003, Match.com's then CEO, Tim Sullivan, tried to expand reach by expanding into the local dating scene with a service called Match Live.
Daters would meet in a public location sponsored by
The initial business scope developed by this team included a subscription model, now common among personals services, and inclusion of diverse communities with high first trial and market leaders status, including women, technology professionals and the Gay and Lesbian community.
Fran Maier joined in late 1994 to lead the business unit where she significantly bolstered the strategy to make friendly and accessible to women (the men would then follow).