Download or read book Matchmakers written by David S. Evans and published by Harvard Business Review Press. This book was released on 2016-05-03 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A different kind of matchmaker. Many of the most dynamic public companies, from Alibaba to Facebook to Visa, and the most valuable start-ups, such as Airbnb and Uber, are matchmakers that connect one group of customers with another group of customers. Economists call matchmakers multisided platforms because they provide physical or virtual platforms for multiple groups to get together. Dating sites connect people with potential matches, for example, and ride-sharing apps do the same for drivers and riders. Although matchmakers have been around for millennia, they’re becoming more and more popular—and profitable—due to dramatic advances in technology, and a lot of companies that have managed to crack the code of this business model have become today’s power brokers. Don’t let the flashy successes fool you, though. Starting a matchmaker is one of the toughest business challenges, and almost everyone who tries to build one, fails. In Matchmakers, David Evans and Richard Schmalensee, two economists who were among the first to analyze multisided platforms and discover their principles, and who’ve consulted for some of the most successful platform businesses in the world, explain how matchmakers work best in practice, why they do what they do, and how entrepreneurs can improve their chances for success. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an investor, a consumer, or an executive, your future will involve more and more multisided platforms, and Matchmakers—rich with stories from platform winners and losers—is the one book you’ll need in order to navigate this appealing but confusing world.

Download or read book Playing with Matches written by Hannah Orenstein and published by Atria Books. This book was released on 2018-06-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a Best Book of Summer by Refinery29, Bustle, and PopSugar “The best rom-com of the season…overflowing with charm and heart.” —Bustle “The perfect Summer read—smart, funny, escapist, and bursting with charm.” —PopSugar In the tradition of Good in Bed and The Assistants comes a funny and smart comedy about a young matchmaker balancing her messy personal life and the demands of her eccentric clients. Sasha Goldberg has a lot going for her: a recent journalism degree from NYU, an apartment with her best friend Caroline, and a relationship that would be amazing if her finance-bro boyfriend Jonathan would ever look up from his BlackBerry. But when her dream career falls through, she uses her family’s darkest secret to land a job as a matchmaker for New York City’s elite at the dating service Bliss. Despite her inexperience, Sasha throws herself into her new career, trolling for catches on Tinder, coaching her clients through rejection, and dishing out dating advice to people twice her age. She sets up a TV exec who wanted kids five years ago, a forty-year-old baseball-loving virgin, and a consultant with a rigorous five-page checklist for her ideal match. Sasha hopes to find her clients The One, like she did. But when Jonathan betrays her, she spirals out of control—and right into the arms of a writer with a charming Southern drawl, who she had previously set up with one of her clients. He’s strictly off-limits, but with her relationship on the rocks, all bets are off. Fresh, sweet, and laugh-out-loud funny, Playing with Matches is the addictive story about dating in today’s swipe-heavy society, and a young woman trying to find her own place in the world.

Download or read book Keeper of the Lost Cities written by Shannon Messenger and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-10-02 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times bestselling series A USA TODAY bestselling series A California Young Reader Medal–winning series In this riveting series opener, a telepathic girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world before the wrong person finds the answer first. Twelve-year-old Sophie has never quite fit into her life. She’s skipped multiple grades and doesn’t really connect with the older kids at school, but she’s not comfortable with her family, either. The reason? Sophie’s a Telepath, someone who can read minds. No one knows her secret—at least, that’s what she thinks… But the day Sophie meets Fitz, a mysterious (and adorable) boy, she learns she’s not alone. He’s a Telepath too, and it turns out the reason she has never felt at home is that, well…she isn’t. Fitz opens Sophie’s eyes to a shocking truth, and she is forced to leave behind her family for a new life in a place that is vastly different from what she has ever known. But Sophie still has secrets, and they’re buried deep in her memory for good reason: The answers are dangerous and in high-demand. What is her true identity, and why was she hidden among humans? The truth could mean life or death—and time is running out.

Download or read book The Matchmaker s Gift written by Lynda Cohen Loigman and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2022-09-20 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a Best Book of Fall 2022 by Parade • BuzzFeed • New York Post • GMA.com • People "Loigman's latest is a gem. A scrappy Jewish teenager newly arrived in 1920s New York struggles to follow her calling as a matchmaker––seventy years later, her cynical divorce-attorney granddaughter realizes she has very inconveniently inherited the family gift for matching soulmates. Both funny and moving, The Matchmaker's Gift made me smile from start to finish." ––Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code Is finding true love a calling or a curse? Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men—men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers, and to demand the recognition she deserves. Two generations later, Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a successful Manhattan divorce attorney, representing the city’s wealthiest clients. When her beloved Grandma Sara dies, Abby inherits her collection of handwritten journals recording the details of Sara’s matches. But among the faded volumes, Abby finds more questions than answers. Why did Abby’s grandmother leave this library to her and what did she hope Abby would discover within its pages? Why does the work Abby once found so compelling suddenly feel inconsequential and flawed? Is Abby willing to sacrifice the career she’s worked so hard for in order to keep her grandmother’s mysterious promise to a stranger? And is there really such a thing as love at first sight?

Download or read book Meeting Her Match The Matchmakers Book 3 written by Jen Turano and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2024-07-16 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Miss Camilla Pierpont, a renowned matchmaker and influential member of the New York Four Hundred, has vowed never to marry after suffering a devastating heartbreak during her debut years ago. However, when she is nearly abducted along the Hudson River, she finds herself rescued by an annoyingly outspoken, albeit fascinating, gentleman who challenges her in a manner she wasn't expecting. After learning that Camilla Pierpont has enjoyed success with taking wayward young ladies in hand, Mr. Owen Chesterfield travels to the Hudson River Valley determined to convince Camilla to sponsor his sister, who is in desperate need of social rehabilitation. Knowing her life is in danger, Camilla agrees to Owen's proposition and travels with him to West Virginia, finding herself charmed by the less-than-formal attitude of his small hometown, as well as by Owen himself. But danger waits in the shadows, disrupting what she knows would be the most spectacular match she's ever made--her own.

Download or read book Cupid s Match written by Lauren Palphreyman and published by Wattpad Books. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: He's mythologically hot, a little bit wicked, and almost 100% immortal. And he'll hit you right in the heart . . . "Miss Black, we have a big problem.” Lila Black doesn't believe in matchmaking, let alone soul mates. So then why is she constantly being hassled by the Cupids Matchmaking Service? But this gilded, cherub-bedecked dating agency isn't exactly what it seems . . . and it’s about to turn Lila's entire world upside down. It turns out that Cupids Matchmaking is the real deal. As in, it's run by actual cupids—who don't look at all like they do in the paintings—and they have a serious problem with Lila's “match.” Because this guy shouldn't be in the system. He shouldn't have a match. And while he's irresistibly hot, he's also incredibly dangerous. Because Lila's true love match is Cupid. The original bad boy of love. And he wants her. Now Lila's once-normal teenaged world has exploded into a mythological nightmare overrun by crime-lord sirens, wrathful cupid hit men, magic arrows that cause no end of trouble, and a mischievous, not-so-angelic love god she can't seem to stop herself from falling for . . . Adored by 50 million readers on Wattpad, Lauren Palphreyman's smash-hit book is now in print for the first time.

Download or read book The Matchmaker written by Elin Hilderbrand and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2014-06-10 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this moving story about losing and finding love again, a woman sets out to find the perfect matches for those closest to her. Forty-eight-year-old Nantucketer Dabney Kimball Beech has always had a gift for matchmaking. Some call her ability mystical, while others, her husband, celebrated economist John Boxmiller Beech, and her daughter, Agnes, who is clearly engaged to the wrong man, call it meddlesome. But there's no arguing with her results: With 42 happy couples to her credit and all of them still together, Dabney has never been wrong about romance. Never, that is, except in the case of herself and Clendenin Hughes, the green-eyed boy who took her heart with him long ago when he left the island to pursue his dream of becoming a journalist. Now, after spending twenty-seven years on the other side of the world, Clen is back on Nantucket, and Dabney has never felt so confused, or so alive. But when tragedy threatens her own second chance, Dabney must face the choices she's made and share painful secrets with her family. Determined to make use of her gift before it's too late, she sets out to find perfect matches for those she loves most.

Download or read book A Match in the Making The Matchmakers Book 1 written by Jen Turano and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2023-02-21 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Miss Gwendolyn Brinley accepted a temporary paid companion position for the Newport summer season, believing it would be a lark to spend the summer in America's most exclusive town. She suddenly finds her summer turning anything but amusing when her employer expects her to take over responsibilities as an assistant matchmaker. Tasked with the daunting prospect of attaining advantageous matches for her clients, Gwendolyn soon finds herself in the employ of Mr. Walter Townsend, the catch of the Season, but a gentleman Gwendolyn finds beyond irritating. Walter Townsend is reluctantly in search of a wife for the sake of his unruly motherless children who cannot keep a governess for long. What he wasn't expecting was Miss Brinley, an amateur matchmaker who turns his quest for a new wife into a complete and utter debacle. Constantly besieged by society ladies on a mission to win his affection, Walter must find a way to overcome their inundating attention--and his unexpected attraction toward Gwendolyn. The more time they spend together throughout the Newport Season, the harder it is for Gwendolyn to find Walter a wife when she realizes his perfect match might be . . . her.

Download or read book Crash Course in Love written by Steven Ward and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-11-03 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You can have the love you want...but first you have to do your homework. Millions of viewers have tuned in for each episode of VH1 Tough Love, the hit show that takes a group of single women and puts them through a rigorous relationship boot camp where they must follow host Steve Ward’s dating rules. Now, for the first time, master matchmaker Steve Ward and his mother, JoAnn, share all of their straightforward, no-nonsense dating and relationship lessons in this handy guide to love. Just as they dish out their tough love on the show, the authors explain how to flirt with a purpose, set up a date, turn a spark into a lasting connection, manage relationship fears, bounce back from rejection, and much more. Whether you're trying to find Mr. Right or want to keep him around now that you've snagged him, the innovative (and brutally honest) advice will help you break bad habits, take a fresh approach to dating, and transform your love life.

Download or read book Love Game written by Elise Sax and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2014-02-25 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie, and Katie MacAlister, Elise Sax’s wickedly funny Matchmaker series proves that the road to love comes with a few dead ends. Five months have passed since Gladie Burger came to Cannes, California, to join her eccentric Grandma Zelda in the family matchmaking business, and Gladie is quickly mastering the rules of attraction. Her latest fix-up is still going strong and Gladie’s bank account is back in the black—until a rival matchmaker arrives in town and has both Gladie and Zelda seeing red. Not only is self-proclaimed psychic Luanda Laughing-Eagle stealing Grandma Zelda’s clients, but Zelda is convinced that Luanda’s ESP is total BS. She tasks Gladie with exposing Luanda as a fraud, but Gladie’s attention is diverted when murder comes a-calling. Spencer Bolton, the gorgeous chief of police and Gladie’s on-again, off-again flame, wants her to stay out of the investigation—and away from the deliciously chiseled detective who also aims to win Gladie’s heart. But the one thing Gladie’s learned is that in business, love and murder . . . it’s always personal. Praise for Elise Sax and Love Game “Elise Sax will win your heart.”—New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis “There’s plenty for fans to enjoy in Sax’s third Matchmaker installment, complete with energetic narration, zany humor and a mystery that’s as engaging as the details of Gladie’s love life. . . . There are some exciting twists and turns here, from the explosive opening (literally) to the final surprise that will keep expectations high for future installments.”—RT Book Reviews “Filled with fun, sexiness and characters who are not afraid to go after the things they want in life . . . It’s not often I read something so full of irony and sarcasm, but that also has that special brand of humor that makes me chuckle while I’m reading.”—Unconventional Book Reviews “Elise Sax will make you laugh. Her larger-than-life characters jump off the page and make crazy seem like a fun place to hang out.”—Christie Craig, New York Times bestselling author of Texas Hold ’Em “Fans of laugh-out-loud romantic suspense will enjoy this new author as she joins the ranks of Janet Evanovich, Katie MacAlister, and Jennifer Crusie.”—Booklist, on An Affair to Dismember From the Paperback edition.

Download or read book The Fairy Tale Matchmaker written by E. D. Baker and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Defying her mother's wishes and the Tooth Fairy Guild, Cory quits her tooth fairy training to explore such things as babysitting an adventurous Humpty Dumpty and helping Suzy organize her seashells by the seashore until, at last, Cory discovers a power she never knew she had.

Download or read book To Spark a Match The Matchmakers Book 2 written by Jen Turano and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2023-11-14 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Turano takes readers on a lighthearted romp through matchmaking season . . . . This is a delight."--Publishers Weekly on A Match in the Making After five unsuccessful Seasons on the marriage mart, Miss Adelaide Duveen has resigned herself to the notion that she's destined to remain a spinster forever--a rather dismal prospect, but one that will allow her to concentrate on her darling cats and books. However, when she inadvertently stumbles upon Mr. Gideon Abbott engaged in a clandestine activity during a dinner party, Adelaide finds herself thrust into a world of intrigue that resembles the plots in the spy novels she devours. Former intelligence agent Gideon Abbott feels responsible for Adelaide after society threatens to banish her because of the distraction she caused to save his investigation. Hoping to return the favor, he turns to a good friend--and one of high society's leaders--to take Adelaide in hand and turn her fashionable. When danger surrounds them and Adelaide finds herself a target of the criminals in Gideon's case, the spark of love between them threatens to be quenched for good--along with their lives.

Download or read book Make Me a Match written by Matchmaking Institute and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-02-15 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blind dates haven’t worked. Neither has the internet, or set-ups by mom or friends. Now what? How about something tried and true: the professional matchmaker! Matchmakers are back and better than ever—and this guide from the Matchmaking Institute explains everything you need to know to choose and use one. Find out all about the process, how to make the most of it, and exactly how he or she will make you a match. As you read the success stories with their “happily ever afters,” you’ll realize that matchmaking is an intelligent, practical way to go about dating today. In addition, there’s a list of matchmakers recommended by the Institute as well as smart dating and relationship advice from the professionals.

Download or read book The Rogue to Ruin written by Vivienne Lorret and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-07-30 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bourne Matrimonial Agency has one rule: Never fall in love with a client, which shouldn't be a problem when one’s faking an engagement to the rogue across the street . . . Ainsley Bourne needs the family business to succeed. But one obstacle stands in her way—Reed Sterling, the huge, handsome, former prize fighter and owner of the gaming hell across the street. His scandalous customers scare off all her marriage-minded patrons and since the devilish brute has no intention of relocating, she sets out to ruin his unsavory establishment. Yet when a vile suitor from her past reappears, Ainsley hastily claims an attachment to the first man who comes to mind . . . Mr. Sterling, to be exact. Reed doesn’t know who is more surprised by Miss Bourne’s declaration. She clearly hates him, and he’d never admit their arguments simmer with unrequited attraction. Something about the pleading look in her eyes calls to Reed, and against his better judgment, he quickly plays the part of the besotted fiancé. Pretending to be in love requires a convincing charade. But with each tantalizing touch and every scandalous kiss, Ainsley starts to wonder if Reed was ever really the enemy at all.

Download or read book The Perfect Match written by Anita Lemke and published by . This book was released on 2020-06-12 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Matchmaking for Beginners written by Maddie Dawson and published by Lake Union Publishing. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Marnie MacGraw wants an ordinary life- a husband, kids, and a minivan in the suburbs. Now that she's marrying the man of her dreams, she's sure this is the life she'll get. Then Marnie meets Blix Holliday, her fiancé's irascible matchmaking great-aunt who's dying, and everything changes- just as Blix told her it would. When her marriage ends after two miserable weeks, Marnie is understandably shocked. Marnie doesn't believe she's anything special, but Blix somehow knew she was the perfect person to follow in her matchmaker footsteps. And Blix was also right about some things Marnie must learn the hard way: love is hard to recognize, and the ones who push love away often are the ones who need it most."--book jacket

Download or read book The Matchmakers written by Samantha Elphick and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2014-10-17 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bleeding Hearts Exclusive Dating Service has ten locations throughout the country and is known as an elite matchmaking service that removes the uncertainty of looking for that ideal date. They provide private, exclusive introductions and matchmaking for those accustomed to excellence or others looking for certain uniqueness. The owner of the company, Alice Simmons, built the successful company with the help of her boyfriend/partner. Since his departure, she has neglected to keep her hand on the helm, letting the responsibility slip into the unsuspecting prey of her lying, heartless Miami director, Joan Foster, who will stop at nothing to make money. Olivia Felner, once an extremely rich woman, has a mysterious past. Coming off a drug-induced state, she finds herself destitute and alone. She is forced to take a job as a telemarketer, where she can comfortably hide out. She is monitored 24-7 by the law. After realizing what the company does, she sees an opportunity and soon becomes privy to what goes on. Joan has developed new scripts to entice members for big money. Employees are strongly advised by the director to answer questions with questions, suggest possibilities that do not exist, and use smoke and mirror tactics to sell memberships in return for introductions that will fulfil the romantic, sexual, and fantasy needs of their clients. Joan places Olivia in charge of the failing West Palm Beach location with her staff of four--Rachael, Savannah, Lorenzo, and Mia. After realizing that they have a limited number of members and matches, Olivia cunningly sees a window to increase sales. She and the membership team integrate their individual skills and work as a team to save their jobs and earn high commissions. They go to all lengths to validate company promises by sometimes replacing the lack of members and filling the roles themselves. They share stories at their weekly meetings of the sometimes hilarious, lewd, erotic, and heart-wrenching situations of bleeding hearts looking for love. One aspect of this book is the rawness of its subject matter and the people who live in the world of fantasy. In this twenty-first century, everyone is looking for love in all the wrong places. Everyone deserves to be loved . . . but at what price? The financial reward is the motivating factor for the West Palm team to grow the membership base by sometimes stretching the company rules and policies to keep within legal parameters. After months of fraud allegations, Olivia suspects there is an undercover agent amongst them who is looking to expose the company. One location is ordered to close down. Lawsuits increase across the country as the following headlines, Thousands Lost to Closed Dating Service, become progressively proactive. Olivia, for personal reasons, sets out on a seemingly innocent encounter that quickly backfires on her. She is threatened with blackmail but denies everything. Turmoil occurs in the Miami office and personal feelings override reasoning as the undercover agent is exposed. A terrible tragedy occurs in the Miami office, freeing Olivia of any wrongdoing. The company is investigated and all locations close down. The headlines The Matchmakers Have Met Their Match pour out across the country. The company undergoes months of investigation. The West Palm Beach team helps in the investigation to bring about justice. The girls' notoriety affords them certain advantages with surprising results for their futures. The story concludes with numerous sequel story lines.