OnlySimchas.com Answers the Call of Singles

BERGENFIELD, NJ - May 12th, 2004 – "Dear OnlySimchas.com Webmaster, I know this may sound awkward, but maybe you can help me. I was just looking at the digital wedding photo gallery of a girl I know since High School. In a photo entitled 'Aaron's mates,' I noticed five very charming young men. If there is any way I could find out more information about these guys, my friends and I would be very grateful."

Similar e-mails have frequently appeared in the inboxes of Dov Katz, Yossi Markovitz, and Doron Katz, the young entrepreneurs who introduced OnlySimchas.com to the global Jewish community in 1999. Many overt and clandestine requests appealed for OnlySimchas.com to facilitate the creation of new relationships, not just display them.

As the leading photo-sharing network in the Jewish community, OnlySimchas.com enables users to post pictures of happy occasions, reserve a date for upcoming events, see related Simchas and post good wishes. Many new features have been added since the site was launched. The flourishing success of OnlySimchas.com is reflected in the over 10 million pages which are viewed monthly on its website.

"Right from the start we knew that a matchmaking website was the logical progression for our company. We just wanted to be patient and do it right," says Yossi Markovitz. "FutureSimchas will certainly bring even more simcha to the web, but it will only work with the right balance of candidness, sensitivity, and security."

Closely monitoring the recent media focus on the "shidduch crisis" within the Jewish community, OnlySimchas.com decided to harness its expertise and resources and respond creatively and innovatively. "Many friends have told me that the two biggest dating issues are exposure and labeling," observes Doron Katz. "What better exposure can you get in the Jewish community than posting a profile on FutureSimchas.com, the exciting new extension of OnlySimchas! Avoiding labels in any database-driven website is a difficult issue to tackle, so we encourage our users to define the label they have chosen."

The founders have tapped Gila Kranz Gimpel to coordinate offline events and offer matchmaking advice to the site's users. Gregarious and extroverted, Gila has over a dozen successful set-ups under her belt and is always on the prowl for new ideas. "OnlySimchas.com has a trusted brand name and I think that will bring otherwise timid people to the spotlight."

FutureSimchas was inaugurated on Monday, May 10, 2004, and attracted 150 registrants within the first 24 hours. Its user-friendly format is intended to encourage participation by a wide cross-section of singles

As usual, Dov Katz has some big plans in store for his latest project. "It will be rewarding to harness new technology and bring it to our users. Big things are in store."