How to marry a dot.com millionaire

The new economy has produced a bumper crop of eligible men and women. They're young, filthy rich (on paper, at least) and we know what you have to do to meet them

This year's Sunday Times Rich List boasted 63 British Internet millionaires; meanwhile hi-tech moguls dominate the Forbes annual list of billionaires. The message is clear, if you want to marry into really big money, then follow the geek.

This year's Sunday Times Rich List boasted 63 British Internet millionaires; meanwhile hi-tech moguls dominate the Forbes annual list of billionaires. The message is clear, if you want to marry into really big money, then follow the geek.

Your typical internet millionaire has a lot to offer the money-grabbing potential spouse. First, most of them are young. This is a new vibrant industry and the heads of these Net companies start as young as 12 and most of them are under 30. What's more, there's plenty of choice; both sexes have made it rich quick on the Web, so fortune hunters, no matter what their sexual inclinations, will have no trouble in finding a suitable partner.

Finally, and most importantly, lots of these millionaires are single. Launching your own dot.com can do some serious damage to your social life -- the hours are long and the boss has to be the last to leave the office. These folks haven't got the time to go on dates or to hang around nightclubs, they're just waiting to be ensnared by a determined fortune hunter.

So just how do you go about catching your dot.com millionaire? Bearing in mind the fact that these people work long hours, perhaps the best way to track them down is to get a job in the dot.com where your future husband/wife works. Don't worry if you know bugger all about building a website or running an internet business -- you'll find out soon enough that most of the people working in dot.coms are just busking it anyway. Read a few copies of New Media Age and then sign up with the new media recruitment specialists Price Jamieson, tell them you used to work at Boo.com. They'll be none the wiser.

If actually getting a job sounds too much like hard work for you, then you could try hanging around in one of the online discussion groups devoted to new media and posting a few messages. I recommend you try this posting, as it's bound to yield a few good leads; "Hi, I've just turned 21 and I can now get into my trust-fund money. I really want to invest in one of those new dot.com businesses but I don't know which one to go for. I thought that Boo business sounded quite nice. Can anybody out there offer me a bit of advice?"

Keep a careful eye out and you will catch dot.com millionaires in the wild, but you'll have to be quick: they only go out to attend new media networking events and to visit their local Gap store.

First Tuesday runs the most popular dot.com get-togethers. Admission to their events is by invitation only, but if you do a little schmoozing you could get in on the guest list.

Anyone serious about bagging a millionaire should also check out the pages of The Chemistry website to find out when this Net networking company is holding its next meeting. To get an invite to one of these do's all you need is a great dot.com idea. The Chemistry then helps put you in touch with the appropriate venture capitalists to fund your big plan. Of course, once you're at the event you can ditch your business plan completely and do some networking of your own, checking out the available monied talent.

When it comes to socialising, the big dot.com entrepreneurs hang out in London's stylish member's club Home House in Portman Square. Out of the 2,000 members of the club, between 50 and 100 of them are dot.com millionaires. According to the principal investor in Home House, Richard Farleigh, "If there was a guild for new media people, it would be based in Home House. Some folks reckon more technology deals go on here than anywhere else in the UK."

So just how do you enter the hallowed doors of Home House? First off you need to be referred by an existing member and then if you fit the bill you'll need to stump up a £1,500 joining-free and an annual fee of £1,500. A cheaper option is to find an existing member and beg them to take you in there as one of their guests.

Hang around in the bar area peppering your conversation with buzz words like "second round funding", "b2b", "broadband", "client-focused", "re-engineer" and "Banana Republic". Even if you don't meet the man/woman of your dreams, you're bound to overhear a few hot dot.com investment tips.