Gaydar CEO Gary Frisch found dead  | News | Advocate.com

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February 13, 2007
Gaydar CEO Gary Frisch found dead

Gary Frisch, Gaydar cofounder and chairman of QSoft Consulting, has died of unknown causes and was discovered at his London home Saturday. He was 38. Although no foul play is suspected, suicide has not been ruled out as a possibility.

QSoft Consulting, owners of Gaydar Radio, released the following statement about Frisch's unexpected death:

"Gary was a highly regarded leader and colleague who cared first and foremost about the gay and lesbian community that we serve. He was an accomplished entrepreneur and a very generous man who also cared deeply about the people who worked for and with him. Gary's legacy as a cofounder of the Gaydar phenomenon is immense, and it is one that we shall both celebrate and continue into the future. Gary will never be forgotten and is deeply missed by us all."

In 2006 the Independent on Sunday newspaper named Gaydar cofounders Frisch and Henry Badenhorst among the Pink List—101 out movers and shakers in British society—calling the pair an "extraordinary cultural force."

Frisch, a computer science graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand in his native South Africa, sold the software firm he founded after graduation to what would later become one of that country's largest information technology companies, according to his bio on QSoft's Web site. In 1997 he and Badenhorst moved to the United Kingdom and launched QSoft, originally to develop revenue management systems for the Dutch airline KLM. A stable of gay-related brands followed, including Gaydar Radio and women's and travel sites.

"We created Gaydar in 1999 for a friend who had trouble finding a partner," Frisch told the Independent last year. "So far, he's found quite a few."

Details of Frisch's funeral and memorial service were to be announced soon. (Hassan Mirza, Gay.com/U.K.)

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