EXHIBIT 10.1

                                                        November 11, 2004

Ardent Acquisition Corporation
1415 Kellum Place, Suite 205
Garden City, New York 11530

EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
600 Third Avenue
33rd Floor
New York, New York 10016

            Re:   INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

Gentlemen:

            The  undersigned   stockholder,   officer  and  director  of  Ardent
Acquisition Corporation ("Company"), in consideration of EarlyBirdCapital,  Inc.
("EBC")  entering into a letter of intent  ("Letter of Intent") to underwrite an
initial public  offering of the securities of the Company  ("IPO") and embarking
on the IPO process,  hereby agrees as follows  (certain  capitalized  terms used
herein are defined in paragraph 11 hereof):

            1.  If  the  Company  solicits  approval  of its  stockholders  of a
Business Combination,  the undersigned will vote all Insider Shares owned by him
in  accordance  with the  majority  of the votes cast by the  holders of the IPO
Shares.

            2. In the event  that the  Company  fails to  consummate  a Business
Combination  within 18 months from the effective date ("Effective  Date") of the
registration statement relating to the IPO (or 24 months under the circumstances
described in the prospectus  relating to the IPO), the undersigned will take all
reasonable actions within his power to cause the Company to liquidate as soon as
reasonably practicable.  The undersigned hereby waives any and all right, title,
interest  or claim of any kind in or to any  distribution  of the Trust Fund (as
defined in the Letter of Intent) as a result of such liquidation with respect to
his Insider  Shares  ("Claim") and hereby waives any Claim the  undersigned  may
have in the  future  as a  result  of,  or  arising  out of,  any  contracts  or
agreements  with the Company and will not seek  recourse  against the Trust Fund
for any reason whatsoever. The undersigned agrees to indemnify and hold harmless

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Ardent Acquisition Corporation
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
November 11, 2004
Page 2

the Company, pro rata with the other officers and directors of the Company based
on the number of Insider  Shares held by each such  individual,  against any and
all loss, liability,  claims, damage and expense whatsoever (including,  but not
limited  to,  any and  all  legal  or  other  expenses  reasonably  incurred  in
investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, whether pending or
threatened,  or any claim  whatsoever) which the Company may become subject as a
result  of any  claim by any  vendor or other  person  who is owed  money by the
Company for services  rendered or products sold, or by any target business,  but
only to the extent necessary to ensure that such loss, liability,  claim, damage
or expense does not reduce the amount in the Trust Fund.

            3. In order to minimize  potential  conflicts of interest  which may
arise  from  multiple  affiliations,  the  undersigned  agrees to present to the
Company for its  consideration,  prior to  presentation  to any other  person or
entity,  any suitable  opportunity to acquire an operating  business,  until the
earlier  of the  consummation  by the  Company of a  Business  Combination,  the
liquidation of the Company or until such time as the undersigned ceases to be an
officer  or  director  of the  Company,  subject to any  pre-existing  fiduciary
obligations the undersigned might have.

            4. The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the Company will not
consummate any Business Combination which involves a company which is affiliated
with  any of the  Insiders  unless  the  Company  obtains  an  opinion  from  an
independent  investment  banking  firm  reasonably  acceptable  to EBC  that the
business  combination  is fair to the  Company's  stockholders  from a financial
perspective.

            5.  Neither  the  undersigned,  any  member  of  the  family  of the
undersigned,  nor any Affiliate of the  undersigned  will be entitled to receive
and will not accept any compensation for services  rendered to the Company prior
to the consummation of the Business Combination; provided that commencing on the
Effective Date, American Fund Advisors, Inc. ("Related Party"), shall be allowed
to charge the Company an  allocable  share of Related  Party's  overhead,  up to
$7,500 per month,  to compensate  it for the  Company's  use of Related  Party's
offices,  utilities and personnel.  Related Party and the undersigned shall also
be entitled to reimbursement from the Company for their  out-of-pocket  expenses
incurred in connection with seeking and consummating a Business Combination.

            6.  Neither  the  undersigned,  any  member  of  the  family  of the
undersigned,  or any Affiliate of the undersigned will be entitled to receive or
accept a finder's fee or any other  compensation  in the event the  undersigned,
any member of the family of the  undersigned or any Affiliate of the undersigned
originates a Business Combination.

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Ardent Acquisition Corporation
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
November 11, 2004
Page 3

            7. The undersigned will escrow his Insider Shares for the three year
period  commencing on the Effective  Date subject to the terms of a Stock Escrow
Agreement  which the Company will enter into with the  undersigned and an escrow
agent acceptable to the Company.

            8. The undersigned  agrees to be the Chairman of the Board and Chief
Executive  Officer of the Company until the earlier of the  consummation  by the
Company  of a  Business  Combination  or the  liquidation  of the  Company.  The
undersigned's  biographical  information  furnished  to the  Company and EBC and
attached hereto as Exhibit A is true and accurate in all respects, does not omit
any  material  information  with  respect to the  undersigned's  background  and
contains all of the information required to be disclosed pursuant to Section 401
of  Regulation  S-K,   promulgated   under  the  Securities  Act  of  1933.  The
undersigned's  Questionnaire  furnished  to the  Company  and EBC and annexed as
Exhibit  B  hereto  is  true  and  accurate  in all  respects.  The  undersigned
represents and warrants that:

      (a) he is not subject to or a  respondent  in any legal  action  for,  any
injunction,  cease-and-desist order or order or stipulation to desist or refrain
from  any  act  or  practice  relating  to the  offering  of  securities  in any
jurisdiction;

      (b) he has never  been  convicted  of or  pleaded  guilty to any crime (i)
involving any fraud or (ii) relating to any financial transaction or handling of
funds of another person,  or (iii)  pertaining to any dealings in any securities
and he is not currently a defendant in any such criminal proceeding; and

      (c) he has  never  been  suspended  or  expelled  from  membership  in any
securities  or  commodities  exchange  or  association  or had a  securities  or
commodities license or registration denied, suspended or revoked.

            9. The undersigned has full right and power,  without  violating any
agreement by which he is bound, to enter into this letter agreement and to serve
as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

            10. The undersigned authorizes any employer,  financial institution,
or  consumer  credit   reporting   agency  to  release  to  EBC  and  its  legal
representatives  or agents (including any investigative  search firm retained by
EBC) any  information  they may have  about  the  undersigned's  background  and
finances  ("Information").  Neither EBC nor its agents  shall be  violating  the
undersigned's  right of privacy in any manner in  requesting  and  obtaining the
Information and the undersigned hereby releases them from liability for

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Ardent Acquisition Corporation
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
November 11, 2004
Page 4

any damage whatsoever in that connection.

            11. As used  herein,  (i) a  "Business  Combination"  shall  mean an
acquisition  by merger,  capital  stock  exchange,  asset or stock  acquisition,
reorganization or otherwise,  of an operating  business selected by the Company;
(ii)  "Insiders"  shall mean all  officers,  directors and  stockholders  of the
Company  immediately  prior to the IPO; (iii) "Insider Shares" shall mean all of
the shares of Common Stock of the Company  owned by an Insider prior to the IPO;
and (iv) "IPO  Shares"  shall  mean the  shares of  Common  Stock  issued in the
Company's IPO.

                                                     Barry J. Gordon
                                                     ---------------
                                                     Print Name of Insider


                                                     /s/ Barry J. Gordon
                                                     -------------------
                                                     Signature

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EXHIBIT A

      Barry J.  Gordon has been our  chairman  of the board and chief  executive
officer since our  inception.  Mr. Gordon served as executive  vice president of
American Fund  Advisors,  Inc. from  September  1978 until December 1980, as its
president  from  December  1980 until May 1987 and has been its  chairman of the
board since May 1987.  American Fund Advisors is a private money management firm
that manages money for high net worth  individuals,  pension and profit  sharing
plans, and is the subadvisor to the John Hancock Technology Fund. Mr. Gordon has
been a director of American Fund Advisors since  December  1980.  Since December
1991, he has been the president, and from December 1991 to December 1993, he was
a director,  of John Hancock  Technology  Series,  Inc., an investment  company.
Since September 1999, Mr. Gordon has been president, chief executive officer and
a director of BlueStone  AFA  Management,  LLC,  the general  partner of the AFA
Private  Equity Fund 1, (formerly  BlueStone AFA Fund),  a venture  capital fund
providing  equity  capital for public and  private  companies  primarily  in the
technology  sector,  and since  January  2000,  has been a  director  of the AFA
Private  Equity Fund 1. Mr. Gordon has also been chairman of the board and chief
executive  officer of the New Jersey  Cardinals,  a Class A affiliate of the St.
Louis  Cardinals,  since  February 1990 and the Norwich  Navigators,  a Class AA
affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, since March 1991. He has also served as a
director of Winfield  Capital Corp.,  an Over The Counter  Bulletin Board listed
small business investment  company,  since October 1995. Mr. Gordon was also the
1992 Entrepreneur of the Year for Long Island in financial services.  Mr. Gordon
received  a B.B.A.  from the  University  of Miami  and an M.B.A.  from  Hofstra
University.