OPW INTERVIEW – Apr 30 – This is a very unusual interview. The CEO wanted to be anonymous. Bang With Friends is growing fast. Here’s their story… – Mark Brooks
Listen to the interview
When will Facebook be buying Bang With Friends?
I'm not sure they can afford us.
How much is it?
The rumors may or may not be true, but you'll have to ask them for more comments.
Well there was a post I saw and the price was $30 million.
Let's just say we’re in private talks.
Why anonymous?
We're anonymous because we started as a side project. It was a little joke and it's taken off on its own. We were working on other startups at the time and we didn't want to compromise those.
How many are on the founding team?
Three.
Who came up with the idea initially?
It was a team effort between all three of us. We started asking why is online dating so dishonest and so frustrating? Especially for Generation Y. We wanted to make something simple that allows you to straightforwardly say what you were into and what your intentions were. The most obvious case is finding friends with benefits.
So it sounds like you weren’t a fan of internet dating. What sites would you say are your least and most favorite? Are there any which have inspired you? Or inspired you to improve on?
The big guys don't really fit well with what we're doing as a younger generation. Even the new upstarts that we've seen haven't really gotten straight to the point like we have, and taken such an unabashed and simple approach.
How well has Bang With Friends been received by Facebook corporate?
We have a good relationship with Facebook. Of course they are careful with their brand, and we're working with them to make sure that everybody is happy.
You've got 820,000 users and 200,000 couples matched, which seems very high. How do you get so many couples?
A lot of it comes from the safety we provide. Since everybody that you're seeing is a friend of yours, you're much more likely to be interested in them and meet up with them. Also everybody has at least a few friends that they've always had an eye on.
Can you tell us your latest numbers?
We are definitely north of that 200,000 matches. I believe we are at around 880,000 signups now.
How successful is your app? And take that as you will.
We're happy just enabling more people to bang.
You have to have a sense of humor to use the app.
You need a sense of humor and it definitely plays toward the younger generation and the recognition of how important sex is.
How do you make money?
We don't. We're not worried about making money right now. We're all about the customer.
But you have some aspirations to make money, surely?
I'm sure we'll have some stuff coming out that helps us keep things going, but for the most part our goals here are staying focused on creating success for our users. We know that will drive our business forward.
Where will you be in 12 month's time with Bang With Friends?
You will see us move beyond just banging and beyond your friend group.
So Hang With Friends to go with Bang With Friends?
I can say it will be more generalized. More ways to meet up rather than strictly hook-ups.
See all posts on Bang With Friends
NY POST – May 4 – AnastasiaDate, an Internet service that promises "~15K Russian girls for dating and marriage”, saw a 280% growth in the past year. “I don’t like to think our clients are sick of American women,” says Mark Brooks, AnastasiaDate’s chief strategy officer. “It’s nice to have someone with a different cultural heritage. That can be a huge cause for passion.” An AnastasiaDate “Romance Tour” to Eastern Europe to meet and socialize with the women runs ~$4,795.
