TECH CIRCLE – May 5 – Nitin Gupta, founder of CoinJoos, an e-commerce platform that was acquired by HomeShop18.com in Aug '11, has launched a mobile dating app GetVee. It works like Tinder. The app connects singles only when both have liked each other. “GetVee does not promote multiple relationships on the app. If you are connected to someone, he/she will be the only one you will be able to chat with," added Gupta.
by Sainul K. Abudheen
See full article at Tech Circle
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK – May 5 – 1 Million babies have been born to couples who met via Match.com as the site announce a scholarship contest. Match.com is offering a $50K college scholarship to a 13- to 20-year-old whose parents or stepparents hooked up via the site. Children must submit short videos in the next two months describing their parents' love story. The general public will then choose the best of 10 finalists through Facebook and Twitter.
VENTURE BEAT – May 2 - Skout has acquired Nixter, a small startup with an app that helps people find nightclubs. Together, they are launching NightLifeGraph.com aimed at helping nightclub promoters sell tickets and manage their guest lists. Skout has been profitable for the past six months and is adding 1.5M new users each month. Skout's users are young urban dwellers looking for something to do and someone to do it with. Nixter was founded in 2008 by two pairs of brothers who were working as nightclub promoters. NightLifeGraph.com is free for nightclubs and makes money by charging consumers: For instance, it tacks a $1.54 surcharge onto a $10 ticket. Location-based advertising could be another source of revenue.
by Dylan Tweney
See full article at Venture Beat
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
THE SCOTSMAN – May 3 – Kestrel Opportunities fund bought 1.4M shares to increase its stake to ~14.5%. The increase in Kestrel’s stake comes after Toscafund recently sold its entire 16% holding in Cupid.
by Perry Gourley
See full article at The Scotsman
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
PR NEWSWIRE – May 2 – Snap Interactive, the developer and owner of AYI.com, announced April subscriber growth. Active subscriber count increased 20% YTD from ~78K as of Dec 31, 2013 to ~ 93K as of April 30, 2014. New subscription transactions increased 42% YTD.
AUSTIN CULTUREMAP – May 3 – Firefly is a new app that launched in Austin last week. Users login with their Facebook profile. Each day the app matches them with a few their Facebook friends' single friends. The plans are to keep it local for now.
SEEKING ALPHA – May 1 - Zoosk has encouraging financials. Its 2013 revenue was $178.2M, up 63% from 2012. Its loss narrowed sharply to $2.6M in 2013 from $20.7M a year earlier. At 168 employees, revenue per employee is ~$1M. Zoosk was founded in 2007, and has attracted ~$60M in VC backing. About half of Zoosk's users are outside the U.S. It has ~26M members, including 650K subscribers.
NEWSWEEK – May 1 – Zach Barnhorst, a clothing designer, used Tinder to encourage women to shop at his business. He saw a 200% increase in unique visits to his site, and was surprised by the positive feedback he received on Tinder. Tinder’s co-founder, Justin Mateen, has heard of the app being used by modeling agencies as a scouting device and by party promoters to send invites en masse. “All we are doing is allowing the introduction of two people,” says Mateen, whose co-founder, Sean Rad, used the app to hire his assistant. “We don’t even consider Tinder a dating platform – it’s a connection platform.” Traditional dating sites have also seen more users job hunting.
TECH CRUNCH – May 1 - You&Me and is the first standalone project out of the company. Users have a whole set of options for the type of messages they can send their partners. There are standard photo, text, and video messages, as well as the ability to send voice memos and their favorite song. The You&Me app is free and available now in the App Store.
OPW – May 1 – This graph blew us away. There's much hope in China, along with many challenges for China Internet dating sites. The top Internet Dating sites in China are Jiayuan, Baihe and Zhenai.
