In 1999 Andreev launched the web analytics service SpyLog, and in 2002, the contextual ad service "Begun". Andreev created the Russian dating service "Mamba" a year later. The service made its first revenues through SMS. In Oct. 2005, with 4.5M members, Finam bought it for $20M, enough to launch Badoo in 2006, a service combining the dating and social networking. At the end of 2017 there were 370M members.
Andreev lived for many years in Spain, and his knowledge of the Spanish mentality helped him promote Badoo in Europe and Latin America. But to conquer more competitive markets in the US and English-speaking countries, this was not enough. In order to enter the American market, Andreev bought Hot Or Not in 2014. He then introduced swiping.
He now launches new companies only if there's a manager able to deal with operations, while he deals with the financing, product support and monetization. Andreev helped Huggle in exchange for a stake, and also in Chappy.
Bumble launched Dec. 2014 and had 100k downloads the first month. The idea of a dating service where women take the initiative turned out to be a godsend for the American market. He invested $10M for a 78.21% stake. Herd became CEO and took a 20% stake. $100M revenue is expected in 2017, and double this year.
"The service is significantly different from Badoo. Guys will go where there are a lot of girls, and are attracted to proactive girls who think in a modern way and are ready to take the first step," explains Mark Brooks about the secret of Bumble's success. Tinder has 50M active users and worth is estimated at $3B. Bumble has 23M users. This year, Herd refused to sell it for $450M to Match Group. In the autumn Match reportedly upped its offer to over $1B. In the past, Andreev was offered to sell Badoo for several hundred million dollars, says Mark Brooks, and now the company, "But it seems to me that Andreev is not ready to retire," the expert concludes.
by Alexandr Baulin & Clare O'Connor
See full article at Forbes
See all posts on Mamba See all posts on Huggle
See all posts on Badoo See all posts on Chappy
See all posts on HotorNot See all posts on Bumble
Looks like Badoo claims to have beaten Tinder to launching swiping. So, first – Tinder definitely holds the patent: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9733811. See the second column.
Jonathan Badeen also claims, he invented swiping:
http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-swipe-right-inventor-how-he-came-up-with-it-2016-11
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/06/how-a-tinder-founder-came-up-with-swiping-and-changed-dating-forever.html
also this article claims it for Tinder:
https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/tinders-sean-rad-no-question-invented-swiping/1355899
On the other hand, Andrey Andreev claims, they invented it long before TInder and other apps started using it, for example in this article: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meet-andrey-andreev-the-man-behind-badoo-the-worlds-biggest-dating-app-f3qql99zs.
But he gives no details. The only way would be to get a version of the app from the “before Tinder” times.
He claims in the Forbes article, they introduced swiping on Hot or Not. The article says he bought Hot or Not in 2014, and than introduced swiping. Tinder launched in 2012 and was using the feature, plus the Tinder patent is from 2013.
BUT: It looks like Badoo had some sort of deal with Hot or Not since Spring 2012: https://techcrunch.com/2012/04/02/has-dating-site-badoo-found-a-love-match-in-the-form-of-hotornot/. Tinder launched that fall.
This Forbes article says Badoo bought Hot or Not in 2014 and tested the swiping on Hot or Not. But Tinder patented it in 2013, so, I think, it’s quite clear who wins in this case.
Looks like Badoo claims to have beaten Tinder to launching swiping. So, first – Tinder definitely holds the patent: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9733811. See the second column.
Jonathan Badeen also claims, he invented swiping:
http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-swipe-right-inventor-how-he-came-up-with-it-2016-11
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/06/how-a-tinder-founder-came-up-with-swiping-and-changed-dating-forever.html
also this article claims it for Tinder:
https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/tinders-sean-rad-no-question-invented-swiping/1355899
On the other hand, Andrey Andreev claims, they invented it long before TInder and other apps started using it, for example in this article: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meet-andrey-andreev-the-man-behind-badoo-the-worlds-biggest-dating-app-f3qql99zs.
But he gives no details. The only way would be to get a version of the app from the “before Tinder” times.
He claims in the Forbes article, they introduced swiping on Hot or Not. The article says he bought Hot or Not in 2014, and than introduced swiping. Tinder launched in 2012 and was using the feature, plus the Tinder patent is from 2013.
BUT: It looks like Badoo had some sort of deal with Hot or Not since Spring 2012: https://techcrunch.com/2012/04/02/has-dating-site-badoo-found-a-love-match-in-the-form-of-hotornot/. Tinder launched that fall.
This Forbes article says Badoo bought Hot or Not in 2014 and tested the swiping on Hot or Not. But Tinder patented it in 2013, so, I think, it’s quite clear who wins in this case.