Month: September 2018

The Story Behind Lunch Actually

Posted on September 10, 2018

Lunchactually logo oct 15SOUTH ASIA GLOBE – Sep 6 – During a stint in the financial sector, Violet Lim spotted a trend in the industry: successful singles with no avenue for meeting potential partners. Most of her friends had found their partners in university, after which meeting new people became increasingly difficult. “The concept of lunch dating really resonated with me because I saw my colleagues taking a midday lunch breaks.” She ran the idea past her then-boyfriend-now-husband, Jamie, and in 2004, the two decided to launch their own business – Lunch Actually, a dating service that connected busy professionals with lunch partners using traditional matchmaking consultations. The membership package would start at ~$2K. Right off the bat, Violet and Jamie landed $110K investment. Fourteen years on, Lunch Actually’s platforms have expanded to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan, and acquired four competitors. It staffs of ~120 consultants and other professionals, has arranged 125K successful dates and has become a multimillion-dollar company.

by Janelle Retka
See full article at South Asia Globe

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Summarized by the IDEA team

For India’s LGBTQ Community, Scrapping Section 377 Is Only The First Step

Posted on September 10, 2018

India gay rightsQUARTZ – Sep 6 – On Sep 6, the supreme court delivered a historic verdict, striking down the section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised homosexual activity. "Any discrimination on basis of sexual orientation amounts to a violation of fundamental rights," chief justice Dipak Misra said in his judgment. Though the verdict marks a win, the fight is still on inside and outside the courtroom as the LGBTQ community seeks acceptance in terms of marriage laws, adoption laws, and more.

by Ananya Bhattacharya
See full article at Quartz

Summarized by the IDEA team

Q&A With Paktor’s Founder

Posted on September 10, 2018

Paktor Ng Jing ShenTECH IN ASIA – Sep 6 – In the US, ~70% of tech startups "stall at some point" in the venture capital process and "fail to exit or raise follow-on funding," according to a 2017 report from research firm CB Insights, which followed ~1K companies. But startup activity in Southeast Asia has never been as robust as it is now, with funding for homegrown ventures hitting a record $7.86B in 2017. Tech in Asia interviewed founders of companies in different stages of growth.

Ng Jing Shen, co-founder and CEO, Paktor
Together with Joseph Phua, the former Amazon software engineer launched dating app Paktor in 2013. Ng has helped it grow to ~880K monthly active users, and Paktor now claims a user base of ~15M. Its largest markets are in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea.

Q: In a landscape dominated by US-based dating apps, how do we create a dating app more suitable for Asian culture?
A: We were aware that dating is extremely culturally sensitive, and the app we were creating needed to have its very own DNA.

Q: How should we differentiate ourselves from other dating apps?
A: We ensure high levels of localization in user experience.

by Daniel Tay
See full article at Tech In Asia

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Sugar Daddy Phenomenon In Africa

Posted on September 6, 2018

Busara center for behavioral economicsBBC – Sep 6 – In Kenya, more and more young women are using sugar daddies to fund a lifestyle worth posting on social media. This year the Busara Centre for Behavioural Economics conducted a study for BBC Africa in which they questioned 252 female university students between the ages of 18 and 24. They found that ~20% of the young women who participated in the research has or has had a "sponsor." No-one really knows how many sugar relationships end in sexual abuse or physical harm. Kenyan academics and NGOs have made extensive studies of domestic violence, and of the risks faced by sex workers. But on the subject of transactional sex there is no research.

by Nyasha Kadandara
See full article at BBC

Summarized by the IDEA team

Scruff’s Latest Update: Fighting Gay App Racism

Posted on September 4, 2018

Scruff screenshotADVOCATE – Sep 3 – Gay dating app Scruff has removed all programmatic advertising; it also no longer requires users to list their race or ethnicity. The first change means that Scruff will not display third-party ads from companies like Google's AdMob and Twitter's MoPub. These ads are automated by targeting specific demographics like the gay community, using data provided by the app. Instead, Scruff's advertising will focus on partnerships with LGBTQ nonprofits, health, and advocacy groups, as well as lifestyle and travel companies. In terms of the second change, Scruff will now only require users to share their name, email, and birthday – ethnicity and all other profile fields are optional.

by Daniel Reynolds
See full article at Advocate

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Study Finds Link Between Psychopathy And Using Tinder While In A Committed Relationship

Posted on September 4, 2018

Tinder mobile picPSYPOST – Sep 3 – People who use Tinder despite being in a committed relationship tend to be more psychopathic, according to new research published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. The researchers surveyed 1,486 Tinder users regarding their motives for using the app and their experiences with it. 22.4% reported using the app despite being in a committed relationship, and more than half of the Tinder users who were in a relationship reported they had used the app to meet someone. Partnered Tinder users reported lower scores on agreeableness and conscientiousness and higher scores on neuroticism and psychopathy compared to people in a committed relationship who did not use a dating app. Interestingly, partnered Tinder users with a higher score on psychopathy were also more likely to use Tinder for casual sex and reported a higher number of one night stands with other dating app users.

by Eric W. Dolan
See full article at PsyPost

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Summarized by the IDEA team

Fascinating Interview With Geoff Cook, CEO Of Meet Group

Posted on September 3, 2018

OPW INTERVIEW – Sep 3 – Meet Group has acquired Skout, Tagged and Lovoo, and has added video, in similar fashion to Momo, in the last year. Fascinating! I asked Geoff how the integrations are coming together, and monetizing.

Meet Group is ahead of schedule for enabling video, and are finding that audiences across their various geographic markets are very similar in terms of their behavior around video. Livestreaming really fits the dating context well, and actually helps solves a particular core problem with Internet dating. Many males and females are left out with Internet dating apps. They come to a dating platform to feel less lonely, and end up feeling more lonely. However, on Meet Group dating services, “livestreaming video enables them to replace feelings of loneliness with feelings of entertainment where they can actually engage with the broadcaster.” But its not all about entertainment. 56% of video users report that they meet in real life.

“Video monetizes extraordinarily well.” Meet Group went from zero revenue from ‘gifts’ to video broadcasters to a $37 million run-rate business from video gifts by July 2018. This is mainly from MeetMe and Skout. Meanwhile, Lovoo has been experimenting with bitcoin, but this is very fledgling and not a huge contributor to revenues yet.

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Post by Mark Brooks, CEO IDEA

Four Tinder Plaintiffs Drop Out Of Lawsuit

Posted on September 3, 2018

Tinder logo red backgroundTHE VERGE – Aug 31 – Rosette Pambakian, Joshua Metz, Jonathan Badeen, and James Kim are voluntarily withdrawing from their Match Group / IAC lawsuit today, claiming the company covertly tried to enact an arbitration agreement during their employment. All four plaintiffs worked at Tinder, which Match Group owns, up until they filed the lawsuit. At that point, Match / IAC placed them on administrative leave. They all seemingly signed the arbitration agreement. An arbitration agreement is a contract clause that prevents employees from taking legal concerns to court. Instead, they have to settle them privately with their employer. It's unclear why these plaintiffs would voluntarily sign an arbitration agreement, especially if they had been planning a lawsuit. Most likely, the plaintiffs didn't read their new contract closely or even realize what it said.

by Ashley Carman
See full article at The Verge

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Summarized by the IDEA team