INDIANWEB2 – Nov 2 – Bumble launched in India last week by its founder Whitney Wolfe Herd and celebrity actor Priyanka Chopra, who is Bumble India's investor as well as brand ambassador of Bumble's India campaign. The app has Hindi language option too. The launch was done with a private dinner party at Gramercy Park Hotel in New York, hosted by Whitney Wolfe and Priyanka together. In India, Bumble will compete with local dating apps such as Woo and TrulyMadly besides Tinder of course. Bumble had a reported 22M users as of Nov 2017, and 27M downloads as of Feb 2018.
Month: November 2018
World Chess Launches Dating App Ahead Of World Championships
SCROLL.IN – Nov 2 – After coming up with a suggestive and rather bizarre logo for the World Chess Championships, the organisers of the event have launched a dating app for chess players. In association with dating service app, Pure, World Chess have unveiled Mates, a mobile dating platform to help find "a chess playing partner near you." Users, by uploading their photo, can create a profile that will remain online precisely for an hour. If there's a "match," they can agree on a location to play chess. The profiles and conversations will disappear after an hour – a feature that Mates believes would motivate people to act quickly in order to meet for a chess date. The World Chess Championship is slated to take place at The College in Holborn, London, between the 9th and 28th of November.
Matrimony.com’s September Quarter Profits Decline 30% YOY
TIMES OF INDIA – Nov 1 – Matrimony.com reported revenues of Rs 88.2 crore for the September quarter, posting a 5.4% growth from the same period last year, and a 1.5% fall from the June quarter. The company's net profit for the quarter stood at Rs. 13.4 crore, as against Rs 19.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2017, recording a 30% fall. The company attributed the decline in profit to higher marketing spend of almost Rs 5.8 crore incurred this period. "We will continue to invest additionally in marketing and as a result the EBITDA margin will be lower than the earlier period," said Murugavel Janakiraman, MD, Matrimony.com. ~95% of the company's revenue comes from its matchmaking business, while its marriage services.
by Sindhu Hariharan
See full article at Times of India
Why Dating Apps Are Trying To Stop Users Blanking Each Other
THE GUARDIAN – Nov 1 – Bumble and Badoo have announced plans to crack down on ghosting. Bumble has recruited an in-house 'ghosting' expert, Kate Leaver, and Badoo has introduced a series of suggested responses, such as: "Hey, I think you're great, but I don't see us as a match. Take care!" Leaver's role, building on the expertise she developed writing her book The Friendship Cure, is focused on pushing for "a revival of kindness and respect," she says. "People are ghosting everyone all over the place. I think they are too lazy, or too cowardly to have the difficult conversations," Leaver adds. "There has been some extreme psychological damage for people who are living without any explanation as to why they've been ghosted." Google, for instance, recently updated Gmail to introduce a feature called "nudges". The service prompts users to reply to emails that they "might have forgotten to respond to" and to "follow up" on emails they sent that never received a reply. While it can occasionally be useful, the feature is attempting to fight a symptom of information overload by adding more information to the pile. It's not enough to ignore an email. We now have to ignore it twice. Could nudging ghosters in the dating world simply add to the overload of the modern era? After all, as the psychologist Maya Borgueta has written in HuffPost, "ghosting is avoidance and often stems from fear of conflict. Which means that ghosting is about wanting to avoid confrontation, difficult conversations and avoid hurting someone's feelings." If that is the case, Badoo's pushy attempts to restart conversations could have the opposite effect: if you ghost because of a fear of confrontation, then it's not much help when your dating app begins confronting you.
by Alex Hern
See full article at The Guardian
Interview With CEO Of The Inner Circle, David Vermeulen
OPW INTERVIEW – Nov 1 – Dutch Tinder rival, The Inner Circle is a direct competitor to The League. The Inner Circle started out in Europe and then branched out across USA in 2016-2017, and in September 2018 they just launched in Singapore and Australia. Last month they won the Deloitte Fast 50 award, launched a VIP membership, and rang the gong at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
To what can you attribute Inner Circle's incredible growth in the past year?
There are 2 primary drivers that helped us grow. Firstly we see a trend of people becoming Tinder Tired. They are looking for quality alternatives that provide a more colourful experience. Because of this trend we have seen many users flocking to The Inner Circle. Secondly, over the past year we expanded to cities such as Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong where we found a very good click with singles.
What makes an Inner Circle event more than just a single's mixer?
Firstly, The Inner Circle offers a close community of people on the same page in life. This starts with a social dating experience online. Where people share who they are through their profiles and can meet with others who go to the same venues or are traveling to the same destinations. Secondly, our events are unique experiences built on years of experience. We make sure to partner with venues that are unique and one of the best in their city. Then we create an experience for our guests on top of that. It's a personal and fun night from start. When members are having a good time, the rest will follow naturally.
Do any other companies in Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 rankings stand out to you?
Adyen, our current payment provider for the desktop and mobile site was a winner of the Deloitte Fast 50 in the past. In 2018 they got listed at the stock exchange. Their company is a great inspiration for us.
Please give some advice to dating startups. What priorities would you advise them to start with?
Build something that has a wow-factor in it.
Listen to your customers.
Focus on growth – growth – growth.
For any new users that are just joining the Inner Circle, what are some tips and tricks for success on the app?
When you want to make a good impression in real life, you put your best foot forward. The same goes online. So first put time into sharing creatively who you are. Share your story through a nice combination of photos then complement this with a profile that shares something unique about you. As icing on the cake, lookup your favourite venues in town and share any trips that you have coming up. Treat people online with the same values that you would in real life. So pay genuine interest in the person that caught your eye, send them an authentic message and commit to a proper conversation. If you are in a rush and can't chat, simply share that you gotta shoot off and that you will get back in touch.
Which countries and markets had Inner Circle grown the most in and which markets do you hope to better serve in the future?
We see the concept of quality dating is working around the world. Opening in the US was a very exciting period and the main US cities now form an important foundation of The Inner Circle. However the US market is enormous, with many buzzing cities. It will be an exciting challenge and opportunity to make a bigger mark on the US.
Is It Natural to Judge Someone in 5 Seconds
OPW – Dec 1 – This video recreates the swiping sensation in real life for one man vs 30 women. Interesting.