Month: November 2018
Dating Apps Could Cause an Explosion in HIV, NHS Expert Warns
Lessons from David Vermeulen, Founder of The Inner Circle
REAL BUSINESS – Nov 22 – The Inner Circle launched in the UK in 2013, had €4.9M in revenue in 2017 and employs 12 people. The crux of Vermeulen's business idea came from personal experience, Vermeulen was looking for love himself. Living in London in 2012, he was trying all the different apps the internet had to offer. But they were high on user traffic, but low on quality user experience. "The bad dates were a catalyst for me. With The Inner Circle, I wanted the focus to be on good quality people meeting on a good quality platform." The website took traction in Amsterdam first, and then London. "But the game changer came a year later when launching the app itself," says Vermeulen. "Tinder became a little like MacDonald's. It's addictive and you want more, but as soon as you consume it, you feel sick." "We achieved a €8k turnover during our first month. By our second, it was €23k." There was huge pressure for Vermeulen to manage this growth effectively. With every launch in every city you make a lot of mistakes, and initially, we were launching across many cities at once, so we made a lot of mistakes. "We took a step back and took it city by city," says Vermeulen. As we stand, in late 2018, the demand for what The Inner Circle offers daters shows no signs of slowing. There are ~1.2M people on the waiting list. But what Vermeulen is most proud of is the wall of baby photos that are sent by couples who met on his app.
by Annie May Noonan
See full article at Real Business
Tinder Is Aping Bumble to Beat Bumble in India
QUARTZ INDIA – Nov 22 – Tinder is launching "My Move" in India, that lets women to make the first move. My Move takes on one of Bumble's hallmark feature of allowing only women to begin conversations on the app. Besides, Tinder is also making space for more gender identities. Q&A with Tinder's India head, Taru Kapoor:
Q: In 2015, Tinder said India was its top market in Asia. How has the growth story been since then?
A: India continues to be our top market in Asia and one of our fastest-growing markets.
Q: You're reportedly struggling to get women on board in India.
A: Women are becoming more engaged on Tinder in India. In our society, women face a lot more barriers and judgement.
Q: Why did Tinder choose to launch "My Move" only in India?
A: We are constantly looking at ways to grow our user experience, and we don't believe we're ever done. There are some women who prefer to take the lead.
Q: Bumble is entering India. Will that mean a fiercer battle for market share?
A: Competitors come and go. We are not really focused on market share. We are the market leader. We've done that because we focused on giving value to our users. As long as users find our experience great, we'll probably continue to grow.
Q: Priyanka Chopra has partnered with Bumble in India. Are you also looking at some such tie-up?
A: We have a history of partnering with a lot of celebrities, brands, and communities that resonate with our user base.
Q: Why did Tinder choose to launch more genders at this moment in India?
A: We believe we have a responsibility to send a message about inclusiveness, acceptance, and equality.
Q: How important will India be for Tinder in the future?
A: There are ~100M young single smartphone users in India today. That's a large demographic, and it's growing. We expect that online dating will become more and more popular.
Q: Are you also targeting smaller cities?
A: Tinder is growing in smaller cities. In fact, in smaller cities, we have grown faster in the last one year.
Q: What is Tinder's team size in India?
A: Currently, we are a small team focused on marketing, localisation, and understanding the consumer.
The Subtle Way Dating Apps Reinforce Our Racial Biases
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Crush App Now Includes Questions About Political Affiliation
Reasons Momo’s Stock Is Down
CHINA KNOWLEDGE – Nov 21 – Momo is known for its live-streaming platform and dating app Tantan, dubbed as the "Tinders of China". Momo's revenue grew 50% YOY in the past three quarters. But the company has seen its share price fall by ~40%. The company faces some domestic headwinds in the near future. Firstly, China is imposing stricter regulations on its social media and video streaming market. Live-stream services have to fill up the Internet Content Provider (ICP) form and gain certificates for their services. The new measures also require real name registration. The new measure may put a dent on Momo earnings and future growth as the company may need to hire more people to enforce standards on its platform to prevent it from being shut-down. Next, the company also faces increasing competition such as Huya. Huya currently claims ~91.5M MAU which isn't far from Momo.
The full article was originally published at China Knowledge, but is no longer available.
What Dating Apps Can Tell Us About Why We Fall in love
THEWEEK.CO.UK – Nov 21 – How and why people fall in love is still not entirely clear. Scientists are aligned in saying that opposites don't generally attract. Rather, we tend to love people who share our values and outlook on life and who are of similar age and attractiveness. Falling in love is a slow process that can take months, but recognising the potential for love can happen quickly. It takes seven seconds or less to form a first impression of somebody and know whether there is a spark. Humans make unconscious judgements using visual cues. With dating apps however, we have to rely on static photographs and written conversations. Badoo users tend to match with similarly aged people and with those of similar popularity. The attraction happens after the swiping process. But Badoo users tend to message just 50% of their matches so swiping "yes" is therefore not necessarily an indicator of attraction. When the messaging starts, it takes users around two days and 20 messages to decide whether to date someone. This is slower than in person, which is why Badoo encourages its users to go on dates early.