Month: March 2019

U.S. Pushes Chinese Owner of Grindr to Divest the Dating App

Posted on March 27, 2019

Grindr icon black yellowREUTERS – Mar 26 – Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd is seeking to sell Grindr, the gay dating app it has owned since 2016, after a U.S. government national security panel raised concerns about its ownership. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has informed Kunlun that its ownership of Grindr constitutes a national security risk. Kunlun had said last August it was preparing for an IPO of Grindr. As a result of CFIUS' intervention, Kunlun has now shifted its focus to an auction process to sell Grindr outright. Grindr has hired investment bank Cowen Inc to handle the sale process, and is soliciting acquisition interest from U.S. investment firms, as well as Grindr's competitors. Kunlun acquired a majority stake in Grindr in 2016 for $93M. It bought out the remainder of the company in 2018.

by Carl O'Donnell, Liana B. Baker & Echo Wang
See full article at Reuters

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Spotify Used Tinder in Their Ads in India

Posted on March 27, 2019

AFAQS – Mar 26 – Spotify launched in India on February 27 with 40M tracks to choose from and the advertising that followed in Mumbai and Delhi drew emphasis on their playlist offering. Spotify has taken special permission from Tinder to use the brand name for its campaign.

Spotify tinder banner
by Aishwarya Ramesh
See full article at afaqs!

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Tinder Study: Aussie Ys Embracing Singledom

Posted on March 26, 2019

Tinder logo jan 17B&T MAGAZINE – Mar 26 – A new study by Tinder into the dating habits of 20-something Aussies has found they appear to be utterly terrified of long-term relationships.

  • 86% of respondents said being single positively affects their lives
  • 90% go on one or two dates per week and 77% agreed that single people are more open to new experiences
  • 25% said they would not sacrifice their sleep or personal space for a partner
  • 51% said they worry or are uneasy about being in a full-time relationship
  • 31% said they go on dates to learn more about themselves and what they want in a partner
  • Women are more likely to say that being single made them feel independent (57% compared to men at 48%)

See full article at Bandt.com.au

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Whitney Wolfe Testifies in Favor of Digital Sexual Harassment Bill

Posted on March 26, 2019

Bumble whitney wolfe nov 2018STATESMAN – Mar 26 – Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of Austin-based Bumble, urged a panel of lawmakers on Monday to support a measure that would criminalize the sending of unsolicited nude or sexual photos. Executives of Bumble worked with Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, to file House Bill 2789 earlier this month. The effort marked the company's first time lobbying for legislation at the statewide level, a Bumble spokeswoman said. The measure would make it a Class C misdemeanor – punishable by a fine up to $500 – to send a lewd photo without the consent of the recipient. The bill includes content sent via text message, social media or online dating apps.

by Nicole Cobler
See full article at Statesman

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Bumble Eager to Fund More Women Entrepreneurs

Posted on March 26, 2019

Bumble fund logo yellowBIZWOMEN – Mar 30 – Bumble is accepting applications from startups seeking capital from its investment fund. Investments range from $5K – $250K. Bumble has invested in four more companies, including Houston-based Alice, which uses artificial intelligence to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses and acts as a virtual startup accelerator.

by Mike Cronin
See full article at BizWomen

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Tinder co-Founder Asks Court to Dismiss $250M Lawsuit From Tinder’s Owner

Posted on March 26, 2019

Tinder sean rad jan 2017THE VERGE – Mar 26 – Tinder co-founder and former CEO Sean Rad has asked the New York Supreme Court to dismiss a $250M lawsuit against him by Match Group and IAC, the owners of Tinder. Match claims that Rad copied internal files and proprietary information before he left the company, violating his employment contract. In his motion to dismiss, however, Rad says the contract gave him the right to back up internal emails and hold on to those correspondences even after his tenure at Tinder ended. Match's claims are meant to counter a multibillion-dollar lawsuit from Rad. In August 2018, Rad and other former Tinder employees sued Match Group and IAC over claims that the company purposefully undervalued Tinder to avoid having to pay the team billions more in equity. Now Match is countersuing, alleging that Rad copied "highly sensitive, non-public information" about Tinder business strategies and plans.'

by Ashley Carman
See full article at The Verge

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Bumble to Host 2nd Annual March Madness, Beer Pong Party

Posted on March 26, 2019

Bumble march madnessPATCH.COM – Mar 26 – Bumble has scheduled its 2nd annual March Madness Watch Party + Beer Pong Tournament for Saturday, March 30, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Parlor & Yard, 601 W 6th St. March Madness games will be on display throughout the place. A mini Pong tournament consisting of eight teams between 2 tables will take place, with the winners of each table playing in the championship for a prize pack courtesy of Bumble.

by Tony Cantu
See full aticle at Patch.com

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Founder of Muzmatch: ‘Muslims Don’t Date, We Marry’

Posted on March 25, 2019

Muzmatch logoBBC – Mar 25 – Shahzad Younas is the founder and CEO of Muslim dating site and app Muzmatch. Two years ago, Shahzad was in San Fran pitching Muzmatch at a global competition to win backing from prestigious Silicon Valley investment firm Y Combinator. He opened his address to the room by saying: "Muslims don't date, we marry." Y Combinator offers financial and practical support to a number of new start-ups per year. ~13K applied at the same time as Muzmatch, and it was one of 800 whose founders were invited to pitch in person. Muzmatch was given $1.5M (£1.2M), one of 100 start-ups that got backing in 2017. Today the fast-growing company says it currently has ~1M registered users across the UK and other countries. With a second office in Bangladesh, Muzmatch operates a "freemium" business model. It is free to use its basic service, but users can pay ~£10 a month for extra features such as unlimited viewing of profiles, and having their profile seen by more people. The company says its annual turnover is now~£4.5M.

by Sarah Finley
See full article at BBC

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Most Popular Dating Apps

Posted on March 25, 2019

PCMAG – Mar 25 – PCMag surveyed dating-app preferences across the US. Tinder was the most popular, winning 27 states. Match was the most popular in 17 states, and Bumble came in third. PCMag has surveyed ~2K US consumers.

Dating apps state by stateby Rob Marvin
See full article at PCMag

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Bumble Hires First VP of Partnerships

Posted on March 23, 2019

Bumble michele tobinTHE DRUM – Mar 21 – Michele Tobin joins Bumble as its first VP of partnerships, having previously served as VP of global brand partnerships and advertising at Grindr.

by Katie Deighton
See full article at The Drum

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