BUSINESS TIMES – Feb 10 – "Our Annual Dating Survey in 2020 revealed that the pandemic caused singles to feel a longing for a real, meaningful connection with someone", said Lunch Actually's CEO and co-founder Violet Lim. The shift to virtual consultations and dates required training the matchmaking team and convincing clients to get on board. Revenue fell by nearly half in April during the adjustment period, but quickly bounced back to pre-Covid numbers the following month. The numbers hit an all-time high in Q4 2020. In total, Lunch Actually arranged ~800 virtual dates last year with positive feedback, and Ms Lim believes the company’s digital initiatives could be a breakthrough that will last beyond the pandemic.
Month: February 2021
Bumble IPO: The Female Founder Behind Bumble Making Market History
CNBC – Feb 10 – There are now more than 20 female founders to take companies public, but the venture capital and IPO market have a long way to go, as funding to women-led start-ups hit a three-year low in 2020. When Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd launched the dating app in 2014, she wanted to solve a real-world 21st century relationship problem: how to find love for the millions of women just waiting around for men. Seven-years later, the company that prides itself on its female-first approach, has garnered a devoted following. As of the Q3 of 2020, it boasted 42M active users. Between Jan 29 and Sept 30, Bumble reported revenue of $376.6M and a net loss of $84M, slim gains in comparison to Match Group. Bumble's focus on women could limit its growth potential, according to a Wall Street Journal article from Sep that argued Bumble has "a way to go" in order to compete with Tinder in the international market.
Marie Claire Partners With eHarmony
MARIE CLAIRE – Feb 10 – Marie Claire teamed up with eHarmony to help its readers find love over this wild time. The first 100 subscribers who sign up to the app will receive a free copy of romantic novel "The Woman Who Wanted More by Vicky Zimmerman".
by Sarah-Rose Harrison
See full article at Marie Claire
Scott Valdez, VIDA Select CEO: Why Singles Need a Coach
ATLANTA MAGAZINE – Feb 10 – The owner of Atlanta-based VIDA Select explains why single people need an online dating coach. Busy with work and unsuccessful in love, Scott Valdez decided to leave flirting to a pro. Now, it's his business. "Men sometimes are frustrated online because they haphazardly throw together a profile and start to send random messages. You get good results online by having the best possible photos and by standing out in your profile text and your messages. With data, we can see exactly what words or emojis or photos work best. The person we're messaging with doesn't know the person is using VIDA Select. Some people think this method is deceiving, but we've been successful in representing our clients in a way that they feel is accurate," he explains.
Mozilla Privacy Report Singles out Grindr for Serious Security Lapses
TECH REPUBLIC – Feb 10 – 21 of the 24 dating apps examined were tagged with the "*Privacy Not Included" warning label, noting that apps like Grindr are a "privacy and security nightmare." Mozilla researchers dug deep into the privacy policies and security practices of dating sites, pressing companies with questions like "Can this app or product snoop on me? What data is being collected and who is it shared with? What is the company's track record for protecting users' data? And, What could happen if something goes wrong?" Grindr continues to share other user data, like location, with third parties. Plenty of Fish is also mandating information like users' vehicle ownership and their parents' marital status," the study noted. Lex, built for the lesbian, queer, trans, and non-binary community, collects minimal data, and doesn't share it for marketing purposes. Further, their privacy policy is crystal clear. eHarmony is another app that respects users' privacy and security.
by Jonathan Greig
See full article at Tech Republic
See the top news on Grindr See the top news on POF
See the top news on eHarmony See the top news on Lex
Spark Networks’ Survey: Love in Lockdown
PR NEWSWIRE – Feb 10 – Spark Networks has released comprehensive results from several 2020 'Love in Lockdown' surveys, which collected data on dating during the pandemic. Highlights:
- In 2020, there was a 16% increase in users reporting that they found love on one of Spark's three largest U.S. sites (Zoosk, EliteSingles, SilverSingles)
- 51% of people say that experiencing social distancing has made them more motivated to look for a partner
- 38% don't want to be single on Valentine's Day
- 65% still want to celebrate Valentine's Day, even if it's socially distanced
Aussie Singles Lost $37M to Romance Scams Last Year
YAHOO FINANCE – Feb 10 – Australians are set to spend $1.1B on Valentine's Day gifts and experiences this year, but while love is in the air, romance scams are everywhere. Aussies reported ~3,5K dating and romance scams in 2020, with 35% of those scams resulting in a loss, according to Scamwatch data. In total, singles lost $37.2M to these kinds of scams last year – a large portion of which occurred in February.
eHarmony’s New Inclusive Ads Are Enraging Some on the Right
NBCNEWS – Feb 10 – eHarmony began offering same-sex matches in 2019. This winter, it launched its first queer-inclusive commercial, featuring a lesbian couple. The ad, "I Scream," is part of eHarmony's current "Real Love" campaign. Launched in 2000 by Neil Clark Warren and his son-in-law, Greg Forgatch, eHarmony initially only offered heterosexual matches. Publicly, Warren claimed that was because he had no expertise when it came to gay dating. After settling a discrimination lawsuit in New Jersey in 2008, eHarmony agreed to launch Compatible Partners, a separate dating site that enabled users to make same-sex matches. CompatiblePartners.com started redirecting to the main eHarmony site in November 2019, and the LGBTQ usership has grown 109% YOY. The right-wing Christian group One Million Moms, which is part of the conservative American Family Association, launched a petition on Jan 29 criticizing the "I Scream" commercial as an "attempt to normalize and glorify the LGBTQ lifestyle," which it calls "unnatural and immoral." The petition received ~15,300 signatures.
AlterMe Is a New Social App That Lets Users Chat as 3D Avatars
OPW – Feb 9 – The new social avatar app AlterMe allows users to instantly create their 3D digital persona. It offers a vast collection of cool hairstyles, trendy clothes and futuristic costumes. Then it matches users algorithmically based on their age, look and other parameters, creating 1-2-1 chats to see if they hit it off. The AlterMe popularity is rising in the US and Asia. "Our app is a place, where users can just hang out and be themselves without any social pressure, where nobody can be judged for the way they look. And they seem to be enjoying it a lot", says Anton Boganskiy, CEO of the London based startup.
This post also appears on VerySocialNetwork
Celebrity Patti Stanger to Speak at LTR Edition 5
OPW – Feb 12 – Patti is Executive TV Producer & Star of "The Millionaire Matchmaker'.
TOPIC: Interview – Thoughts On How The Dating Industry Can Improve
Patti Stanger is the world's most prominent matchmaker and starred in and was executive producer of 'The Millionaire Matchmaker' for seven years on Bravo. She is also author of a number of dating books including the best seller 'Become Your Own Matchmaker.' Patti is the Simon Cowell of dating. Forthright, and incredibly insightful, she will give us her thoughts on how the dating industry can improve in this interview with Mark Brooks.
LTR Edition 5 is on Thursday 18th Feb starting 11:30am EST (New York). If you hold a full time leadership role at an Internet dating company then you are welcome to join IDEA for free, and welcome to join LTR events for free. See the LTR Edition 5 overview and invite page here. Email mark@courtlandbrooks.com to RSVP for LTR. There are 80 places only.
LTR is kindly sponsored by RealMe, vPaaS by Meet Group, Utopia Analytics, Real Gifts, and Courtland Brooks