SIFTED.EU – Mar 29 – Startups are finding digital solutions to fix love and relationships. The challenge now is getting investors to fall head over heels for them. This boom in 'relationship tech' is long overdue, according to Jas Bagniewski, the cofounder of Lover: a couples' sex therapy app. Lover charges $9.99/week. The app has attracted 5K paying users since launching last year in the US. Paired is a London-based app which gives couples daily communication prompts and coaching. The app boasts ~10k daily active users, and raised a $1M pre-seed round. The 10-person company is already targeting the US and Australian markets, and says its goal is to have 100K paying subscribers in the next 12-18 months. "It's definitely scalable," says Paired CEO and cofounder Kevin Shanahan, adding that retention rates are above-average for 'wellness' apps. As for how effective these apps are, the data generally looks promising. Marriage coaching app Lasting claims that 94% of its couples report new strengths. Lover reports that most users report a 50% drop in their distress score after using the product for just two weeks. Meanwhile, an independent study found 85% of Paired couples reported improved communication when using the app daily.
Month: March 2021
Latinx Dating App Chispa Partners With Party Card Game Tragos
Match Group Dodges Securities Fraud Suit for Now
LAW360 – Mar 26 – A Texas federal judge axed a shareholder's proposed class action alleging that Match Group turned a blind eye to a fraudulent user base in favor of profit, finding that the investors failed to demonstrate that Match made false or misleading statements about its financial and operational conditions.
Think Like a Behavioral Scientist to Amp up Your Influencer Marketing
The Rise of Multi-partner Relationships
BBC – Mar 27 – In 2016, a survey of 9K single US adults showed that one in five had previously been in a consensually non-monogamous relationship. A Canadian survey came up with roughly the same numbers a year later. Multiple non-monogamy-geared dating apps make it easy to find others looking for multiple partner relationships or sexual experiences. On Feeld, a poly and kink dating app, 60% of couples are looking for a third, says a company spokesperson.
Tinder Survey: Dating in the Pandemic
RECODE – Mar 27 – A new report from Tinder shows just how reliant people have become on online dating since the start of the pandemic. Conversations on average were 32% longer, there were 20% more messages per day in February of this year than there had been in February of last year. The number of swipes on Tinder broke 3B in a single day for the first time in March of 2020. People updated their bios ~50% more than they did before the pandemic. More serious concerns about politics and society cropped up in people's bios in the past year as well. About half of people on Tinder had a video chat during the pandemic.
Momo’s Q4 and 2020 Financial Results, Revenue Impacted by Covid-19
MOMO – Mar 25 – Q4 2020 net revenues decreased by 19% YOY to RMB3,795.2M ($581.6M). Net income decreased to RMB651M ($99.8M) from RMB1,055.9 in the same period of 2019. Monthly Active Users on Momo apps were 113.8M in Dec 2020, compared to 114.5M in Dec 2019. Total paying users, including 3.8M paying users of Tantan, were 12.8M, compared to 13.8M in Q4 2019. Full Year 2020 revenues decreased by 11.7% YOY to RMB15,024.2M ($2.3B). Net income was RMB2,103.5M ($322.4M), compared with RMB2,970.9M during the same period of 2019.
Dating App Snack Is Here to Usurp Tinder
DAILY HIVE – Mar 25 – Snack is a recently launched video dating app that combines the matching algorithms of dating platforms like Tinder with the ability to stream in real-time, like Instagram or TikTok. Vancouver-based founder Kimberly Kaplan came across a TikTok video of someone essentially putting out a dating ad for themselves. There was the hashtag for "single" in the caption, which showed 7B more "single" hashtags being used. "I had this realization that a video-first dating app is going to be the next wave of dating," said Kaplan. Snack has just secured $3.5M USD in pre-seed investment, which Kaplan is using to expand the 10-person team with at least five more hires in the next month or two, market the app to broaden reach, and make the app available for Android, not just iPhone. Snack allows users to upload videos, where people can then like each other's video posts.
“Safety Is Our Number One Priority”, Priti Joshi, Bumble
BUSINESS INSIDER – Mar 25 – After its anti body-shaming policy, Bumble has come up with a safety guide for women to combat online harassment. It has launched an initiative in partnership with Safecity, Red Dot Foundation's flagship public safety platform, to take a stand against racist, harassing, hate-driven speech, and bullying. The safety guide is aimed at equipping women to understand and recognize online harassment, suggestions on how to tackle difficult situations and resources available to prevent and combat digital abuse.
OkCupid co-Founders’ New SPAC Set to Begin Trading
SEEKING ALPHA – Mar 25 – A new SPAC put together by two OkCupid co-founders and a top former Tinder executive is set to begin trading after a $200M IPO, hitting the Nasdaq even as rival dating firm Bumble's stock continues to stumble. OkCupid co-founder and former Match Group CEO Sam Yagan serves as CEO of new SPAC Corazon Capital V838 Monoceros Corp., fellow OkCupid co-founder Christian Rudder will sit on Corazon's board, while Phil Schwarz, former CMO at Tinder, will serve as the SPAC's chief strategy officer.