POPSUGAR.CO.UK – Aug 21 – Bumble started as a dating app but over the years, it's become a social networking app. In October 2017, it launched Bumble Bizz for professional networking, and its Bumble BFF feature helps women forge friendships. Until now, the three features were a package deal. That all changed today, when Bumble began offering the ability to turn off dating mode.
Category: Bumble
Bumble Launches Influencer-Led Campaign
Bumble Launches A Fund To Invest In Other Female-Founded Startups
FORBES – Aug 15 – Bumble is launching Bumble Fund, a fund focused on investing in female-founded and female-led businesses. The fund, which Bumble says it has committed ~$1M to so far, will invest checks from $5k to $250k in companies that primarily serve women, with a focus on female founders from diverse backgrounds. Bumble's fund has already made commitments to a handful of businesses on an ad hoc basis. Those include prenatal and postpartum healthcare company Mahmee, beauty startup BeautyCon and swimwear startup Sofia Los Angeles, which was a winner of a pitch competition Bumble put on in the spring. Bumble also has invested in several female-focused investment funds including Female Founders Fund and Cleo Capital.
Dating App Bumble Unveils Winners Of Female-Focused Film Fund
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER – Aug 7 – Dating app Bumble has unveiled the five projects to receive funding from its first U.K.-based and female-focused film initiative. First unveiled in May in a bid to address the gender imbalance in the industry, the Female Film Force saw all-female teams of writers, directors and producers invited to submit short film projects, which would each receive a grant £20K. From ~1,200 applications, the five have now been selected.
HBO And Bumble Team Up For A Movie Campaign
Bumble Unveils Its Own Love Island-style Villa For 12 Lucky Singletons
BRINKWIRE – Aug 4 – Bumble has unveiled its own version of the famous villa in Majorca, in the form of a stunning property in Saxmundham, Suffolk. The dating app will send 12 men and 12 women to Moat Cottage – located on the Wilderness estate – which boasts six en-suite bedrooms, a large open plan living space, as well as a luxurious hot tub looking out over a lake. Those wishing to apply will have to submit a short video explaining why they should be chosen, after swiping to match with a special card in the app. Singletons wishing for a weekend of fun activities at 'Casa Bumble' in October can apply from next month to be in with a chance of being chosen.
Q&A With Mandy Ginsberg, CEO Of Match Group
RECODE – Aug 1 – On this episode of Recode Decode, Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg talks with Recode's Kurt Wagner about how her company became dominant in online dating. Ginsberg also talks about Facebook dating and her admiration for Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe, even as the two companies have traded lawsuits and barbed words in the press, and why it's natural for consumers of different ages to use different apps.
Q: When Facebook announced its entry into online dating, what was going through your mind? Were you surprised?
A: Yes, that actual day I was. I had just printed the script for our earning call and I threw it behind my desk, I just tossed it. It was not shocking because we've studied the single population and people were saying that they met their partners through Facebook. But it was surprising because Facebook has stayed away from online dating quite intentionally.
Q: Lets talk about Bumble. Where do you stand now?
A: I have a tremendous amount of respect for the brand and what Bumble has done and what Whitney has done. But we own a patent around swiping and unlocking communication, which we are really excited about. We never had that before. And honestly, you don't use a patent unless you feel that it's defensible because it's expensive, and it takes a long time. So anyway, we scoured, looked at all the competition. There were several competitors that were big that were infringing on the patent. And so we made a decision to go after Bumble, Tantan and some other ones too that we've actually sent letters to as well, that they've now adjusted their products or are in talks with us.
Q: What's the thinking when you are talking to a company about a potential acquisition and then you sue them?
A: Businesses and deals will come and go. This is about protecting the integrity of your work.
Tinder Vs. Bumble
DMAGAZINE – Aug 1 – Tinder and Bumble filed dueling lawsuits recently accusing each other of being copycats, among many other things. Tinder claims the fight is just business. But for Whitney Wolfe-Herd, the founder and CEO of Bumble, it's a story of deceit, betrayal, mad lust, and more generally the plight of women in business as victims of aggressive male domination. The similarities are what Match Group and Tinder are complaining about in the patent and trademark infringement suit filed by Match Group on March 16, 2018. Match Group has a 2014 registered trademark on the word "swipe" as used in "software for social introduction and dating services," as well as a utility patent for a "method for profile matching," and a design patent covering a flashcard-type graphical user interface for mobile devices. On March 28, 2018 – only 12 days after Match Group filed its suit – Bumble filed a separate lawsuit against Match Group with allegations that make the dispute sound personal. Bumble alleges that Match Group tried to buy Bumble for $450M in June 2017, which Bumble rejected as "unappealing." When Wolfe-Herd graced the cover of Forbes' "30 Under 30" issue in Dec 2017, Forbes said Match Group had made another proposal that fall which valued Bumble at $1B – again rejected. In its lawsuit, Bumble alleges that Match Group was asking Bumble to reveal its most valuable secrets so that Match Group could make another, higher, offer. Immediately after Bumble shared those secrets, Match Group filed its infringement lawsuit. Bumble's current pleading goes on to argue that Match Group is the real copycat: After Bumble launched its "Bumble Boost" feature in 2016, Tinder copied that with "Tinder Gold" in 2017. Then in February 2018, Match announced that Tinder will let female users choose whether only they can initiate conversations with future matches.
by Steve Thomas
See full article a DMagazine
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People Are Using Dating Sites To Find Jobs
MARKETWATCH – July 26 – Singletons are hitting up people on Tinder and OkCupid to promote their businesses and get ahead in their career. Dating sites are also branching out into the jobs market. Some former Tinder executives recently created Ripple, an app designed to compete with LinkedIn. Last year, Bumble launched Bumble Bizz, a site to make professional connections. Bumble has noticed that, amid this improving economy, people are often interested in a new professional opportunity, as well as a personal one. “Dating apps have become a very normalized way of meeting people professionally,” said Alex Williamson, chief brand officer of Bumble. “It’s a comfortable way to reach out and get to know someone else.” Prospective employers can learn a lot about others through their profiles and photos, including their character, personality and even their spelling.
by Alessandra Malito
See full article at MarketWatch
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Relationship Experts: Dating Apps Can Be Useful But Not Necessarily For Finding Love
BUSINESS INSIDER – July 25 – Claudia Duran is in the sometimes-helpful-but-mostly-making-things-worse camp: She uses the term "swipe vulture culture" to describe people's behavior on these services. Duran is a Miami-based matchmaker at dating service Elite Connections, where she charges $15K for a six-month membership. "People start to become reliant on that sort of high and instant 'Wow! They like me!'" It doesn't take long, she said, before "it really becomes an ego-feeding thing, rather than going out there, sitting with someone, and really just starting to get honest and vulnerable," she said. "The best thing about online dating is that it widens your pool of prospective mates," said Eli Finkel, who is a psychologist at Northwestern University, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management, and the author of "The All-Or-Nothing Marriage." Jess Carbino, Bumble's in-house sociologist recommends spending 30 minutes a day and then using the rest of your time to actually go on dates with people you've matched with.