NEW YORK TIMES – Feeld, which started as a dating app for couples and singles called 3nder in 2014, has, under Ana Kirova's leadership, positioned itself as a go-to for nonmonogamous, sex-positive and kinky people of all sexual orientations. It's also acquired a reputation as a space that fosters directness. Half of Feeld's users in the United States identify as something other than heterosexual, according to the company. Today, the company, which had about a dozen or fewer employees for many years, has ~100, with about one-third of those hired this year. Since receiving half a million dollars from an angel investor in 2016, Feeld says that it has remained profitable without any additional external support. Since 2015, it has offered subscription memberships. Recently, Feeld has also made the leap to IRL, hosting 31 in-person socials worldwide this year, with 200 attendees at each.
Category: Feeld
Feeld: a Dating App for Unconventional Relationships
FAST COMPANY – Feeld, a 10-year-old dating app for "open-minded individuals," has grown its user base to hundreds of thousands across 100 countries, with 40% identifying as non-heterosexual and one-third as part of a couple. The app focuses on facilitating unconventional arrangements and a wide array of kinks or fetishes, promoting a more transparent and judgement-free dating experience. Feeld has designed its platform to encourage explicit sharing of desires and reduce stigma, offering premium features such as sending private photos or anonymous browsing at ~$12 per month. Ana Kirova, Feeld's co-founder and CEO, reveals that the company has been profitable since 2017, primarily through word-of-mouth advertising.
Love You on Tinder. On Hinge, Not So Much.
NEW YORK TIMES – With many dating apps available to suit virtually any preference, each with its own unofficial norms and expectations, it's no surprise that users modulate their personalities from one dating app to the next. Whereas an app like Hinge incentivizes leading with details that suggest users are serious about finding a relationship, an app like Feeld welcomes those who put their kinkiest foot forward. Users adjust accordingly. David Coursi, a 29-year-old copy editor at an advertising agency, said that he almost had a missed connection with one woman he first matched with on Tinder – until she found him to be more appealing on Hinge.
by Gina Cherelus
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A Hookup App for the Emotionally Mature
THE NEW YORKER – Feeld describes itself as a technology for "open-minded singles and couples who want to explore their sexuality." It is free to sign up, although a paid membership, priced at $12/month, offers perks such as filters and let someone know that they like them. The app started in London. The app is popular with nonbinary and trans people, married couples trying to spice up their sex lives, hard-core B.D.S.M. enthusiasts, and "digisexuals," who prefer their erotic contact with others mediated by a screen. According to the company's data, the typical Feeld user is between twenty-five and thirty years old and lives in a big city. Feeld began, in 2014, with the story of Dimo Trifonov and Ana Kirova, two Bulgarian graphic designers in their early twenties who were living in London. Early in their relationship, Ana started having unexpected feelings for a French woman she'd met. They agreed to open their relationship. Trifonov decided to create his own app to facilitate threesomes. He called the project 3nder. After Tinder a cease-and-desist letter, which was followed by a trademark-infringement lawsuit, Trifonov rebranded the company as Feeld.
Sextortion Plaguing LGBTQ+ Dating Apps
AARP – Instead of seeking companionship on dating apps geared to the LBGTQ+ community, scammers are extorting others for cash or compromising photos. The fraud, called sextortion, has led the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue a warning after complaints from users of sites such as Grindr, Feeld and other dating apps. Typically, the offender poses as a potential partner on an LGBTQ+ dating app, sends their own explicit photos and asks for some in return. The scammer then threatens to share the images and conversation with the victim's friends, family or employer unless the target sends money, usually via a gift card.
Dating App Feeld Announces Minimum Salary of $80K for All Employees
PR NEWSWIRE – Feeld, the dating app with ~20 sexuality and gender options, announces all employees across the globe will be receiving a minimum salary of $80K (£60K) from January 2022. The new salary announcement, which will impact close to 40% of Feeld's full time staff, comes as the leadership team continues to be as transparent and accountable as possible whilst challenging the industry benchmarks.
Podcast: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
WID – In celebration of Global Diversity Awareness month, Women In Dating sponsored a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion podcast featuring Dayo Akinrinade (Africlick), Ana Kirova (Feeld) and Alexis Luerssen (Match) to discuss the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion within, and how their companies are offering equal opportunities to everyone.
FTC Warns of Extortionists Targeting LGBTQ+ Community on Dating Apps
BLEEPING COMPUTER – The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns of scammers targeting the LGBTQ+ community via apps such as Grindr and Feeld. Fraudsters pose as potential romantic partners on LGBTQ+ dating apps, sending explicit photos and asking their targets to reciprocate. Victims are blackmailed to pay a ransom, usually in gift cards, under the threat of leaking the imagery. To make threats more credible scammers will state the names of exactly who they plan to contact (found online by using a phone number or social media profile) if victims don't pay up. The FTC advises LGBTQ+ dating apps users to avoid sharing explicit photos. Online dating platforms including Grindr and Feeld have also warned their users.
This warning comes after a similar one issued by the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) who has seen a massive increase in sextortion complaints since January 2021, leading to financial losses of over $8 million until the end of July. It received 16k+ sextortion complaints thru July 31, almost half of them from victims age 20-39. Victims should contact law enforcement, and file a complaint with the FBI IC3 immediately at www.ic3.gov.
Meet Feeld’s CEO Ana Kirova
ELLE.COM – July 15 – Ana Kirova is the newly appointed CEO of Feeld, the new dating app for the sexually curious, to put it lightly. She believes the traditional rules for love, sex and relationships – such as deciding on your sexuality and sticking to it, or being committed to one person for life – are outdated. Feeld encourages users to search for connections based on shared sexual desires. Open-mindedness is key. Kirova is confident that the demand is there, pointing to research that shows one third of Americans say their ideal relationship is non-monogamous and that 35% of Gen Z question monogamous relationships. "New generations are more fluid,' she says. "They don't care so much about being straight or anything at all. They want to connect and live a life that is full and real." Kirova met Feeld founder Dimo Trifonov at a party while at university but, two months into their relationship, she started to have feelings for a woman she worked with. She wrote Trifonov a letter explaining her thoughts as a way to process them. He responded with care and warmth, explaining how ridiculous it was to feel so bad about something so normal. In response, Trifonov developed what is now Feeld (originally called 3nder – pronounced 'thrinder'): an app designed for twosomes to become threesomes, foursomes or moresomes.
Feeld, The ‘App for Threesomes’, Names Ana Kirova New CEO
PR NEWSWIRE – Apr 6 – Feeld, the world's largest dating app for singles and couples seeking open relationships, has appointed a new female CEO: Ana Kirova. Kirova takes over from Dimo Trifonov, who in 2014 founded the app inspired by Kirova and their relationship.