TIMES OF ISRAEL – Feb 15 – Joe Shapira, the creator of JDate, developed a new app called Jfiix. Jfiix has been in use among Israelis for ~2 years and has ~250K users there, and three months ago an English version for US Jews was released as well. The app now claims 40K users in the US. Like Tinder, Jfiix offers location-based discovery, a chat function and right/left swiping.
Category: JDate
OPW Interview With Michael Egan, CEO Of Spark Networks, During iDate Miami
OPW – Feb 5 – Last year was a turnaround for Spark Networks. Four directors were voted out and new board came in. Michael Egan joined in as CEO in December 2014 from Internet Brands. Since the company had no proper mobile product, a lot of effort in 2015 was put into building a mobile dating app. They launched dating app Spark, which was an experiment, and later Crosspaths, a Tinder-like dating app within the Christian community, that has now ~20K monthly active users in LA.
Michael Egan also talked about JSwipe acquisition. Last summer Spark Networks sued Jewish dating app JSwipe but soon realized that JSwipe user base was very complementary to jDate (90% of JSwipe users are under 30, jDate users are 35+), and decided to buy it instead for $7M.
Spark Networks Paid $7M For JSwipe
SEEKING ALPHA – Dec 14 – Spark Networks paid $7M for a Jewish dating app JSwipe to boost its younger demographic in the Jewish Networks segment. JSwipe has ~450K users. Spark Networks pursued a patent infringement claim against then-competitor JSwipe in 2014. What started as a lawsuit ultimately ended in a key acquisition for Spark Networks.
See full article at SeekingAlpha
See all posts on Spark Networks
See all posts on JSwipe
This post also appear on InternetDatingInvestments.
JDate And ChristianMingle Get Makeovers
MARKETWIRED – Nov 18 – Spark Networks' JDate and ChristianMingle have both been redesigned to debut sleek new appearances, improve back-end platforms, and provide easier-to-use functionality.
Spark Networks Sued JSwipe First, Now It Is Buying It
MARKETWIRED – Oct 14 – Spark Networks, owner of JDate.com, is acquiring Smooch Labs, the owner of a millennial Jewish dating app – JSwipe. JSwipe now boasts ~450K downloads worldwide and ~40M messages between users. It plans to offer premium, paid features. The purchase price will be recorded in Spark's Q4 2015 financial statements. The founders of Smooch will join Spark Networks as a subsidiary of the company and will continue to play an active role in managing the JSwipe product.
See full article at Marketwired
See all posts on Spark Networks
See all posts on JSwipe
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Dating Apps: Tech Doesn’t Matter, Says Sex Columnist
NYMAG – Oct 6 – Users choose dating apps the same way they choose bars – based on the people. The make-or-break factor in whether users stick around, is the crowd. With new apps getting launched every few months, the dating app people will like best is the one that happens to have a user base that fits the demographic of people they want.
Here's a breakdown of some of the dating apps Maureen O'Connor, a sex columnist, have experimented with:
- Tinder: Single people who hang out at bars.
- OKCupid: Single people who hang out at coffee shops.
- Match: Squares.
- JDate: Jewish squares.
- eHarmony: Christian squares.
- Ashley Madison: Horny married guys.
- Blendr: Horny single guys.
- Happn: People with nice jeans who live near your subway stop.
- Coffee Meets Bagel: Risk-averse nice guys.
- The League: Hedge funds and Hamptons.
Dating apps, like all social situations, are malleable. They're whatever people want them to be.
JSwipe Attempts Crowdfunding Campaign To Save Itself From JDate
OBSERVER – Aug 5 – David Yarus, founder of JSwipe, launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise $180K to protect itself against a suit by Spark Networks, the parent company of JDate. Supporters have committed $12K so far. JDate claims that JSwipe has violated its trademark, using the letter J. It also claims that JSwipe has violated its patent on an “apparatus for detection of reciprocal interests or feelings and subsequent notification.” JSwipe is a ten month-old startup, similar to Tinder. "Our case against JSwipe is about their theft of our technology and their brazen attempt to build a business on the back of JDate,” said Michael Egan, CEO of Spark Networks.
by Brady Dale
See full article at Observer
Jdate Sues Jswipe For Using The Letter “J”
FORBES – July 24 – Spark Network's Jdate discreetly filed a lawsuit late last year against Jswipe, the Jewish ‘Tinder’, claiming intellectual property over the letter “J” within the Jewish dating scene. Jdate also claims it owns the patent on software that “confidentially determines matches and notifies users of mutual matches in feelings and interests.” Jswipe, like Tinder, notifies users when their romantic interest ‘swipes right’ on their picture, violating Jdate’s patent. It is not clear why Jdate only goes after Jswipe. There are other apps using "J" including Jcrush, Jwed, Jzoog. Spark Networks refused to comment.
by Gregory Ferenstein
See full article at Forbes
Review & Highlights From iDate Las Vegas
OPW – Mar 26 – Here is the review and highlights from the last iDate that took place in January in Las Vegas. Executives from Match.com (including Tinder), eHarmony, Zoosk, JDate (Osmium Partners) and POF attended this year.
Algorithms Work But People Need To Be Honest
NATIONAL POST – Feb 18 – LA PhD student Chris McKinley applied his mathematical skills to OkCupid to “hack” their algorithms, transforming his empty inbox into a treasure trove of compatible mates and, 88 dates later, a marriage proposal. Then tech CEO Amy Webb, similarly luckless on JDate, created her own algorithm using 72 traits to land a husband. “Algorithms can mathematically continue to become more precise in terms of connecting like-minded and similar people,” says Amarnath Thombre, president of Match.com, “but there will always be magic to love.” Match uses 1,500 parameters in a “love equation” with a feedback mechanism. So “the more users rate, the better they date,” he says. In a new commercial, eHarmony asks: “Do you want fast or forever?” As it turns out, lots of people prefer fast, like Tinder.
by Rosemary Counter
See full article at National Post
See all posts on eHarmony See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on OkCupid See all posts on JDate