BUSINESS INSIDER – Aug 9 – Match Group is targeting Japanese singles looking to get hitched with a marriage-concierge app. The company is launching Pairs Engage, a "more efficient and less expensive service geared to those who are highly motivated and want to get married within a year," CEO Mandy Ginsberg said. The app suggests 30 potential husbands or wives a month, and includes a 24/7 concierge service. Japan's $0.5B arranged-marriage industry revolves around physical stores that employ lots of salespeople and service staff, meaning they're expensive to run and pricey for consumers, Ginsberg said. Pairs Engage costs 9,800 yen ($92) per month, plus another 9,800 yen as a sign-up fee once the pre-registration period ends. After downloading the app, users must submit a raft of documents including proof of their identity, income, and single status, as well as education and national qualifications for graduates and some professionals.
Category: Outlets – Business Insider
Mandy Ginsberg’s Letter to Rosette Pambakian
BUSINESS INSIDER – Aug 7 – Former Tinder VP Rosette Pambakian is suing former Tinder CEO Greg Blatt, who she alleges sexually assaulted her. She is also suing Tinder's parent companies, Match Group and IAC/Interactive Corp., alleging that they covered up the assault and wrongfully terminated her employment. Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg said in a December 2018 email that Pambakian never reported Blatt for sexual harassment, and she was not terminated over a sexual harassment complaint. The email was written after an earlier lawsuit was filed in August 2018 when 10 employees and former employees, including Pambakian, sued Tinder's parent company IAC alleging it purposefully undervalued Tinder in an attempt to devalue early employee options. The current lawsuit says that Pambakian was placed on leave one day after the 2018 lawsuit was filed, and her employment was officially terminated in December 2018. "You were not terminated because you reported Greg for sexual harassment. You couldn't have been, as you never reported Greg for sexual harassment," Ginsberg wrote in her email to Pambakian. "You were terminated because it was not possible for you to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of your role as Tinder's spokesperson."
Elite Matchmakers Share Their Vetting Process
BUSINESS INSIDER – July 20 – Elite matchmakers shared their vetting process for high-net-worth clients as part of Business Insider's "Dating Like a Millionaire" series. Two of the matchmakers said they make house calls to get a better feel for a millionaire's lifestyle and personality. An organized home can indicate that the owner is a grown-up, whereas a messy home can be a red flag. "You can tell a lot from a person by looking through a keyhole," said Mairead Molloy of Berkeley International, who is based in London. Berkeley's pricing starts from £15K and goes up to £60K for private headhunting, with a year of unlimited introductions. Highly tailored packages can run up to £100K. Mother-daughter matchmaking duo Janis and Carly Spindel of Janis Spindel Serious Matchmaking Inc. in New York City also make house calls. They said: "We go in the fridge, their medicine cabinets, and their closets."
by Hillary Hoffower
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Bumble Owner Launches Independent Investigation Into Its Workplace Culture
BUSINESS INSIDER – July 10 – Badoo founder, Andrey Andreev, is launching an independent investigation into his workplace culture after an explosive report by Forbes. Forbes spoke to 13 former employees who described naked cocaine-fueled parties, software updates named after porn stars, and inappropriate remarks made by Andreev. Andreev said he has was "shocked and saddened" by the allegations and has brought in HR firm Peninsula Group to conduct an investigation.
by Isobel Asher Hamilton
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Ashley Madison to Offer Dating Coaches
INSIDER – June 6 – Ashley Madison, the dating app known for helping people find affair partners, is testing a dating coach feature in its app. The feature is marketed especially toward older men who don't have experience with online dating, according to Ashley Madison Chief Strategy Officer Paul Keable. The feature is currently in its testing phase in Brazil and the US, where selected existing users have been able to try it out since March.
Tinder Study: 1 in 5 LGBTQ People Come out on the Internet First
BUSINESS INSIDER – June 3 – According to a recent survey by Tinder, the LGBTQ community is more likely to come out online before formally coming out to friends or family. Tinder surveyed 1K LGBTQ users and asked them about their experiences coming out, being out, and having queer relationships.
Match Rolled Out Coaching Service – AskMatch
25% Of Adults Under 40 in Japan Are Still Virgins
Muzmatch Is for People Looking for Marriage
BUSINESS INSIDER – Jan 14 – Dating app Muzmatch claims ~1M users. Founded by an ex-Morgan Stanley banker, the app caters to Muslims who are looking to find a partner to marry. Muzmatch is mostly popular in Britain, the US and Canada. Shahzad Younas left his job as banker in June 2014 to learn how to build apps after he had the idea for the company. In April 2015, initially using almost $200K of his own savings, he launched the first version of the app from home, and grew it to 50K users around the world in less than a year. He met iOS engineer Ryan Brodie in April 2016. The pair revamped and relaunched the company in August 2016. In summer 2017, the duo raised ~$2M in seed investment. By halfway through 2018, they had 500K registered users. Muzmatch claims to be the only one in the world with a chaperon feature, which allows a friend or relative to be present in a chat. "There's an Islamic principle where when a guy and a girl are getting to know each other there should be a third party present," Younas says. "For some users it's important – if it didn't have that feature, they wouldn't use it." In October 2018, it launched ads on the London Underground with catchy phrases such as "Halal, is it me you're looking for?" It launched a second campaign in January with similarly tongue-in-cheek taglines.
Online Dating’s Side Effect
BUSINESS INSIDER – Dec 25 – Online dating has, one expert suggested, made it easier to leave unhappy relationships. According to Eli Finkel, a psychologist at Northwestern University and a professor at the Kellogg School of Management and the author of "The All-or-Nothing Marriage," there was a time when, if you wanted to meet someone else, you'd have to get dressed up and go to a bar. A few years ago, psychotherapist and relationship expert David Kavanagh was quoted saying something similar in The Independent: Infidelity is hardly new, but dating apps have made it easier for people who are unhappy in their relationships to find someone else.