BUSINESS INSIDER – Dec 22 – Here are the top grossing Android apps in 2018 according to data from Sensor Tower.
10. HBO Now – $38.5M revenue
9. LINE Manga – $49.4M
8. KakaoTalk – $57.4M
7. Azar – $66.1M
6. Netflix – $97.8M
5. Bigo Live – $100.4M
4. Line – $105.4M
3. Pandora – $132M
2. Google Drive – $164.3M
1. Tinder – $274.9M
BUSINESS INSIDER – Dec 17 – Using data from Sensor Tower, here is a list of the 10 apps downloaded from the App Store that brought in the most revenue in 2018. Half of them are from China.
10. Hulu – $132.6M in revenue Video streaming service
9. QQ – $159.7M Instant messaging platform
8. Youku – $192.9M Video streaming service
7. Pandora – $225.7M Music streaming platform
6. YouTube – $244.2M Video sharing platform
5. Kwai (Kuaishou) – $264.5M Social video-sharing network
4. iQiyi – $420.5M Video streaming platform
3. Tinder – $462.2M Dating platform
2. Tencent Video – $490M Video streaming service
1. Netflix – $790.2M Video streaming service
INSIDER – Dec 6 – The Inner Circle is a selective dating app with 1.3M users, but they only approve half the number of people who apply. Anyone who posts a "duck face" mirror selfie will not be allowed to join elite dating app The Inner Circle, the company's co-founder David Vermeulen said. The selection process is not only down to photos, though – the team of seven dedicated screeners also look at age, profession, and education. The average Inner Circle user is 31, but most are between the ages of 25 and 45. Celebrities or models, however, may get approved even if they're in their early 20s.
by Rachel Hosie
See full article at Insider
BUSINESS INSIDER – Dec 4 – Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg was interviewed at Business Insider's IGNITION 2018, where she discussed the changing scene of online dating and the tech industry's "bro culture." Ginsberg said that the online dating industry is "fiercely competitive". Ginsberg has taken steps within her own company to ensure she's treating women equally to men in the male-dominated tech industry. Tinder has grown to 300 employees working solely on the app. Match Group as a whole has ~1k employees, a large workforce in which Ginsberg has advocated gender equality and representation. She has recently ordered an audit of Match Group to ensure male and female employees were being paid equally for the same work. The auditors found her employees were paid equally.
BUSINESS INSIDER – Dec 4 – "Whatever we operate, we own forever," said IAC CEO Joey Levin in an interview with Business Insider, meaning IAC evaluates its businesses like it'll own them forever, instead of treating them on fixed timelines. Companies are often put on short-term timelines to measure their success, but Joey Levin says his company has ditched this type of evaluation when it comes to the businesses it owns.
BUSINESS INSIDER – Dec 3 – Relationship Hero is an on-demand coaching service that provides customers with dating and relationship advice. Users can call, text, or chat one of the company's 70-full time coaches at any time of day. The company raised a $2M seed round led by Foundation Capital, Village Global, and Shrug Capital.
by Nick Bastone
See full article at Business Insider
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
BUSINESS INSIDER – Nov 19 – Match Group has been tangled up in a lawsuit – and countersuit – with Bumble since March. In May, Facebook announced plans to launch Facebook dating. Match Group is faced with the challenge of defending their market share. Match CEO Mandy Ginsberg will be discussing that at IGNITION 2018, Business Insider's flagship conference, in December 3-4, 2018 in New York.
BUSINESS INSIDER – Oct 27 – Hinge founder and CEO Justin McLeod doesn't have email on his smartphone. He said it makes him a better leader because he has time and space to think. The only things he can currently do with his phone are check the time, make calls and send texts, listen to music, and browse Hinge. "I'm a much better decision-maker, I'm a much better strategist, I'm a much better leader when I'm not wrapped up in the minutia of what's going on in the company and what's going on in the world," McLeod told Business Insider. "I'm giving myself the space." When he takes vacations, he doesn't check in with his staff for "a week or two at a time." In fact, McLeod made the decision to "reboot" Hinge, in 2016, while he was away from the office and spending Thanksgiving with his family. With the time and space to think clearly, he realized that Hinge had become too similar to other dating apps. Hinge subsequently made a number of changes to the app, most notably removing the swiping feature. Today, it bills itself as "the relationship app."
BUSINESS INSIDER – Sep 24 – In cities across the US, a growing number of successful women in their 30s are hiring dating coaches to help them find long-term relationships. Both coaches and clients say the goal isn't to find the perfect person right away, but to learn the skills to find and maintain a healthy partnership. These coaches charge anywhere from $1,800 to $18K for different types of services. Damona Hoffman is a certified dating coach and host of the Dates and Mates podcast in Los Angeles. ~70% of her clients are women, typically high earners and feeling the pressure of society. By contrast, the men tend to be less career-focused and haven't developed the skills to approach or flirt with women. Evan Marc Katz is one of the first dating coaches to market himself as such (he started coaching in 2004). Katz, who works exclusively with women, said those who reach out to him are typically at a breaking point. They don't know what's wrong with them and they're afraid of being alone forever. Katz teaches every client the "2-2-2" rule: Exchange two messages on the dating site, exchange two emails, and then have two phone calls before a first date. "It specifically teaches people to avoid becoming part of some guy's texting harem," he said.
BUSINESS INSIDER – Aug 22 -UK dating app Toffee, which caters exclusively to the privately educated, has plans to roll out in other countries over the next 12 months. The app is also launching on Android in September. A Toffee press release stated that it now has 10K monthly active users in the UK.
by Isobel Asher Hamilton
See full article at Business Insider