Category: Outlets – Business Insider
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.
The 10 Android Apps That Made the Most Money Worldwide in 2018
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
The 10 highest-grossing iPhone Apps in the World in 2018
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
The Inner Circle Never Accepts a ‘Duck Face Selfie’
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
Match Group CEO Talks About the Changing Dating Scene at IGNITION 2018
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.
IAC’s CEO Joey Levin: Winning Is a Long Term Game
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.
Coaching Service Relationship Hero Raised $2M
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
Match CEO Mandy Ginsberg to Speak at Ignition 2018 Next Month
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.