BUSINESS INSIDER – July 20 – "No matter what medium you use to meet people, you're going to face the same challenges in finding a relationship", said Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group. "It's not like you're this holy grail that came into the dating category. You still heard the same things you heard, which is ability to have chemistry, or someone not being sure about their intent, or going out on endless first dates and nothing ever clicking. People are still people — now you're just being introduced to a bigger pool of them. That doesn't mean you won't meet the love of your life online but it may take some rejection and disappointment before you get there."
Category: Outlets – Business Insider
Inside The Secret Version Of Tinder Select
BUSINESS INSIDER – June 14 – Tinder Select is a secret version of Tinder for "celebrities, models, and millionaires." Tinder has never officially acknowledged Tinder Select exists, and there's a lot of misinformation out there about it. It functions the same way regular Tinder does. There is no separate feed where users can swipe only on selected members. When Tinder Select users run across someone who is also a Tinder Select member, they appear with a blue border around their picture, and a badge that says "Select" along the top. There's a supercharged algorithm that pushes profiles toward the front of the feeds of people they had swiped "yes" on. Right now, Tinder Select simply seems like a way to make its top users happy, and perhaps more likely to stick around on the app.
Tinder’s VP Of Product Is Leaving The Company
Elite Dating App “The Inner Circle” Expands Into More US Cities
BUSINESS INSIDER – May 13 – The Inner Circle, which vets people's LinkedIn profiles before letting them use the platform, went live in LA, San Fran, and Houston this week as it continues its expansion across the US. It launched in New York last October and signed up 32k people within the first three months. "The US has become our fastest growing market", said Michael Krayenhoff, co-founder of The Inner Circle. Overall, there are currently 280k people using the app. It is also active in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Milan, Paris and Stockholm, as well as London and Berlin. The company makes money by offering a premium version of its app and a number of events.
by Sam Shead
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Elite Dating App The League Launches In London
BUSINESS INSIDER – Apr 25 – The League, a selective dating app for young, successful individuals, is launching in London. The app first launched in San Francisco in 2015. The team behind the League has hosted a series of "pre-game" parties at glamorous venues across London. The app claims to have a waiting list of ~10k people in the UK. It is free to use, but users can opt to pay for additional features for £140/month.
Q&A With The CEO Of Dating App Badoo
Dating App Happn To Introduce Subscriptions
Hater’s Founder Has Gotten Death Threats After A Marketing Stunt In NYC
eHarmony Is Gearing Up For A Battle To Win Back Millennials
BUSINESS INSIDER – Feb 18 – Historically, eHarmony has not thought of swipe-based apps as competitors, since they tend to cater to more casual daters. But there are plenty of people who now use those apps to look for long-term partners — on Tinder it's 80% of users. By last count, eHarmony has ~750k paid subscribers and 10M active users, which is about the same number it's had since 2012. Tinder, meanwhile, has ~1M premium users and 50M people using the app. eHarmony CEO says business is still strong, even if it's not growing. His primary goal for 2017 is to increase user satisfaction. The company is currently a research into people's senses of humor to incorporate that into its matching algorithm. The company is also making other small fixes attempt to help the app feel fresher.
Tinder’s Clever Marketing Tricks, Q&A With Co-Founder Sean Rad
BUSINESS INSIDER – Feb 15 – Tinder is now worth $3B.
Q: How did you know Tinder was an instant hit?
A: We texted 500 people. Immediately, 80% of the people we texted signed up. The next day, we grew 50%.
Q: Was there anything else you did to get that initial kick?
A: Yes. It was a funny story. Justin's younger brother was throwing a birthday party for his best friend at USC. We offered to pay for the party bus and call it Tinder party. Students couldn't walk in unless they downloaded Tinder. So ~400 people downloaded Tinder at USC.
Q: Did you intentionally do the college-by-college thing?
A: We realized after that event that it was an effective means for getting the word out. We also realized our harshest critics would be college students. And if we can win our harshest critics, then we can win everyone else.