Category: Outlets – Fortune Magazine

Facebook Says Its Dating Service Is Hot, But It’s Probably Not

Posted on February 17, 2020

Facebook dating secret crushFORTUNE – Feb 15 – About two and half years after it first debuted, Facebook's dating service has shown limited signs of progress. Instead, indicators suggest the service may be having difficulty challenging major dating rivals and rolling out in certain countries. Facebook Dating, which the company first introduced in Colombia in 2018, debuted in the U.S. in September and is currently available in 20 countries. Facebook Dating recently hit an unexpected roadblock when it tried to expand to Europe. Former CEO of Match Group Mandy Ginsberg, who announced plans to step down last month, says the company hasn't seen Facebook Dating impact any of its brands, which in 2019 collectively attracted ~ 9.8M subscribers. Gary Swidler, Match Group's CFO who recently also took over the role as chief operating officer said: "You can't underestimate them. But the reality is they're in 20 countries, and when you look at our numbers, there's no impact."

by Danielle Abril
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MagicLab Told to Implement Workplace Reforms After Sexism Allegations

Posted on January 30, 2020

Magic lab logo with brandsFORTUNE – Jan 30 – MagicLab, the parent company of Bumble and Badoo, should reform its workplace policies following allegations of sexual harassment, a U.K. law firm has found. MagicLab hired Doyle Clayton, a British firm specializing in employment law, to investigate allegations of a misogynistic and hostile work environment for women raised in a July Forbes story. In its statement, Doyle Clayton said there was "a lack of credible evidence in relation to most" of 24 specific allegations Forbes raised in its story, including "the more serious ones." It did, however, find there was evidence to support three allegations, which it described as "minor".

by Jeremy Kahn
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Why Investors Love the IAC and Match Group Breakup

Posted on December 20, 2019

Match group logo jan 2017FORTUNE – Dec 19 – Shares of IAC finished the day up 7%, trading at $237.54. Match Group shares also spiked 7%, closing at $76.76. IAC owns an 80.4% stake in Match, according to a June regulatory filing. Ivan Feinseth, chief investment officer and director of research at Tigress Financial Partners, says Match had simply outgrown the relationship.

by Alyssa Newcomb
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Hinge Partners With Political Nonprofit to Raise Voter Turnout in 2020

Posted on June 26, 2019

Hinge rockthevote logosFORTUNE – June 26 – Dating app Hinge is partnering with Rock the Vote, a political nonprofit organization aimed at "building the political power of young people" through voter registration and issue-based awareness campaigns. From Wednesday – the first day of the Democratic presidential primary debates – to Friday, Hinge will donate $1 to Rock the Vote for each "like" on its Rock the Vote Instagram post, up to a total of $50K.

by Renae Reints
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Rejected Man Sent Threats and White Powder to OkCupid CEO

Posted on March 1, 2019

Okcupid terroristFORTUNE – Mar 1 – A Massachusetts man who was banned from OkCupid was arrested Thursday for allegedly sending nine threatening letters to the online dating site, one of which contained a white powder. The man, 47-year-old Liam MacLeod, sent the letters between September and December 2017 and addressed all nine letters to OkCupid's CEO. MacLeod is charged with mailing threatening communications and conveying false information and hoaxes. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and up to 10 years in prison on each count, respectively.

by Emily Price
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Dating App Hinge Wants Users to Shut Their Phone Off

Posted on February 27, 2019

Hinge logo new 2016FORTUNE – Feb 27 – In recognition of National Day of Unplugging on March 1, the app is encouraging users to put away their phone and meet potential partners the old-fashioned way: at a bar. Beginning on Thursday, users will have the choice to opt into Friday's "holiday" and turn off the app's Discover section (where users can find and "like" potential matches) for 24 hours. Those in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami will then receive an invite for two free drinks and phone-free mingling at local Freehand Hotels' Broken Shaker bars.

by Renae Reints
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Dating App Coffee Meets Bagel Sends Alert About Data Breach

Posted on February 15, 2019

Coffeemeetsbagel logo 2019FORTUNE – Feb 14 – Coffee Meets Bagel sent an email to users yesterday warning that some of their personal information may have been stolen. The company said it learned on Monday about an unauthorized access to a partial list of user data, but did not specify how many people were affected by the breach. The exposed information included names and email addresses used on the app before May 2018. The company reminded users: "we never store any financial information or passwords."

by Erin Corbett
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The Match Group: We Underestimated Tinder, But So Did Sean Rad

Posted on October 10, 2018

General_court_05FORTUNE – Oct 10 – The Match Group on Tuesday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of undervaluing Tinder, saying that Sean Rad was closely involved in Tinder's valuation and underestimated its potential revenues. Tinder co-founder Sean Rad and a group of ex-Tinder workers filed the lawsuit in August, alleging that Match lowballed Tinder's valuation in July of last year to stop Rad accessing from the full value of his stock options. The group alleges that Match created "a false picture of Tinder's financial condition and prospects" resulting in "bogus numbers," or a $3B valuation. IAC say that Rad was closely involved in determining that $3B number. He estimated that Tinder to bring in $500M in revenue this year – significantly less than the $800M they now project for 2018. Match didn't predict Tinder's success over the past year, but neither did Rad, Match claims.'

by Emma Hinchcliffe
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Match CEO Mandy Ginsberg Admires Bumble Despite Their Legal Dispute

Posted on October 8, 2018

FORTUNE – Oct 5 – Executives from two companies suing each other took the stage one after the other at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel, Calif., last week. Match CEO Mandy Ginsberg said that she respects Bumble and its founder Whitney Wolfe Herd despite the two companies' ongoing legal drama. "I've really admired Whitney and what she's built," Ginsberg said. "I've had a great personal relationship with her even through all this."

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OKCupid’s Founder Shares 3 Innovation Tips

Posted on September 26, 2018

Sam yagan2FORTUNE – Sep 26 – In his seven-year tenure as CEO of Match Group, Sam Yagan learned a few things about innovation. The first lesson Yagan shared in a presentation at Fortune's Brainstorm Reinvent conference in Chicago was to "build a culture of failure and reward it." Match Group was the first company Yagan had helmed that was the market leader rather than the disruptor. His executives were experiencing accomplishment and success; none of them had ever failed. To foster the innovation, failure had to be a part of the recipe. So, he incentivized failure, asking executives in their reviews to share a failure from the year prior. If their mistakes hadn't cost the company money, they wouldn't get their bonus.

Yagan's second lesson was to throw conventional wisdom out the window. This allowed Tinder to get off the ground. Yagan knew when Tinder was pitched to him that it went against all of the rules in the industry like keeping dating separate from social media and needing a national marketing campaign to succeed. But Yagan said he suspended his disbelief and took a risk by okaying the idea.

Third tip for innovators: "Protect your baby from your own organization." As Tinder became wildly successful, executives within Match Group began feeling threatened, Yagan said. He could have sold the business or caved to pressure from others, but Yagan stood strong in support of Tinder.

by McKenna Moore
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