Category: Reporters – Sam Shead

Elite Dating App “The Inner Circle” Expands Into More US Cities

Posted on May 15, 2017

Theinnercircle logoBUSINESS 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
See full article at Business Insider

See all posts on The Inner Circle

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Dating Apps Are Worth £11.7B To The UK Economy Every Year

Posted on February 9, 2017

Dating apps general picBUSINESS INSIDER – Feb 9 – UK TSB bank found that dating apps contribute £11.7B to the UK economy every year, more than two thirds of the £14.5B that's spent on dates overall. The figures are based on a study carried out by research OnePoll, which sampled 2k UK adults. TSB said first dates in the UK cost £41 on average (£50 for men and £36 for women). Follow up dates cost ~£28.83.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

The Inner Circle Is Launching In New York

Posted on October 17, 2016

Theinnercircle logoBUSINESS INSIDER – Oct 15 – The Inner Circle, already available in Amsterdam, London, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Milan, Stockholm, and Zurich, officially went live in New York City last week. The Inner Circle vets users before letting them onto its platform, focusing specifically on how successful and how attractive they are. The platform claims to have ~145k users and 125k on the waiting list.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider

See all posts on The Inner Circle

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Vana Koutsomitis Raised £120k In Just 3 Days For Her DatePlay App

Posted on July 22, 2016

Dateplay founderUK BUSINESS INSIDER – July 22 – Vana Koutsomitis, a runner-up on TV show "The Apprentice," has already smashed her £120k crowdfunding target on Seedrs for dating app DatePlay. The one-month campaign went live on Tuesday and had received £150,020 in pledges from 110 investors by Friday. The company said it will stop accepting pledges once it reaches £300k.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider UK

See all posts on DatePlay

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

DatePlay Dating App Wants To Raise £120K

Posted on July 20, 2016

Dateplay logoUK BUSINESS INSIDER – July 19 – Vana Koutsomitis, a runner-up on TV show "The Apprentice," is looking to raise £120K for DatePlay, her dating app that she pitched to Lord Sugar in the final of the BBC show. DatePlay will use interactive games to try and understand users personality before recommending matches for them to swipe left or right. The app is currently under development and the money will be used for marketing purposes. She's already raised £75K of the £120K target from a number of private investors.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider UK

See all posts on DatePlay

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Happn Is Launching A New “See You There” Feature

Posted on May 13, 2016

Happn screenshot3BUSINESS INSIDER – May 12 – The new feature will allow Happn users to state on their profiles that they are interested in doing a particular activity for the next few hours. Activities range from grabbing a bite to eat, going for a run, or catching a movie. If two people are interested in doing the same activity then a "Crush" (match) will be formed.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider

See all posts on Happn

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Badoo Now Allows Its Users To Add Videos To Their Profile

Posted on May 13, 2016

Badoo app iconBUSINESS INSIDER – May 11 – The feature, available through Badoo's iOS and Android apps, allows users to upload 15-second video clips. Before going live, the videos will be assessed by one of Badoo's 5K moderators.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider

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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Startup CEO Recruits Chefs On Tinder

Posted on December 10, 2015

Tinder chef recruitingBUSINESS INSIDER UK – Dec 10 – Ariella Young, the CEO of Mychefit, a platform that sends chefs to cook in your home, has recruited two chefs through Tinder so far and she's looking for more. "I was using Tinder for dating and then I saw some profiles where they were wearing aprons," said Young. "I approach them and ask if they're a chef, before explaining that I'm interested in hiring them." So far she's managed to successfully hire two chefs via Tinder.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider UK

See all posts on Tinder

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Happn Can’t Be Used For Stalking, Says The Dating App’s CEO

Posted on December 2, 2015

Happn didier rappaportBUSINESS INSIDER – Dec 1 – Mobile dating app Happn can't be used to stalk people, according to the company's CEO Didier Rappaport, despite what some reports have suggested. "You can cross paths with people who are around you but it is not really precise because it's in a circle of 250m," he said. Happn has 700K users in the UK, with 450K of those in London. Globally, Happn is used by 8M people. Rappaport said he expects Happn to have ~30M users worldwide by the end of 2016 and just as many users as Tinder by 2017.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider

See all posts on Happn

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Dating App Happn Is Adding 1.2M Users A Month

Posted on November 23, 2015

Happn logoBUSINESS INSIDER – Nov 21 – Mobile dating app Happn is growing like crazy and is rolling out new features including voice messages. The app, which launched in Paris in 2014, connects people who have crossed paths in real life. Happn now has 8M users worldwide. The app is gaining 1.2M users a month.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider

See all posts on Happn

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team