Category: Shaadi

Indian Online Matchmakers Are Evolving To Keep Pace With Times

Posted on April 26, 2017

Dating-app-2FINANCIAL EXPRESS – Apr 24 – No more are profiles on a Shaadi.com or Jeevansathi.com handled by parents or aunts as youngsters are getting conscious about connecting with the right person. Further helping them achieve this goal are dating apps such as Floh, TrulyMadly, Tinder, Happn, etc. While dating apps target 18-24 year olds, matrimonial sites are aiming for people 24+. "We don't see people moving away from our models to dating apps to find a partner. In fact, there is a very small number of people that overlaps," asserts Gourav Rakshit, CEO, Shaadi.com. Players in both segments are dependent on a freemium model.

by Chandni Mathur
See full article at Financial Express

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In The Age Of Tinder, India’s Matrimonial Sites Are Trying To Adapt

Posted on March 14, 2017

Shaadi Ladies FirstQZ – Mar 14 – Matrimonial websites in India aren't what they used to be. Earlier this month, Shaadi.com, one of India's largest matrimonial sites, launched an online campaign titled "Ladies First," which encourages women to make the first move. "Our audience is changing every day," said Gourav Rakshit, CEO at Shaadi.com. Similarly, a Jeevansaathi.com campaign last year focused on encouraging women to get online to find a match. India's sizeable youth population and growing smartphone penetration have meant that casual dating apps, too, are doing brisk business. India is Tinder's fastest-growing market in Asia, even as home-grown apps like TrulyMadly and Woo make merry. Yet, there are some things that haven't changed. It is still a conservative society where arranged marriages are still the norm.

by Suneera Tandon
See full article at QZ

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Shaadi.com Acquires Dating App Frivil

Posted on December 20, 2016

Frivil logoVCCIRCLE – Dec 20 – People Group, the owner of online matchmaking site Shaadi.com, has acquired Frivil, a dating app owned by Delhi-based Thrill Pte Ltd. for an undisclosed amount. In January 2015, People Group had acquired 25% stake in the company for $1M and in a related deal, Fropper, owned by People Group, was brought under Thrill. Frivil's product, intellectual property rights and brand will become part of People Group, however the dating app will continue to operate as a separate entity from Shaadi. Frivil's founders Josh Israel and Devin Serago will help to integrate the app into the new parent company, but will not be joining the firm.

by Priya Prasad
See full article at VCCircle

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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

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Dating Apps In India Pave New Path To Getting Hitched

Posted on November 4, 2016

Trulymadly logoTHE ECONOMIC TIMES – Nov 4 – In all, TrulyMadly, Woo and Tinder have ~1M monthly active users in India, according to a report in tech journal iGadgetsworld. While data for matrimonial sites were not available, experts foresee dating apps catching up. Ritesh Banglani, who led an investment in TrulyMadly last year, said 25-35% of the "users on dating apps are looking for marriage". The trend of arranged marriages is likely to continue to decline and the logical next step for matrimonial sites would be to stay relevant either by innovating or acquire a leading dating app in India." Matrimony.com, which operates BharatMatrimony, acquired Matchify in April last year but CEO Murugavel Janakiraman insists that dating apps aren't able to scale up or make money here. "We tried out Matchify but India has a largely traditional user base so these apps are not going to work here," he said. Gourav Rakshit, CEO of Shaadi.com, conceded that although the site gets ~11K new registrations every day, many of its users are on dating apps as well.

by Shashwati Shankar
See full article at The Economic Times

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India’s Millennials Are Turning To Home-grown Dating Apps

Posted on October 30, 2016

Indian dating appsTHE NATIONAL – Oct 29 – In India arranged marriages continue to be the norm. A 2013 survey revealed that 75% of young Indians prefer arranged marriages. ~22M Indians use matrimonial sites such as BharatMatrimony, Shaadi.com and Jeevansathi. "India has 100M people over the age of 21 who are looking for partners. For them, matrimonial sites, with parents interfering, are not cool," says Hitesh Dhingra, co-founder of dating app TrulyMadly. TrulyMadly launched in India in 2014. It verifies personal details of its users because fake profiles are a big problem in India. ~3M Indians have downloaded dating app Woo. Woo demonstrates the rise of home-grown dating apps in India. While Tinder is well known, the indigenous online offerings are tailored to Indian cultural needs. Other apps include Aisle, which describes itself as a cross between a dating and a matrimonial app. Another offering is Floh (Find Life Over Here), which operates in 15 cities and five countries.

by Amrit Dhillon
See full article at The National

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In India, Dating Apps Are Helping The LGBTQ Community Find Love

Posted on September 12, 2016

Gay dating appHINDUSTAN TIMES – Sep 8 – Online matchmaking in India has come a long way since shaadi.com launched in 1996. Tinder, launched in India in 2014, followed by Indian dating apps TrulyMadly (2015) and ekCoffee (2016). The earliest queer dating platform, PlanetRomeo, launched worldwide in 2002. It claims 3M users globally and India comprises 7% of that. Grindr, with 10M users worldwide, recorded a gradual increase from 11k to 69k monthly users between 2011 and 2015 from India. The figures convinced Scruff, an American dating app for men, to enter India in July this year.

by Poorva Joshi
See full article at Hindustan Times

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Shaadi’s Founder Invested In Wedding Planning Platform Shaadisaga

Posted on August 29, 2016

Shaadisaga logoECONOMIC TIMES – Aug 25 – Online wedding planning platform Shaadisaga has raised a pre-Series A round of funding from investors including Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal, Freecharge founder Kunal Shah, and ah! Ventures. The amount was undisclosed.

by Mugdha Variyar
See full article at Economic Times

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Can Dating Apps Co-exists With Matrimonial Sites?

Posted on May 23, 2016

Dating-matrimonialBESTMEDIA INFO – May 19 – After TrulyMadly and Woo launching in 2014, Tinder came up with a storm in January 2016 and destabilised the market to some extent. Tinder saw 97% growth in active user base in the last few months and 400% increase in app downloads since its launch in India. TrulyMadly gets new users every day and they spend ~45 minutes daily on the app. Woo too has ~2.5 M users. Sachin Bhatia, CEO of TrulyMadly, said, "We are looking at a major disruption in matrimonial websites." Co-founder and CEO, Woo, believes in co-existence. "Dating apps are going to co-exist for the next 15-20 years. Eventually, the younger audience will stop using these websites. I don't think the country is in a situation that anything is going to get replaced soon." But Aditya Save, CMO of Shaadi.com, said, "I don't see dating apps as a competition."

by Akansha Mihir Mota
See full article at BestMedia Info

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Shaadi Partners With Mauj Technologies To Launch LoveBit Wearable

Posted on April 1, 2016

Shaadi april foolBLOG SHAADI – Apr 1 – LoveBit works on a patented biometric technology that monitors pulse rate and heartbeat as well as the levels of neurochemicals and dopamine levels when attracted to somebody. When a person wearing a LoveBit comes across any person on Shaadi.com or meets that person face-to-face, who is a potentially perfect match, the wearable detects the rise in the user's bodily metrics. The wearable is priced at Rs 2,999 ($45) and is all set to hit the market by mid-April.

by Vipasha Pillai
See full article at Shaadi Live

Shaadi.com Founder Anupam Mittal Mulls Second Innings As Entrepreneur

Posted on March 18, 2016

Shaadi anupam mittal mar 16DEAL STREET ASIA – Mar 17 – "I'm not done yet," said Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal when asked if he was looking at another entrepreneurial venture. Mittal, who is an active angel investor in several startups, started Shaadi.com in 1996 before forming People Group to look at other opportunities in technology space. Early last year, he sold dating app Fropper and property listing portal Makaan.com. In July 2015, he stepped down as CEO of Shaadi.com to focus on global expansion and new areas of business. Mittal feels 2016 will be a good year to invest. He says the current year is likely to see fewer, but larger investments by him.

by Ishita Russell
See full article at Deal Street Asia

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