AFAQS – Feb 8 – TrulyMadly's CEO Snehil Khanor talks about the app's latest ad, competing against matrimony apps, arranged marriages, and Tier II and III users. "We are a serious dating app and the end goal of serious dating is marriage," remarked Snehil Khanor. Last week, the app released an ad called 'Worst Proposal Ever'. It is a parody of how families get involved when it comes to their kids' marriage. TrulyMadly claims to be in-between dating and matrimony apps. "The problem with matrimony apps is that they're similar to arranged marriages – parents meeting parents. Most profiles are operated by brother, mother, there is no freedom of choice. Our brand film is about freedom of choice," says Snehil Khanor. He also revealed that a big chunk of their engagement and revenue is coming from Tier II and Tier III cities. "Our overall revenue grew 4x in the last 12 months. The platform has 8M users as of now."
Category: TrulyMadly
Homegrown Indian Dating Platforms
Dating Apps See Matches Bloom in India
LIVEMINT – Nov 26 – Dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble and Truly Madly are witnessing a surge of activity in India, with some clocking as much as a 140% rise in subscribers. Dating apps reach 2.2% of India's total population and are on track to reach 3.6% by 2024, market researcher Statista has estimated. Bumble said it crossed 4M in July. Both chats and video calls have increased by ~40%.
by Lata Jha
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TrulyMadly Raises Rs 8.1 Crore
ECONOMIC TIMES – Aug 31 – Indian dating app TrulyMadly has raised $1.1M (Rs. 8.1 crore) from several angel investors and a venture capital firm. The company reported a revenue of Rs. 3.60 crore ($493.4k) in the financial year 2018, Rs. 3.48 crore ($476.9k) in 2019 and Rs. 3.45 crore ($472.8k) in 2020. However, this fiscal year, the company expects to reach Rs. 9 crore ($1.2M) in revenue.
by Megha Mandavia
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Indians Are Now Finding Life Partners Via Dating Apps
MONEY CONTROL – June 28 – 80% of TrulyMadly's paid user base, which is ~100K, is looking for 'something serious'. Gone are the days when Indians would directly go to matrimonial sites to look for marriage prospects. Now, more and more people are preferring to get on to dating apps to find love and take the next stop forward. According to a survey conducted by Assocham Social Media Foundation last year, a large group of respondents said instead of matrimonial sites or newspaper ads, they would use a dating app to find their life partner. TrulyMadly is one of India's leading dating apps. "We have positioned ourselves as a dating app for those looking for something serious. That’s why ~50% of the app's active users are 28 years or older and 70% are 26 and older." According to Statista, revenue in the online dating segment amounts to approximately Rs 428 crore ($62M) in 2019 and the user penetration is 2.9%, expected to hit 3.2% by 2023. The average revenue per user (ARPU) currently amounts to ~Rs 108 ($1.57). TrulyMadly declined to share financial details.
In India, the Online Dating User Base Triples in 2018
LIVEMINT – June 11 – Dating companies believe that the growing demand for online dating in India is driven by its female population. Executives overseeing dating apps peg the dating app market to be valued at $100M in the next five to eight years. A Google report released this May said dating searches are catching up with matrimony queries, with a 40% increase over the past year. TrulyMadly has 5M users in India and is recording 300K-500K messages exchanged and 15K mutual matches per day. But women only comprise 20% of the profiles at best. "Since customizing the product for India in Sep 2018, we have witnessed an overwhelming response with active female users on the app tripling," said Melissa Hobley, CMO of OkCupid, an app that has ~1M users in India.
Delta – India’s Homegrown LGBTQIA-Friendly Dating App
YOUR STORY – Feb 14 – On September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court of India ruled that Section 377 does not apply to consensual homosexual sex, decriminalising homosexuality. The archaic law from the Indian Penal Code, imposed by the British in 1861, was finally taken down after decades of battle by activists and advocates of the LGBTQIA+ community. Ishaan Sethi, the founder of India's first homegrown dating app for the LGBTQIA+ community, recalls, "It was the highlight of my life." Delta launched in April 2018. Almost 80% of its growth is organic, says the founder. At present, there are ~65K active users on the platform. It is seed-funded by Shunwei Capital, Co-founder of TrulyMadly.com Sachin Bhatia, and HNIs such as such as Keshav Suri and Ritu Dalmia. Currently, Ishaan is in talks for Series A funding round. For 2019, Delta is looking to building its tech team and addressing the needs of the non-urban queer population with localised features such as language options, since almost 50% of users are from small cities and towns. Delta is not just a dating app. It offers three main services – Connect, Network, and Community.
by Amruta Lakhe
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Local Indian Dating Sites Focus on Serious Relationships to Take on Tinder
TIMES OF INDIA – TrulyMadly is one of the bigger and older local ventures in India. Co-founder & COO Snehil Khanor says the company caters to both casual and serious users, "but there's definitely more money in older cohorts." He says 80% of its paying users mention on their profile that they are looking for something serious. 50% of TrulyMadly users are 28+ years old, and 70% 26+. Sumesh Menon, co-founder and CEO of matchmaking app Woo, also says money flows in only from older users, who are both socially and financially dependent. BetterHalf.AI too pitches itself as a "serious matchmaking product for working professionals looking to get married in the next 1-2 years." Co-founder and CEO Pawan Gupta says matrimony sites are too overwhelming for today's generation. Matrimony, Shaadi and others that traditionally relied on revenue from parents, are transforming to attract singles while keeping parents still involved in the process. Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and CEO of Matrimony.com, says till the mid-2000s, parents registered on behalf of their daughters and sons. Not any more. "Today, ~60% of our 3.7M active members are individuals who register on their own." Investments in the segment have been small, and was at its peak in 2015 at $6.3M. That was the year when TrulyMadly raised $5.3M and iCrushiFlush raised $0.5M. Last year there was just one funding deal. According to comScore data, the number of unique visitors to Tinder in India had risen to as high as that of Shaadi in late 2017, and had continued to challenge the local players.
by Sindhu Hariharan
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Indian Women Are Breaking the Divorce Stigma
ECONOMIC TIMES – Jan 27 – India still remains at the top of the list of countries with the lowest divorce rates. Divorces are riddled with stigma in India. But women are challenging that perception now and pushing for a change. ~110K Facebook users from India openly state their relationship status as "divorced". Though women comprise only a fifth of this figure, they surpass men by expressing interest in the concept of a "divorce party" or liking pages around the "happily divorced" theme. Dating app Truly Madly has seen a 200% increase in the number of profiles stating their divorced, widowed, or single-parent status upfront. In 2016, 3% of Truly Madly's user base would have such statuses.
The Biggest Pitfalls of Online Dating in India
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