BUSINESS 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.
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Dating App Happn Is Adding 1.2M Users A Month
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Stitch Is A Tinder For Seniors
CNBC - Nov 21- Stitch, a companionship app for adults over 50, has been on the market since July 2014. It allows seniors to connect not just romantically but also allows them to search for platonic companionship, travel partners or fellow eventgoers. The start-up behind the app raised $1M and has grown to 25K users.
by Ritika Shah
See full article at CNBC
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
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Match.com Co-founder Reveals His Inspiration To Start A Dating Site
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - Nov 20 - Today, 59M people are active subscribers to Match.com or one of its subsidiaries, including Tinder, OkCupid, and POF. Match.com started in 1993, when 30-year-old Stanford graduate Gary Kremen was looking for a date. Starting from scratch, he interviewed ~100 women to find out if they would use an online database - and if not, why not. 'There was definitely much more conservatism around this back then," he said. Fran Maier was tasked to create a female-friendly environment. She tweaked the questions they wanted to ask women, and she worked with a dating expert to design safety guidelines. Later, she would devise the idea of a paid membership. With ~$1.7M angel investment, Match.com launched in April 1995. By Dec 1996, they had ~100K users. Kremen stepped down as CEO in 1996 amid a dispute with investors over his leadership style and his desire to cater for LGBT users.
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Momo Q3 Results: Revenue Up 204%
QLOBE NEWSWIRE - Nov 19 - Net revenues increased 204% YOY to $37.5M. (Membership subscription revenue $16M, mobile games revenues $9.5M, mobile marketing revenues $10.8M). Net loss was $0.8M, compared to $14.6M for the same period last year. Monthly Active Users were 73M in Sep 2015, an increase of 21.3% YOY. Momo is a leading mobile social networking platform in China.
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Matchmaking Seen As Game Changer In Online Job Search Market
REUTERS - Nov 20 - In March 2016, eHarmony plans to launch Elevated Careers, an online employment service using the compatibility matching techniques it has used in pairing couples. "It could be a game changer," said Michael Haberman, an HR consultant. Elevated Careers will use predictive algorithms and dozens of variables based on features within CVs and profiles and the firm's job listings to find a professional match.
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eHarmony Launches In Spanish
BUSINESSWIRE - Nov 19 - eHarmony's latest move in its strategy to grow in new markets globally is the development of eHarmony.com/espanol. The new Spanish site will serve the 37% of eHarmony’s bilingual users who speak Spanish as well as a growing demographic of online daters in Latin America and beyond. eHarmony is already available in Singapore, the UK and Australia.
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Match Group Higher Following IPO
SEEKING ALPHA - Nov 19 - After pricing its 33.3M share IPO at $12, Match Group opened at $13.50 and is now at $13.10, up 9.2%.
by Eric Jhonsa
See full article at Seeking Alpha
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
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Match Prices Its IPO AT $12 Per Share
TECH CRUNCH - Nov 19 - Match has priced its IPO at $12 per share, raising $400M. The company will begin trading on the Nasdaq today under the ticker symbol 'MTCH.'
by Alex Wilhelm, Katie Roof & Matthew Lynley
See full article at Tech Crunch
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
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JDate And ChristianMingle Get Makeovers
MARKETWIRED - Nov 18 - Spark Networks' JDate and ChristianMingle have both been redesigned to debut sleek new appearances, improve back-end platforms, and provide easier-to-use functionality.
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Users Of Dating Sites In India Will Have To Submit Their ID
HINDUSTAN TIMES - Nov 19 - A proof of identity may soon be a must for joining a matrimonial site with the government working on guidelines to regulate online matchmaking market. A passport or a voter identity card, or any such proof held valid by the government, may have to be submitted.
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Somewhat Disastrous Interview With Tinder's CEO
STANDARD.CO.UK - Nov 18 - On Friday, Tinder's parent company, The Match Group, is due to float on the New York stock exchange. Analysts believe the app, which launched in 2012, has ~80M users worldwide and records 1.8B "swipes" a day. It is reported that Rad owns ~10% of the company. He admits he's "addicted" to Tinder - "every other week I fall in love with a new girl" - but right now is single. He is not interested in beautiful women though. "I need an intellectual challenge," he says. Tinder is launching an education and workplace add-on that will helps users identify their intellectual equals. Rad is still upset about Vanity Fair article, accusing Tinder of heralding the "dawn of the dating apocalypse". "Our research shows 80% of users are looking for a long-term meaningful relationship," he said.
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Chinese Tinder "Tantan" Is Easy To Hack, Claims Expert
SCMP - Nov 17 - Hong Kong based expert uses free Wifi and developer's program to demonstrate how easy it is to hack Tantan, the Chinese dating app used by millions. Cybersecurity expert Larry Salibra said he could access Tantan users' photos, details, chat logs and even their location. Tantan's CEO and co-founder Yu Wang admitted changes needed to be made to protect users' privacy on his app. Tantan, similar to Tinder, was founded in July 2014. The app had drawn ~2M users in one year.
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The Breakup Shop Helps People With Breaking Up
MASHABLE - Nov 14 - The Breakup Shop is a new company that helps people breakup with their significant other for $10 - $40. The Breakup Shop will do the dirty work over text, email, phone or an actual physical letter. Texting is cheapest at $10, while a custom letter is $30. Customers have the option to craft their own personal messages with the company's "expert breakup team".
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Tinder's Claim About Creating More Meaningful Matches Is Bull
WASHINGTON POST - Nov 11 - Tinder released an updated version of its matching algorithm. CEO Sean Rad promised that it would revolutionize the quantity of matches. According to Northwestern University's psychologist Eli Finkel, relationship success depends on three things: individual characteristics, quality of interaction and surrounding circumstances. Matching algorithms tend to focus on personality alone. And large-scale studies of married couples have shown that the similarity of partners' personalities accounts for only 0.5% of how happy they are.
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Dating App "Once" Returns To Old School Human Matchmaking
MASHABLE - Nov 13 - Once is a new dating app that has launched in UK. On Once, daters are chosen by human matchmakers. The app launched in France a few weeks ago and gained 150K users in less than a month.
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