OPW - Dec 29 - Mark Brooks will be interviewing Michael Egan, CEO of Spark Networks at Internet Dating Conference (iDate), taking place in January 25-27, 2016 in Miami. Check out the agenda. It is coming along very nicely. Kelly Steckelberg, CEO of Zoosk, will speak on "Opportunities in the Online Dating Industry"; and Takuya Iwamoto from Diverse will speak about the Japanese mobile & online dating market.
« November 2015 | Main | January 2016 »
Jiayuan.com Shareholders Approved Merger With Baihe Subsidiaries
PR NEWSWIRE - Dec 28 - Jiayuan.com shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the merger with LoveWorld and FutureWorld. Of the 56.7% of ordinary shares voted, 97.5% backed the deal, expected to close in Q1.
See full article at PR Newswire
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"Double" Dating App Raised More Funds From Michael Birch
SCOTSMAN - Dec 28 - The trio behind Double secured a £75K investment from Moonpig entrepreneur Nick Jenkins on the BBC show and have now joined the Entrepreneurial Spark (ESpark) accelerator programme. They will be moving into ESpark's Edinburgh "hatchery". Along with Jenkins, the team has also secured investment from Michael Birch, founder of social network Bebo.
by Gareth Mackie
See full article at Scotsman
This post also appear on InternetDatingInvestments.
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A Major Shareholder At Spark Networks Is Buying Shares
ANALYSTRATINGS - Dec 28 - A major shareholder at Spark Networks, Lloyd I. Miller, bought shares of LOV for $820.6K. Lloyd I. Miller increased his holding by 8.04%. Over the last month, Lloyd I. Miller has reported 6 Buy trades on LOV for a total of $162.5K.
by George Macdonald
See full article at AnalystRatings
See all posts on Spark Networks
This post also appear on InternetDatingInvestments.
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Ashley Madison Says It Added 4M Members Since The Hack
CNN - Dec 28 - At the time of the hack, Ashley Madison said it had 39M members. The website now says it has ~43M members, according to a rolling count on its homepage. That number is not easily confirmed. Parent company, Avid Life, is faced with a dozen class-action lawsuits related to the hack by customers who claim the site failed to protect their identities. Fending off the lawsuits will be expensive, even for a company that recorded $115M in sales and a $55M profit last year. Several of the lawsuits are asking for more than half a billion dollars in damages.
by David Goldman
See full article at CNN Money
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Marketdata Enterprises To Speak At iDate On January 25-27, 2016
WEBWIRE - Dec 28 - John LaRosa, President at Marketdata Enterprises, will discuss the current state of the offline matchmaking business. In addition to online dating and mobile dating executives that attend iDate, matchmakers represent 15% of the attendance. The iDate is on January 25-27, 2016 at the Kovens Conference Center in Miami.
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"Double" Dating App Co-founders Said Yes To £75K For 15% Of Their Company
BBC - Dec 27 - Gary McDonagh, Loren Gould and Ben Greenock, co-founders of dating app Double, dressed in heart printed suits to pitch their group dating idea to investors in today's Dragon's Den episode. The location based dating app allows two friends to search for other pairs to arrange a double date. The trio was looking for £75K investment in return for a 10% stake in the business. They accepted £75K for a 15% stake in the business from Nick Jenkins. Congrats!
by Emma Powell
See full article at Evening Standard
This post also appear on InternetDatingInvestments.
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French Dating Site Toutafaitmoi.net Highlights Defects
01AMOUR - Dec 27 - Toutafaitmoi (AbsolutelyMe) works just like any other dating site except users have to disclose three of their worst qualities in their profiles. The site is still in Beta and is expected to launch mobile app in March.
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The Apprentice Final: Alan Sugar's Experts On Why He Was Right To Dump DatePlay
REALBUSINESS.CO.UK - The final episode of The Apprentice 2015, series in which candidates compete to go into business with multi-millionaire Lord Sugar, aired on Dec 20th. Alan Sugar appointed eHarmony MD UK Romain Bertrand, Match.com MD UK Karl Gregory and Venntro Media CEO Ross Williams as his online dating advisors. Vana Koutsomitis, founder of dating app DatePlay, competed against plumbing business owners Joseph Valente. She lost. Ross Williams supported Sugar's choice. Here is why: £250K is barely enough to develop and refine an online dating app in such a competitive market. The DatePlay concept is excellent but as an investment DatePlay was too high risk compared to Joseph's plumbing business. Romain Bertrand thinks it's possible to launch a first version of the app and operate it without heavy marketing for under £250K. But you continuously need to invest in making your product the best it can be.
by Ross Williams & Romain Bertrand
See full article at RealBusiness.co.uk
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The Grade's Brand Ambassador, Lauren Urasek, Signed TV Deal
ACCESSWIRE - Dec 22 - Lauren Urasek, The Grade's ambassador, has signed a deal to develop a series with ABC Signature based on her book, Popular: The Ups and Downs of Online Dating From the Most Popular Girl in New York City. The book chronicles Urasek's online dating experiences. The Grade, owned by Snap Interactive, is a female-friendly mobile dating app that holds users accountable for their behavior by assigning letter grades to users ranging from "A+" to "F" based on profile quality, responsiveness, and peer-reviews.
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Greg Blatt Is Replacing Sam Yagan As CEO Of Match Group
SEEKING ALPHA - Dec 22 - Match Group chairman Greg Blatt will become the online dating leader's chairman and CEO. Blatt replaces Sam Yagan, who will join the board as vice chairman. Princeton Review chief Mandy Ginsberg will become Match's North American chief, thus putting her in charge of Match.com, OkCupid, PlentyOfFish. Alexandre Lubot, CEO of Meetic, is now CEO of Match Group Europe, leaving him in charge of Meetic, Twoo, and other European brands. Match COO Navin Ramachandran is now CEO of Match Group Asia/Latin America, leaving him responsible for Pairs, Couples, ParPerfeito, and Match Asia. He'll remain COO. Princeton Review CPO Shar Dubey becomes president of Match Group North America and Emerging Brands GM Hesam Hosseini is the new GM of POF. Sean Rad will remain Tinder's CEO.
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BharatMatrimony Approved For IPO
TECH CIRCLE - Dec 22 - Matrimony.com, which owns a string of matrimony-related properties including BharatMatrimony.com, and anti-virus software maker Quick Heal Technologies have received approval from the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for their proposed (IPOs).
by Anuradha Verma
The full article was originally published at Tech Circle, but is no longer available.
See all posts on Matrimony.com
This post also appear on InternetDatingInvestments.
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The Apprentice 2015: Vana Koutsomitis' DatePlay Set To Get Funding
TELLYMIX.CO.UK - Dec 22 - The Apprentice 2015 runner up Vana Koutsomitis has revealed she's set to get funding for her business despite losing. Vana's online dating app based around gaming has reportedly seen a number of proposals, including from some of the industry experts who she pitched to during the final evening.
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Clover Dating App Is Launching Mixers
BUSTLE.COM - Dec 19 - Dating app Clover sends out various ideas, like "Snowboarding" or "Game of Thrones Night!" and then users respond if they're in or out. With Clover's Mixer idea, it's a group chat that looks like a Meetup RSVP, and is based on mutual interests. Mixers can be used to host offline singles event. Mixers will be available in the beginning of 2016, in the upcoming version 5.0 of the Clover app.
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