Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Grindr Wants to Be More Than a Sex App

HIV PLUS MAGAZINE - Grindr is implementing a new initiative, Together TakeMeHome, promoting sexual health in the LGBTQ+ community. This feature allows users to order free, at-home HIV tests. The project is a collaboration with leading health institutions, including Emory University and the CDC. With the click of a button, US users can order an OraQuick kit, an FDA-approved test, delivered to their homes within three to five days. The program has already distributed 125K HIV test kits and received ~10K orders on its launch day.

by Desirée Guerrero
See full article at HIV Plus Magazine

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Grindr Inc. Reports First Quarter 2023 Earnings Results

PRESS RELEASE - Grindr reported a revenue of $55.8M, up 28% YOY. Gross profit grew to $41M, up 29% from the prior year. However, operating expenses increased by $9.4M, and operating income was $8.6M. The net loss for Q1 was $32.9M, primarily due to factors such as loss on fair value measurement, an income tax provision, and net interest expense. The Average Paying Users increased by 20% YOY, and the Average MAU reached 12.8M, a 9% growth.

See full article at Grindr website

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Grindr Launches Web Version

FAST COMPANY - Grindr is introducing a web version for paying users to access the platform on desktop computers. The web version, known as "Grindr Web," features larger photos and the ability to view six profiles at a time while chatting and browsing potential matches. Initially available to "XTRA" and Unlimited subscribers, Grindr Web may expand to non paying users during its beta phase.

by Jessica Bursztynsky
See full article at Fast Company

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Grindr Founder Joel Simkhai Shares His Favorite App Stories

OUT - Joel Simkhai, the founder of Grindr, shares memorable stories from users of the iconic dating app and discusses his latest venture, a new LGBTQ+ dating app called Motto. While acknowledging the shortcomings of existing apps, Simkhai aims to create a more authentic and personal experience with Motto by requiring three face photos and encouraging users to provide detailed information on their profiles. The app focuses on fostering connections while combating racism, transphobia, and hatred. Motto has launched in NYC and plans to expand across the United States.

by Ricky Cornish
See full article at Out Magazine

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Grindr Warns LGBTQ+ Users in Egypt of Police Entrapment

THE PINK NEWS - Grindr has issued a warning to its users in Egypt, urging them to be vigilant after reports that police are using the app to conduct sting operations and arrest LGBTQ+ individuals. Police are also reportedly hacking into legitimate user profiles on the app to make arrests. LGBTQ+ people in Egypt are facing increasing levels of violence and abuse from authorities, and digital platforms such as dating apps and social media are being used to facilitate this oppression.

by Joe Ali
See full article at The Pink News

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Grindr Will Help Distribute Free at-home HIV Tests

NBC NEWS - Grindr is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health organizations and corporations to distribute free at-home HIV testing kits to populations most affected by the virus. The program, called Together TakeMeHome, will provide up to 1M HIV self-tests over five years, and it is supported by a $41M grant from CDC. Grindr's role is to allow users in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to easily order an at-home HIV test directly from the app. The test kit consists of an FDA-approved OraQuick device that uses mouth swabs and takes 20 minutes to provide a result. The program is available to anyone in the U.S. and Puerto Rico over the age of 17, with a focus on populations disproportionately affected by HIV.

by Jay Valle
See full article at NBC News

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The Top Ten Things I Learned About Match, Tinder and Grindr at The Online Dating Investors Summit

OPW - The Online Dating (Investors) Summit was hosted by New Street Research (NSR) with assistance from Courtland Brooks. Institutional investors and Match Group / Tinder, Grindr presented. In addition Courtland Brooks had guests: 12 CEOs of leading dating companies. Mark Brooks interviewed the CEO of happn, Karima ben Abdelmalek in one session. Mark also interviewed a panel of notable CEOs, namely Joel Simkhai, Founder of Grindr and Motto, and Carsten Boltz, CEO of Online Personals Group, and Paul Rider, CEO of SALT.

Here are the top ten things I learned from the sessions with Match, Tinder and Grindr. CEOs

MATCH GROUP - Bernard (CEO) and Gary (CFO)
1. They are shooting for Hinge reaching $822m revenue in 2025, and $400m in 2023. Its around $300m now. Through global expansion and improved monetization.
2. They are rolling at HingeX at $50 a month. Hinge Plus, meanwhile, went down from $35 to $30/mo.
3. Malgosia Green (POF's former CEO) agreed to move to Asia and now heads Hyperconnect.
4. Bernard doesn't see a gap in management that requires a CEO for Tinder. He assumes both now, and will continue to do so.

TINDER
5. Claims more LGBTQ representation than any other general dating app. Has doubled in size.
6. The League inspired them to start experimenting with a $500+/mo pricepoint. Ran a smoke test and 30% are clicking through to check it out. 70% of those clicking through are under 30.

GRINDR
7. In summer 2022 they tried their first a la carte offering. 1 hour boosts were successful.
8. They will move away from ads. Currently 15% of revenue, but this will go down.
9. Ads are the thing users complain about most.
10. There is a massive tailwind for Grindr Internationally are more countries open up to them from a Government / legal perspective. i.e. more acceptance of LGBTQ

This event will happen again. Watch this space. Overall, it was a great initiative, with 18 leading CXOs in attendance, and ~40 institutional investors coming through to talk to us.

See the top news on Match Group
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Dating Apps' Patent Victories Challenged at Federal Circuit

BLOOMBERG - Grindr, eHarmony, Coffee Meets Bagel, and other dating apps are facing appeals of dismissed lawsuits that accused them of patent infringement. Wireless Discovery asked the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to reconsider a pair of Delaware federal district court orders that invalidated four of its asserted patents. Wireless Discovery had accused the dating apps of infringing patents covering social media technology that helps people meet online and exchange contact information.

by Kelcee Griffis
See full article at Bloomberg

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Online Dating (Investors) Summit, in New York

OPW - New Street Research, assisted by Courtland Brooks, is organizing the Online Dating (Investors) Summit in New York tomorrow, Tuesday 14th March. 40-50 institutional and large-scale public company investors will be in attendance, along with a diverse group of public and private Internet dating company CEOs.

The CEO of Match Group, Bernard Kim, along with the COO of Tinder, Faye Iosotaluno, and CPO of Tinder, Mark Van Ryswyk will speak. The CEO of Grindr George Arison and CFO of Grindr Vanna Krantz will also be speaking.

Mark Brooks of Courtland Brooks (and OPW.news), will be interviewing a panel of private company CEOs, namely Joel Simkhai, the Founder of Grindr, and now CEO of Motto. Also Carsten Boeltz, the CEO of Online Dating Group, and Paul Rider, the CEO of SALT. Mark will then interview the CEO of happn, Karima Ben Abdelmalek.

This is a completely unique event and opportunity for large investors to meet and mingle with the CXOs of both the large online dating public companies and private dating companies to get a better sense of the challenges and opportunities for the dating industry.

Investors who are interested in joining future niche industry meetings and learning from New Street Research's independent analysis, please inquire with New Street Research.

Grindr Reports Revenue Growth of 34% in Fiscal Year 2022 Results

FAST COMPANY - Grindr reported 2022 earnings of $195M, a YOY growth of 34%, and expects its revenue to grow by 25% in 2023. The app also reported an increase in monthly average users to ~12M and paying users grew to 873,000 from 703,000 YOY. Grindr's CEO, George Arison, says that the company is looking at launching a lower subscription tier and improving its monetization by optimizing pricing segments better. The company is also adding more features to its app to convert non-paying users to paid or partly paid offerings. Despite the decline in Grindr's stock price since its debut in November, Arison is confident that the stock price "will take care of itself" as the company continues to show growth potential.

by Jessica Bursztynsky
See full article at Fast Company

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Grindr: Stock Price Implodes but the App Is Growing Fast

SEEKING ALPHA - Grindr went public with an overvaluation of $2.1B through a SPAC deal, leaving only 500K shares available for the public to trade. While the stock has imploded, we should not disregard that Grindr has a scalable business model with large profit margins and the ability to generate serious cash. It is the largest LGBTQ social and networking app, with ~11M users exchanging ~12B messages per day. It is growing faster than direct online dating peers, with 32% YOY revenue growth and 42% YOY paid user growth.

See full article at Seeking Alpha

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UK ICO Issued Grindr a Reprimand for UK GDPR Infringement

ICO.ORG.UK - ICO, Information Commissioner's Office in the UK, has now completed its investigation into Grindr processing the personal data of its UK user base. ICO claims that Grindr has failed to provide effective and transparent privacy information to its UK users on how it processes their personal data. The office issued a reprimand with recommendations on how to improve its compliance with the UK GDPR.

See full article at ICO.org.uk

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Grindr's Q3 Results

BUSINESS WIRE - Grindr's Q3 2022 revenue was ~$50M, up 32% YOY. The net loss was $4.7M. On Nov 18, 2022, Grindr and Tiga Acquisition completed their proposed business combination, bringing Grindr to the public market. Grindr began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "GRND".

See the top news on Grindr website

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Grindr Stock Tumbles 20%, Hits New All-time Low

SEEKING ALPHA - Grindr's shares opened at $8 on Nov 18, reaching a high of $9 in early trading before falling to a new 52-week low of $6.52 in late afternoon. Grindr went public following the merger with SPAC Tiga Acquisition through a deal that valued the combined company at ~$2.1B.

by Val Kennedy
See full article at Seeking Alpha

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Grindr Stock Soars

NPR - Grindr's stock rose by more than 400% after going public on Friday. Grindr debuted on NYSE under the symbols "GRND" and "GRND.WS." Grindr's CEO, George Arison, said. "We enter the public markets with momentum, carried by our market leadership, strong financial performance and significant growth runway as we step up investment in our core product and services." Grindr launched in 2009, reports ~11m DAU and 61 mins per day on the app. Grindr estimated the value of its user base at $4 billion.

by Giulia Heyward
See full article at NPR

Mark Brooks: Grindr is a darling of the dating industry.  

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