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

9 Dating Apps and Sites That Died

MASHABLE - Here are nine dating sites and apps that died. RIP.

1. Sparked
   Facebook Dating launched in 2019, five years after founder Mark Zuckerberg claimed that Facebook was a better dating site than Tinder. Facebook Dating has thousands of active users, while Tinder has millions. Facebook tried again with Sparked, a video speed dating app that launched last year. Sparked shut down less than a year after its inception.
2. Chappy
   UK reality star Ollie Locke launched gay dating app Chappy in 2018 with help from Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd. Chappy shut down and folded into Bumble just two years later.
3. Hater
   Hater made waves back in 2017. This app's niche was connecting people through things they despise. App founder Brandon Alper pitched Hater on Shark Tank in 2017 and received $200K from billionaire Mark Cuban, but the following year Hater wasn't making money.
4. HowAboutWe
   HowAboutWe was an innovative dating app in that singles snagged dates by suggesting activities with each other. HowAboutWe's demise was due to a buyout. Match acquired HowAboutWe in 2014, and the site is no more.
5. Spoonr
   First called Cuddlr, the app launched in 2014 to help people find platonic cuddle buddies. Cuddlr shut down in 2015 and rebranded as Spoonr months later. Spoonr closed in 2017 with a tweet: "It was fun while it lasted! SPOONR is now closed! Hugs."
6. Siren
   Siren launched in 2015 by two women of color to "fight the swipe" of dating apps created by men. Instead of swiping, Siren posed daily questions for users to answer and seek potential matches based on whose responses they liked. Siren shuttered in 2017 with a blog post. Co-founders Susie Lee and Katrina Hess claimed that investors didn't complete their payments, and the app ran out of money.
7. Missed Connections
   Oh, Craigslist Missed Connections. Gone too soon.
8. Yahoo! Personals
   A site with the same fate as Craigslists' personals, Yahoo! Personals shuttered in 2010 when it merged with Match.
9. GreatBoyfriends.com and GreatGirlfriends.com
   A two-for-one, GreatBoyfriends and GreatGirlfriends launched in 2002 by then-Elle Magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll. GreatBoyfriends and Girlfriends died after wedding site The Knot acquired them in 2005.

by Anna Iovine
See full article at Mashable

What Happened to Hater Dating App?

DISTRACTIFY - May 30 - Dating app Hater was matching people based on dislikes. The app was started by a former Goldman Sachs employee who quit his job to pursue comedy. The Hater app started, literally, as a joke. To launch the app, Brendan took his idea to Shark Tank. Mark Cuban gave him $200K as a starting investment, though instead Brendan ended up raising $1M in VC funding. In 2017, the app was downloaded ~1M times. While the Hater app website is still active, the app appears to have been removed from the app store, and the company's Twitter hasn't been active since 2018. There is no official statement from the company about their closure, but it appears to have been shut down. During Brendan's interview with CNBC, he admitted that the app wasn't making any money at the time, so they were planning on implementing advertising and premium subscriptions, though it appears that never panned out.

by Sara Belcher
See full article at Distractify

See the top news on Hater

The Rise of Niche Dating Apps in Tinder Era

VOGUE - Feb 12 - In an increasingly crowded market, a new generation of niche apps are going a step further by homing in on specific requirements that narrow down the dating pool drastically. "I've found that people from similar backgrounds tend to stick together," says Lydia Davis, founder of Toffee, the world's first dating app for the privately educated. Davis set up Toffee in 2018 with the aim of connecting people on the posher end of the spectrum. In nine months, the app has gained 25K subscribers in the UK and there are plans to expand into new markets including Australia, India and Nigeria. "In the UK, 8% of people are privately educated but in Australia that number is 35%. In India, it's 38%. The Inner Circle, an exclusive dating app launched in Amsterdam in 2012, is now active in 30 cities and has 1.4M members. Users are screened using their Facebook and LinkedIn before being allowed to join, though the required criteria remains a closely guarded secret. Not so with Luxy, a dating app for the super-rich where users are encouraged to verify their income by submitting their tax returns. Location and lifestyle are also important factors for niche dating platforms. In 2006, sisters Lucy Reeves and Emma Royall set up Muddy Matches, a dating site for "country-minded people". In fact, there's a dating app for everyone. Twindog is for dog lovers, Bristlr is for those with facial hair, Gluten Free Singles, JSwipe, Hater, a dating app that determines compatibility based on the things people hate, Donald Daters, etc.

by Radhika Seth
See full article at Vogue

See all posts on Toffee                        See all posts on Luxy
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Online Personals Watch PR Rankings - The Sites That Got The Most Press In 2017

OPW - Feb 20 - Every year we take a look at who scored the most press summaries on Online Personals Watch. We look for top tier news and summarize what we think is most interesting to you, our audience of Internet dating industry leaders, app designers and marketers.

#1 Tinder (123 posts published on OPW last year)
#2 Bumble (48 posts)
#3 eHarmony (42)
#4 Match Group (41)
#5 Match (37)
#6 OKCupid (37)
#7 Grindr (34)
#8 Happn (22)
#9 The League (21)
#10 Matrimony.com (17)

Other companies that did well and got a solid press coverage last year were Hinge, The Meet Group, Zoosk, Hater, Matchpoool and Chappy.

See full article at Courtland Brooks blog

Post by the IDEA team

On Dating App Hater, Every One Is A 'Hater'

CNBC - Feb 12 - Hater was created by a Goldman Sachs alum to unite people by things they dislike. The company has raised ~$1M, and has been downloaded more than a million times. Currently the Hater app has 4,000 topics such as cargo shorts, crocs, and vegan food. Like the Tinder dating app, people swipe through the topics, either right or left, to say if they like it or hate it.

by Erin Barry
See full article at CNBC

See all posts on Hater

Summarized by the IDEA team

Inside Dating App Hater's Shark Tank Deal With Mark Cuban

FORBES - Dec 7 - Last Valentine's Day, Goldman Sachs alum Brendan Alper, 30, launched his new dating app, Hater, which matches people based on what they hate rather than what they love. At business pitch show Shark Tank that aired Nov 26, Alper struck a deal with Mark Cuban. He will invest $200k in exchange for a 10% stake in the company, valuing Hater at $2M. Just before the show, Alper had raised $500K from a venture firm called Sweet Capital, which bought a 12.5% stake, valuing the company at twice as much.

Q: How did your appearance on Shark Tank come about?
A: They reached out to us.

Q: What was the most challenging part about applying?
A: The application process is very difficult and lengthy. You have to pass several tests at various rounds to proceed to the next stage.

Q: What did they tell you about whether your segment would air?
A: That's the hardest part psychologically. You don't know through the entire process whether you’re going to make it.

Q: What was the taping like?
A: Very stressful. We rehearsed the pitch 100 times. But you don't know what they're going to ask. None of that is scripted.

Q: Which of their questions were toughest to answer?
A: How are you going to make money and what are you going to do about growth? Why should we invest in you based on your relatively small number of users compared to other apps? We have 750K users worldwide.

Q: Match.com has 21M users. How can you compete?
A: Our app isn't just for dating. It's for meeting in a social capacity. We can't compete purely from a numbers perspective.

Q: Why did you do a deal with Mark Cuban when other sharks were offering you more money?
A: To be honest, the one thing we didn't really prepare for was picking a shark. It's a strange thing to have to make a decision in 10 seconds. Also we'd just closed a $500,000 investment from another investor so the money didn't matter so much to us.

Q: But your other deal valued the company at twice the amount Mark Cuban's offer did. Why dilute the value of your company so much?
A: There are a lot of unique benefits that come from working with the right person.

Q: How did your other investors react to you selling a stake to Mark Cuban for half of what they paid?
A: No investor likes to see that happen but they understood the context.

Q: Where does your deal with Mark Cuban stand now?
A: We had to sign a non-disclosure agreement so I can't talk about it. But it's being worked out now.

Q: How has your appearance on the show affected your business?
A: We got a lot more downloads.

by Susan Adams
See full article at Forbes

See all posts on Hater

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Shark Tank: Hater Dating App Accepts $200k Offer From Mark Cuban

BUSINESS2COMMUNITY - Nov 27 - Hater dating app, which went viral earlier this year, connects people based on what they hate. The sharks think it's an interesting idea. Since Valentine's Day, they have accumulated ~500k users. Barbara Corcoran loves the name and offers $250k for 5%, which she says must be accepted right away. Lori Greiner then jumps in and offers $200K for 10% with a promise to create a whole brand around the app. Corcoran then goes out since he did not immediately accept her initial offer. Mark Cuban makes an offer as well, coming in at $200K for 7.5% and 2.5% in advisory shares. Cuban likes the idea of using celebrity influencers, in addition to the gaming aspect. Robert Herjavec likes the PR angle and offers $250K for 15% with Corcoran for a total investment of $500K. Ultimately, Hater's Founder Brendan Alper accepts Cuban's offer.

by Erica Abbott
See full article at Business2Community

See all posts on Hater

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

10 Little-Known Dating Apps To Watch

FORBES - Oct 27 -

1. Hily - An AI-powered all-around dating app which emphasizes safety and quality of user experience.
2. Rebound - An anonymous service made for local and on-demand speed dating.
3. Appetence - The world's first "slow dating" app. The more people chat with a particular person, the more of his or her profile they get to unlock.
4. Spin the Bottle - It lets users spin the bottle amongst their local potential dates and when it stops they get a 30-second video chat with another person.
5. Whisperr - Users talk about themselves in their own voice before meeting each other.
6. OH BOY / OH GIRL - Two separate apps for the same online events platform.
7. Vouch - It allows friends and most trusted people to make matches on users' behalf.
8. Hater - It connects people based on shared dislikes.
9. Whim - The app cuts to the chase and all users need to do is set a date and traits of the person they would love to meet.
10. Splish - A Q&A dating game which makes the conversation flow.

by Thomas Laurinavicius
See full article at Forbes

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Dating Apps As The New Social Networks

MASHABLE - July 22 - Dating app Hater, which matches people based on the things they dislike, has discovered that a lot of users just don't seem to care where their potential matches are located — because they have no intention of ever meeting them IRL. So Hater launched Global Mode for those who want to be matched with people around the globe. ~20% of their user traffic is in Global Mode, and those people are mostly using the app just to hang out and talk. The younger a user is, the more likely they are to be on Global Mode. Plenty of people use the major dating apps as a way of expanding their social circles. In an effort to capitalize on this, Bumble added BumbleBFF in early 2016, and Tinder launched Tinder Social a year ago. But they haven't exactly taken off as the premiere way of finding new pals.

by Cassie Murdoch
See full article at Mashable

See all posts on Hater
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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Hater Dating App Creates Hate Map

CT POST - July 20 - Hater is a Tinder-style swiping dating app that matches people based on what they hate. The people at Hater compiled the data to create a map of what singles in each state hate the most.

by Lidia Ryan
See full article at CT Post

See all posts on Hater

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

The Success Of Hater, The Dating App For Haters

CBS NEWS - Apr 9 - Brendan Alper says: "People hate things everywhere; everyone likes to complain." That truth led the former Goldman Sachs finance associate to quit his job and launch a dating app Hater that matches users based on what they hate. Users swipe on ~3k topics, loving or hating as many as they want. Mutual dislikes are a better sign of compatibility than mutual likes, and two studies seem to back it up. After a month, Hater had 350k users all around the world.

by Susan Spencer
See full article at CBS News

See all posts on Hater

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Hater's Founder Has Gotten Death Threats After A Marketing Stunt In NYC

BUSINESS INSIDER - Mar 3 - Hater, a dating app that connects people based on mutual dislikes, created an image of Vladimir Putin caressing a pregnant Donald Trump and projected it on buildings throughout New York City. The advertisement got some laughs, but it also inspired Internet backlash. Hater's founder Brendan Alper has a handful of death threats sitting in his Facebook inbox, and has decided against heading to an upcoming tech conference in Moscow, Russia. The app is only about a month old, but it's amassed ~30k daily active users, ~310k total users in the US and abroad — it's the top lifestyle app in Germany right now, the company says — and has produced close to 200k matches so far. The next step is figuring out how to make money. Alper has no plans to make the app a subscription-only service, have a paid tier, or show ads. Instead, he hopes to monetize in different ways, like letting brands pay to show themselves as a topic in the app and giving anonymized demographic data back to the brand.

by Avery Hartmans
See full article at Business Insider

See all posts on Hater

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Hater Dating App Will Expand Beyond Dating

TECH CRUNCH - Feb 28 - Hater founder and CEO Brendan Alper says the idea for the app came up a year and a half ago, but he hadn't envisioned it as being a real product at the time. Instead, Alper, a former Goldman Sachs employee, had left the banking biz to pursue his passion in writing comedy. Hater was originally going to be a part of an online comedy sketch. But the more he talked about it, the more it seemed like the app might actually have real appeal. The app connects people based on their dislikes. Hater now has 310k users and 30k+ daily active users. Alper is planning the expansion to social, more Facebook ad tests and a partnership with Cosmo, which will publish stats pulled from the app. Brands are also talking to Hater about future integrations, which could see them being able to place their own items into the app's list, then analyze the results of who likes and hates those topics.

by Sarah Perez
See full article at Tech Crunch

See all posts on Hater

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Hater, A New Dating App That Matches People Based On Dislikes

THE VERGE - Feb 15 - Hater dating app that connects people that hate the same thing. Founded by Brendan Alper, Hater adds a splash of cynicism to dating. Instead of focusing only on what users like, it also wants to know what they despise. Once users set up a profile, they're given subjects to either "like," "love," "dislike," or "hate."

by Megan Farokhmanesh
See full article at The Verge

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team