THE NEW YORKER - Raya is the rare social network that ensures that all of its users are who they say they are. Since it launched in Los Angeles, in 2015, it has gained a reputation as the "celebrity dating app" and "Illuminati Tinder." The app is private; aspiring users must undergo an application process that can stretch on for months. Once accepted, members must adhere to a rigid code of silence - no exposing other people's profiles and no screenshotting within the app. Even tweeting too much about Raya, or publicly mentioning another member, can be grounds for a ban. Raya was launched by Daniel Gendelman out of his apartment in West Hollywood. Most social-media platforms rely on selling ads. Raya, instead, charged a subscription fee of $7.99 per month (now $9.99). The app's popularity was driven by FOMO. In 2020, Raya added a series of new features including its Directory, a kind of bespoke Rolodex that allows members to search one another by city, industry, or company. You can find a Raya-approved architect or graphic designer to plan a renovation or make a portfolio. According to the company, the Directory has seen more than a million searches to date.
15 posts categorized "Raya"
Raya and the Promise of Private Social Media
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Inside Private Elite Dating App Raya
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - Apr 19 - Daniel Gendelman, 36, founded LA based dating app Raya in 2015. Celebs who've used the app include Sharon Stone and Channing Tatum. With a waiting list of 100K and stricter vetting procedures than any private members' club, Raya is the most exclusive match-making service ever devised, and the most private, too. The first rule of Raya is not to talk about Raya. Some have had their memberships terminated for just mentioning on social media that they are using the app. Raya says they 'periodically review' their community and remove anyone who isn't respecting the members' privacy, but leaks still happen. Members pay £5.99 a month. Because the pool is small - 10K in total - users aren't limited by location but can match internationally. Most users tend to be in London, Paris or LA. Users choose a 'theme song' that accompanies their photos. There is also a feature solely for networking for work purposes.
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Raya - the Invite-Only Dating App
MARIE CLAIRE - Oct 13 - Raya is a private and exclusive dating app. It's been dubbed the dating app for rich and famous people, because users have reported coming across the profiles of models, actors and musicians in their mission for love. Not just anyone can join. There's an application process. The applications are reviewed by an anonymous global committee. There's a fee - a one-month membership is $7.99, three months is $23.99, and six months is $29.99.
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Raya - Inside the Top-secret Celebrity Dating App
OK! - Oct 22 - Raya is a dating app for the elite that is, apparently, a matchmaking playground for the rich and famous. Raya operates quietly. Since laughing in March 2015 the press have hardly picked up the app. There's a fee – a one-month membership is $7.99 and it links to Instagram accounts instead of Facebook. New members are far more likely to be accepted if referred by someone who is already on the app. Kelly Osbourne's profile was leaked on Instagram back in 2015, marking one of the first references of the app. Nev Schulman from Catfish, too, was a user of the app, as well as Demi Lovato who out herself as a Raya user in her documentary "Simply Complicated." But, perhaps one of Raya's biggest success stories is actress Amy Schumer meeting her husband on the app.
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The Story Of Raya, An Exclusive Social Network
NEW YORK TIMES - June 27 - Raya first appeared several years ago as a dating app aimed at people in creative industries. It has expanded into an invitation-only social network populated by movie stars, fashion designers, pro athletes, tech executives and too many Instagram models to count. The app costs $7.99 a month, but joining is no small ordeal. Prospective members are evaluated by an algorithm and human gatekeepers. ~8% of applicants are accepted. There are other elite dating apps, such as the League, which reportedly has 300K active users. But Raya may be the first app that has successfully created an atmosphere of intimacy and trust while revealing almost nothing about itself. Its website contains no mention of investors, founders or staff members, and the company has never spoken about its origins. Keeping up Raya's values and mystique is partly why Mr. Gendelman, a self-described introvert, has chosen to stay quiet. For years, he avoided publicly identifying himself, even hiding his job from some friends and family. He has kept the company small - Raya has just 13 full-time employees - and has raised only a few small investment rounds. But slowly, Raya is beginning to step out. The company recently acquired Chime, a video messaging app started by Jared Morgenstern, an early Facebook employee who is now Raya's COO. It introduced a real-time map feature that allows users to opt in to sharing their locations with other members. Mr. Gendelman would not share financial information but said that he expects Raya to become profitable this year.
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More Americans Are Seeking Spouses With Similar Levels Of Schooling
BLOOMBERG - Apr 17 - The League connects educated, affluent millennials. The app initially targeted Bay Area singles, and has now 300k active users and a 500k-person waitlist. The app has expanded into Pittsburgh, Tampa, and Orlando. The League has no shortage of competitors. Luxy bills itself as the No. 1 dating app for millionaires. Raya calls itself a "private, membership based community." Sparkology describes itself as a "curated dating experience for young professionals" and accepts members only by invitation or referral. More Americans are seeking spouses with similar levels of schooling, a pattern known as assortative mating. Couples in which both members had at least a four-year degree made up 14.7% of all married people in the U.S. in 2015, up from 1.9% in 1960, when far fewer women attended universities.
by Jeanna Smialek
See full article at Bloomberg Businessweek
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How Raya's $8/Month Dating App Turned Exclusivity Into Trust
TECH CRUNCH - Mar 24 - Raya is less like Tinder and more like a secret society. It costs a flat $7.99 for everyone, women and celebrities included. Launched in March 2015, Raya has purposefully flown under the radar. No interviews. Little info about the founders. In late 2016 it quietly acquired video messaging startup Chime, led by early Facebooker Jared Morgenstern, without anyone noticing. He'd become Raya's first investor a year earlier. The app has reportedly attracted celebrities like DJs Diplo and Skrillex, actors Elijah Wood and Amy Schumer and musicians Demi Lovato and John Mayer, plus scores of Instagram models and tattooed creative directors. Raya users can now see nearby people on a map when GPS says they're at hot spots like bars, dance halls and cafes.
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The Upmarket Dating Apps
FINANCIAL TIMES - Nov 27 - These exclusive dating apps promise a more refined, exclusive and ultimately fruitful experience.
- Raya - an "exclusive" dating app that offers access to another echelon of society. According to members, entry into the club is a semi-arbitrary process that depends on users' status in the celebrity hierarchy, looks and following on Instagram.
- The Inner Circle - it was founded in 2012 in Amsterdam by David Vermeulen . "We try to focus on people who are inspiring and ambitious," he says, adding it has ~500K users worldwide. The site uses Facebook and LinkedIn to help vet applicants and runs events.
- The League - aims at the same demographic. "You're joining a community of triple-vetted people who are ambitious and intellectual enough to have a LinkedIn account and you're seeing what they do and their background," says founder Amanda Bradford, who started the company in 2014 and says it now has 250K MAU.
by Kadhim Shubber
See full article at Financial Times
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The Most Elite Dating Clubs In London And New York
BUSINESS INSIDER UK - Oct 18 - Elite dating apps have well and truly caught on among young professionals worldwide.
4. Raya: £5.99 a month.
Allegedly popular among celebrities, and first came to public attention in 2015 when Kelly Osbourne's profile was leaked.
3. The League: The Ivy League one - £12.50 a month.
The League opened for business in London this summer after expanding to several U.S. cities. Founder Amanda Bradford's goal is to keep the club "well-balanced, diverse, and classy."
2. The Inner Circle: from £20 per month.
The Inner Circle launched in Europe in 2013, and is now present in 20 cities worldwide. In the US it has a presence in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston.
1. Social Concierge: £40 per month.
Nana Wereko-Brobby, also a professional matchmaker, launched Social Concierge in London in 2011 and Manhattan in February 2017. Users don't have profiles and don't swipe, instead the app puts on a series of events.
by Rosie Fitzmaurice
See full article at Business Insider UK
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Blue Connects People With Twitter Celebrities
MASHABLE - July 25 - Blue is a new premium version of the existing dating app Loveflutter, and it promises users to match them with Twitter celebrities. Loveflutter has been around since 2013, but they recently relaunched as the first dating app to rely on tweets to find users matches. Blue is yet another addition to the increasingly long list of exclusive dating apps such as The League, The Inner Circle, and Raya.
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The League Lets People "Date Intelligently"
HERALD LIVE - June 1 - The League is an exclusive club. Its tagline is "Date. Intelligently". An online dating app for the well-educated, ambitious and generally high paid. The brainchild of Amanda Bradford, a 32-year-old self-confessed nerd, the elite dating app has been active in the US since 2015 and has just launched in the UK. New members are judged on a number of different criteria - where they work, professional title, LinkedIn connections and Facebook friends. The world of elite dating apps is growing and becoming increasingly competitive. There's Raya, Beautiful People and Luxy.
by Marie-Cliare Chappett
See full article at Herald Live
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Tinder Select Is For Celebrities And Attractive People
TECH CRUNCH - Mar 8 - Tinder has been operating a members-only version of the platform called Tinder Select, which is for only the elite users on the app, including CEOs, super models, and other affluent types.Tinder has invited people to the platform, some of whom have the ability to 'nominate' others. But those who were nominated can't nominate anyone else, which prevents the members-only layer of the app from spreading uncontrollably. It's unclear exactly how Tinder decides who gets invited and who doesn't. One factor that might be included in the Tinder Select criteria could be the Tinder Elo score, which is an algorithmic rating system across all Tinder users. Tinder Select has been around for almost six months. This isn't the first time a dating app has tried to serve its top users. There is Raya and The League. Bumble is relaunching its VIBee "verified" tier which rewards users who make a positive contribution to the Bumble community.
by Jordan Crook
See full article at Tech Crunch
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What Is Raya And Which Celebrities Are On It?
THESUN.CO.UK - Mar 6 - Dakota Johnson's brother Jesse created the app - but the 50 Shades of Grey actress 'refuses to be a part of it'. Raya is one of the most exclusive online dating tools out there. Among the celebs said to have been on Raya are DJs Moby, Avicii and Samantha Ronson, singer Joe Jonas, fashion designer Alexander Wang, Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood, Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher, and Friends actor Matthew Perry.
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Raya - The Secret Dating App For The A-List
LOOK.CO.UK - Feb 12 - Dating app Raya is where all the celebs are, including Kelly Osbourne, Matthew Perry, Courtney Love and Lily Allen who are all said to on there. The app is "an exclusive dating platform for people in creative industries". People have to apply to join; acceptance depends on how popular they are.
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Raya Dating App Is Like Tinder For Famous People
BUSTLE - Aug 17 - Raya is the latest online dating platform. It is Tinder for famous people and influencers. To join Raya, members have to satisfy a mysterious algorithm involving Instagram following, mutual connections with other Raya members, personal recommendations, and some kind of selection committee.
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