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

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 Inner Circle Expands In The US

HUFFINGTON POST - Nov 7 - The Inner Circle, a mobile dating app launched in Europe in 2012, has expanded into New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The Inner Circle app, self-described as the "selective dating app," originally launched in Amsterdam, and quickly expanded to London, Paris, Milan, and Stockhom. The app claims 550K users now, with 500K users on the waiting list. According to The Inner Circle CEO and co-founder, David Vermeulen, 50% of membership applications are getting approved and 50% are on hold. The Inner Circle has a team of four full-time people who view the 4k new applications every day. Each member can invite five of their friends to join, with each application still needing to go through the approval process.

by Julie Spira
See full article at Huffington Post

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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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Matchmakers In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - Sep 15 - A luxury matchmaking service, The Bevy, has launched in San Francisco. The Bevy, started in New York in 2014, compares its services to an executive search. It pre-screens and interviews potential candidates before setting up its male clients with a handful of curated contenders. The membership begins at $25k for a one-year. The company reports a 95% success rate. Three Day Rule has 8k members. Services for paying clients start at $4.5k, but the service also has a free database. 60% of it's clients are female. Both companies report that clients are seeking relief from dating apps. Still, free dating apps can be an equalizer. The newest such offering to San Francisco is The Inner Circle, an app founded in Amsterdam in 2012, whose founder, David Vermeulen, is looking for "inspiring and ambitious" members who are 25 - 45 and live in major cities.

by Maghan McDowell
See full article at San Francisco Chronicle

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Elite Dating App The Inner Circle On Why Influencer Marketing Doesn't Work

MARKETING WEEK - Aug 22 - The Inner Circle made headlines when it launched in the UK in 2015 over the selectiveness of its app. It claims to connect only the "most attractive and inspiring singles" and has very strict criteria for who it will let in. "Having such a niche audience has meant it has been difficult to reach them online", said the app's co-founder Michael Krayenhoff. It now has 400K members worldwide but says most of them have signed up because they've heard good things from friends. The company is careful with how it pushes out its "success" stories, including The Inner Circle babies and marriages. "We thought we would have significant impact in terms of sign-ups through influencer marketing but we haven't seen evidence of this yet," Mr. Krayenhoff said. A focus on privacy has affected the company's influencer marketing.

by Rachel Gee
See full article at Marketing Week

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An Exclusive Dating App Leverages APIs And Algorithms To Help Daters Succeed

HUFFPOST - Aug 16 - The concept of swiping has gotten old and hasn't proven to be the most effective. Entrepreneur, David Vermeulen, recognized the lack of features in many dating apps on the market. He launched The Inner Circle, an exclusive dating app that considers applicants based on their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. The app uses a face-recognition algorithm to detect the highest quality photos from a user's Facebook profile. A major goal of The Inner Circle is to help bring back actual human interactions. Under the app's "discover section" users can click on events to see a list of upcoming events in their city.

by Rachel Wolfson
See full article at HuffPost

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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.

by Cassie Murdoch
See full article at Mashable

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An App That Checks Criminal Records Won't Make Dating Safer

THE GUARDIAN - May 24 - Dating app Gatsby suggests users will be more secure thanks to its background checks. Currently, criminal record disclosure in England and Wales relies on self-reporting, and it's the genuinely contrite who would do it. Those without compunction obviously don't volunteer information. There's a risk people could use the app thinking they were safer than they are. The newest dating apps integrate a sense of community protection into tech. Take BeLinked, which verifies users through LinkedIn, or The Inner Circle, which builds in accountability via Facebook connections displayed on profiles, and holds events where users can meet a date in a safe, public venue.

by Nichi Hodgson
See full article at The Guardian

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Elite Dating App "The Inner Circle" Expands Into More US Cities

BUSINESS INSIDER - May 13 - The Inner Circle, which vets people's LinkedIn profiles before letting them use the platform, went live in LA, San Fran, and Houston this week as it continues its expansion across the US. It launched in New York last October and signed up 32k people within the first three months. "The US has become our fastest growing market", said Michael Krayenhoff, co-founder of The Inner Circle. Overall, there are currently 280k people using the app. It is also active in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Milan, Paris and Stockholm, as well as London and Berlin. The company makes money by offering a premium version of its app and a number of events.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider

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Nichi Hodgson Joins Dating App The Inner Circle

GORKANA.COM - Mar 24 - Nichi Hodgson, former sex columnist for Men's Health, has joined dating app The Inner Circle as comms and PR manager. A former Silicon Valley matchmaker, Hodgson brings eight years' media experience to the role and will help promote the company's brand message, while expanding its international reach. She has published a book on the history of dating - "The Curious History of Dating".

by Richard O'Donnell
See full article at Gorkana.com

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The Inner Circle - New York's Newest Dating App

DIGITAL TRENDS - Nov 19 - Just a month after making its debut in the Big Apple, the Amsterdam-based dating service has doubled its user base. Users are encouraged to find their next dates by first selecting their favorite restaurant, bar, or local hangout. From there, The Inner Circle members can "share a unique date idea" or meet at a mutual favorite haunt. The App now boasts ~23k registered members.

by Lulu Chang
See full article at Digital Trends

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The Inner Circle Is Launching In New York

BUSINESS INSIDER - Oct 15 - The Inner Circle, already available in Amsterdam, London, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Milan, Stockholm, and Zurich, officially went live in New York City last week. The Inner Circle vets users before letting them onto its platform, focusing specifically on how successful and how attractive they are. The platform claims to have ~145k users and 125k on the waiting list.

by Sam Shead
See full article at Business Insider

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"The Inner Circle" Exclusive Dating App To Launch In NYC Next

MANAGEMENT TODAY - Mar 11 - The Inner Circle is an 'exclusive', invitation only dating platform, aiming for successful and ambitious members. Three of The Inner Circle's seven employees pore over the waiting lists to determine whether users make the cut. Co-founders David Vermeulen, Michael Krayenhoff and Serge Samusya initially rolled out the platform in Amsterdam in 2012, and The Inner Circle now has networks in London, Milan, Paris and Stockholm. New York is next on the agenda. Currently the app has 90K members across Europe. Vermeulen says it was profitable in three months. Turnover for its first year was £215K. Two years later turnover reached £1m with a profit of £172K.

by Rebecca Smith
See full artricle at Management Today

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The Inner Circle: Women Wouldn't Date Men Who Earn Less

EXPRESS.CO.UK - Feb 3 - 60% of the 2K women surveyed by London dating app The Inner Circle admitted refusing a second date with a guy - after finding he had a lower salary than them. 96% of men were not bothered if their date earns less. 75% of women admitted offering to pay towards a first date meal. But only half of men said they expected the offer to split the expense.

by Chris Riches
See full article at Express.co.uk

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High-end Dating Apps - The League, Luxy And The Inner Circle

THE GUARDIAN - Jan 3 - The League dating app heavily vets members, claims that only 20-25% of those who apply are allowed in, and has ~75K people on its waiting list. It launched in America last year and is now coming to the UK. Applicants must provide access to their profiles on LinkedIn. One selective dating app already operating in the UK is The Inner Circle, which has 22K members and ~24K on the waiting list. The app will launch in the US this year. Luxy dating app bills itself as "Tinder without the poor people". To be accepted, users must be either rich or beautiful.

by Gareth Rubin
See full article at The Guardian

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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team