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

Internet Dating Conference Quick-Videos

OPW - Feb 4 - If you missed iDate, you missed a great business conference. This was the best iDate Internet Dating Conference for a few years. Marc pulled together a great line up of speakers and show. Meetme's co-founder Catherine Cook gave an amazing talk to demystify video in the Internet dating context. Amanda Bradford gave an awesome talk on the future of Internet dating. Super impressed with both of these talks. We had the COO of Spark, a super-affiliate, an OKCupid data scientist, a gay dating expert, an A.I. guru... Anyway, check out my little vlogs of the event.

Day 1

Day 2

The next iDate is in Los Angeles in early June. This is the Mobile Dating Conference, so is focused on mobile dating apps. Beyond that, this particular conference will focus of the emergence and applications of Artificial Intelligence in Internet dating. Who's doing it, and what we could do in the future to use A.I. to vastly improve our services and value. Hope to see you there. ;-)

Post by Mark Brooks , CEO IDEA

The League Has Partnered With Lord & Taylor To Host A Speed-Dating Event

WWD - Jan 31 - In the spirit of Valentine's Day, the retailer is getting into the dating-mating game. L&T hosted an event at the Andaz bar in New York with The League, a social and dating mobile app. The event hosted TV personalities Dean Unglert, Eric Bigger, Amanda Stanton and Ashley Iaconetti from "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette." 23 women and 23 men from The League were invited to participate. Founded in 2015, The League has a selective admissions-based model, and uses data and social graphs from Facebook and LinkedIn to fuel its proprietary algorithm.

by Lisa Lockwood
See full article at WWD

See all posts on The League

Summarized by the IDEA team

Congratulations To Our 2018 iDate Awards Winners

OPW - Jan 26 - The 2018 iDate Awards winners were announced and provided trophies at a ceremony during iDate (Internet dating conference) this week. The iDate Awards are the dating industry's most recognized awards, highlighting the best and most innovative aspects of the business.

The 2018 winners are:

Best Dating Site
eHarmony

Best Dating Coach
Carmelia Ray

Best Product Design
Diolli

Best Dating Software & SAAS Provider
Dating Pro

Best Mobile Dating App
The League

Best Matchmaker
Gillian McCallum (Drawing Down the Moon)

Most Innovative Company
eHarmony

Best New Technology
iSpingle.com

Best Payment System
CCBill

Best Affiliate Program
LoveMe

Best Marketing Campaign
Tinder

Best Up and Coming Dating Site
SingleWomen.international

Best Niche Dating Site
Single Muslim 

Post by the IDEA team

Dating App 'The League' And CheapCaribbean Offer A Trip To Two Lucky Couples

AOL.COM - Jan 18 - Along with CheapCaribbean, the dating app "The League" is hosting an epic Valentine's Day bash called "Paired Up for Paradise." People looking for love in both NYC and San Francisco can attend the singles party to meet with potential suitors. One lucky new couple from each bash will be sent on a 5-star getaway to the Caribbean that exact night.

See full article at AOL.com

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Summarized by the IDEA team

The League CEO To Speak At iDate

WEBWIRE - Jan 18 - Amanda Bradford, CEO of The League, will discuss "The Future of Dating" at iDate Internet dating conference that is taking place next week - Jan 24-26, Delray Beach, Florida. Amanda will discuss what dating will look like in the future.

See full article at Webwire

See all posts on The League

Summarized by the IDEA team

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

See all posts on Raya
See all posts on The Inner Circle
See all posts on The League

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Q&A With CEO Of The League, Amanda Bradford

HARVARD LAW TODAY - Nov 9 - Amanda Bradford, the founder and CEO of The League, a dating app aimed at ambitious young professionals, joined the Harvard Association for Law and Business (HALB) for a Q&A. The app was officially launched in early 2015. After raising money largely from female investors during the early stages, she was able to get other venture capital firms on board. Bradford advised students in the audience considering startup work in the future to surround themselves with the best-in-class people in the industry and get experience doing the unglamorous tasks that drive the company forward. Bradford's work at Salesforce and Google taught her important lessons about product development, marketing, and building a strong internal culture that guide her as a CEO today.

by Elizabeth Ferrie
See full article at Harvard Law Today

See all posts on The League

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

The League Is The Harvard Of Dating Apps

WASHINGTON POST - Oct 26 - It's difficult to get into the League which has real people vetting its applicants via their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. The app is now live in 30 cities across the country. The app founder explained what people can do to get off the wait list and other secrets behind the selective dating app.

1. Don't leave your "About Me" blank.
2. Once you're in, clear, crisp photos showing a well-rounded life is key.
3. Include photos of several parts of your life 
4. Include multiple interests in your profile.

by Lisa Bonos
See full article at Washington Post

See all posts on The League

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

The League Is Making Everyone's First Profile Picture Black And White

TECH CRUNCH - Oct 23 - Exclusive dating app The League is going monochrome. Starting today, everyone's first profile picture will be displayed in black and white. The goal here is to get users to spend more time taking a holistic look at a potential match, and make sure they're not making a rash decision before saying yes or no. "It's easy for people to make snap judgments based on hair, skin or eye color, but harder to do when a photo is in monochrome" explained the startup.

by Fitz Tepper
See full article at Tech Crunch

See all posts on The League

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

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

See all posts on Raya               See all posts on The Inner Circle
See all posts on The League     See all posts on Social Concierge

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Q&A With The League Founder And CEO Amanda Bradford

ENTREPRENEUR - Sep 29 - "I want to be the company that fixes dating in the same way Google fixed search," said Amanda Bradford. She studied information systems at Carnegie Mellon and got her business degree from Stanford. Before launching The League in 2015, she worked in technical roles at Salesforce and Google. Today, her company has raised ~$2.3M in funding and operates in 20 cities, 12 of which launched this year.

Q: What's a book that changed your mind and why?
A: The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Reading such a legendary, iconic book over 55 years later made me appreciate just how far women have come in such a short time in gaining equality in the workplace.

Q: What's a book you always recommend?
A: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.

Q: What's a strategy to keep focused?
A: I put white noise on and turn off Slack and only check email once an hour.

Q: What did you learn from the worst boss you ever had?
A: The worst boss I had was never around nor gave me feedback, so I learned how to self-manage and self-grade my own work.

Q: Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?
A: My mom. I've never once heard her say, "I don't know how to do that."

Q: What inspires you?
A: Fixing the problem.

Q: What's the best advice you ever took?
A: Raise more money than you think you need. You will spend it, I promise.

Q: What's the worst piece of advice you ever got?
A: Worrying about getting advisors.

Q: What are you learning now?
A: My biggest new learning has been in recruiting.

by Nina Zipkin
See full article at Entrepreneur

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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

The League Is A Dating App That Doesn't Play Games

FORBES - Sep 26 - Many dating apps treat users like children. Their designs feature bright colors and interactive gimmicks. "Are you trying to play angry birds or are you really trying to meet someone that is going to be your person?" Amanda Bradford asked. She's the Founder and CEO of The League. The app is integrated with LinkedIn because the educational and professional information is more accurate there. Having access to current employers allows The League to block coworkers from seeing each other. When new users sign up, The League adds them to a waitlist. Each user passes through a manual review to maintain a high standard for the community.

by Theo Miller
See full article at Forbes

See all posts on The League

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

CEO Of League: Things You Should Know About Launching In A Crowded Market

FORBES - Aug 17 - The League, which is live in 16 cities and growing quickly, is one example of innovation in the dating space. It sets a daily limit of three to five matches. "You have to login every day. I like to think it makes you value each profile a little more," said the app's founder Amanda Bradford. Bradford herself is an alumnus of Sequoia Capital, Salesforce, Google, Carnegie Mellon and Stanford. She shared her top three strategies for building a company in an undervalued space at a recent brunchwork at Galvanize, the 21st century school for engineers, entrepreneurs and data scientists.

1. Don't hesitate
2. Invest in yourself Regardless of your industry, you have to "be okay with using your own funding," Bradford said.
3. Get comfortable with hearing 'NO.'

by Paulina Guditch
See full article at Forbes

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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

The League To Launch In Sydney Soon

MANLY DAILY - Dating app The League will launch later this year or early next in Sydney. Amanda Bradford, the founder of the app says it is "a community for people that are attracted to intelligence, ambition, drive and passion, and for people that want a relationship that is a partnership of equals". The app verifies users not only via Facebook but also through LinkedIn.

by Sarah Swain
See full article at DailyTelegraph.com.au

See all posts on The League

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

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

See all posts on Loveflutter

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team