As is the case with startups, Tinder was also started in a dorm room!
You may not know this, but if the App Store (iOS) regulations were relaxed, Tinder would never have existed.
Tinder’s founding team (who I can’t name because they’re still fighting over that), students at the University of Southern California, were working full-time at a startup incubator for a credit card product called Cardify at the time.
Cardify’s launch was delayed by the App Store approval process, so the team took the time to explore a little further afield – Matchbox, now Tinder.
Within the week of its launch, Tinder hit 15,000 users. How did they do it?
Within the week of its launch, Tinder had 15,000 users.
Source: Fortune
Unrivaled
It may sound trivial now, but in 2012, the option to use a Facebook account to log in was what made Tinder a breakthrough in the market. At that time, most dating apps/websites required users to fill in a lot of information about themselves.
Not many people were willing to spend 20 minutes filling out a ton of information about themselves to join an app, and of course, their users often left before they even started experiencing the service.
But Tinder was the opposite, in just over 10 seconds, you could go in and see what was going on, and users loved it.
https://cdn.brvn.vn/editor/2023/01/A42_329844-tinder-2_1673253805.jpg
In 2012, the option to use a Facebook account to log in was what made Tinder a breakthrough in the market.
Source: Tech Crunch
Difference #1: Mindset
At first glance, Tinder may seem like a dating app, a gaming app, or a “lover shop”!
Tinder has changed the game in online dating. For the first time, people are no longer shy about talking about dating, but instead are natural and approachable.
Clearly, while most other apps have similar messages like: “There are more singles waiting for their partners!”, Tinder says: “Keep playing!”
Tinder has created a game, and what do you – as a user – do when you come across an interesting game? You invite your friends to play with you.
Difference #2: Technology and Strategy
Tinder is good at processing user data, with algorithms that can identify users with attractive profiles.
Source: Unsplash
Technology
Previous apps used to help you find people within a 50-mile radius, based on your physical location. Tinder? The answer is 1 mile. You can use Tinder and be on a date in just 15 minutes.
In addition, Tinder is good at processing user data. Unlike its contemporaries, Tinder’s algorithms can identify users with attractive profiles, and prioritize them for you to see first.
Strategy
Ben Thompson, the man behind the tech strategy blog Stratechery, compared Tinder to Uber’s model: “As more people use Uber, Uber attracts more drivers, which improves the service at the same price. In other words, more customers help Uber have more drivers, and more drivers help Uber customers catch a ride faster, thereby having a better experience. It’s a loop that Uber creates from users.”
Understanding that, Tinder understands which objects they need to prioritize for their loop.
Tinder has tried to design an optimal experience for women. Accordingly, women will not have to receive unwanted annoying messages, and only people they “like” can message them.
Compared to the present, this may be very normal, but in 2012, this was considered a breakthrough. Tinder ensures that each message will create a beautiful experience for women in finding their dating partners.
And when more and more women spread the word about using Tinder, do gentlemen need to be invited to come?
Difference #3: Launch Week
The Tinder team went around campus and invited girls from sororities to a few parties, with the condition that they download and create a Tinder profile (which only took 10 seconds). Then, they just had to go to the party and show it to the manager. Of course, the sororities responded enthusiastically to attend these parties.
Then, the Tinder team went after the other half of the campus: the fraternities. They threw in a very subtle “trick” like, “Your crush is on Tinder!”
This seemed to work, especially when the guys opened the app and saw that many of the girls had already signed up.
That’s how Tinder’s first week of users was created!
This unique approach helped Tinder quickly gain 15,000 users in its first week.
Source: ThinkZone
Difference #4: How to charge
Many startups have lost a lot of users, and sometimes failed completely, due to their charging policies.
Startups often offer good quality free services, and once they have attracted a certain number of users, they start charging for the service. This often leads to a segment of customers being dissatisfied and leaving. This sometimes even creates a bad reputation for the product.
Tinder has taken a different approach.
Accordingly, Tinder has offered value upgrades (number of views, highlighting your profile, etc.), but they are not required for the paid mode. That means that if you pay, the experience (and possibly the effectiveness) of using the app will be upgraded, but if you don’t, you can still be satisfied with the standard version.
Source: ThinkZone
Tinder’s strategy has been seamless. It’s been a natural growth and monetization process for a free app. It’s no surprise that just five years after launch, Tinder has reached 2,000,000 paid users worldwide.
Starting a 10-year journey
As Tinder began to gain traction, they started targeting celebrities to gain influence and replicate their success at other universities. Their strategy of using key influencers has helped them grow their user base and get referrals to other users organically.
Tinder doesn’t focus on Facebook Ads, nor the number of emails they get from university students. They understand that there’s a huge difference between someone who downloads the app from an ad and quickly leaves, versus someone who uses the app because a friend recommended it and claims they had a great experience.
This has helped Tinder gain really quality users and create a worldwide coverage.
