Latest news with #Schmooze
Mint
07-08-2025
- Business
- Mint
Where the heart is: India's dating app startups find love outside metros
Next Story Rwit Ghosh The Indian dating app market is evolving, with startups like QuackQuack and Schmooze experiencing growth in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Will they crack monetisation where global giants have struggled? New age dating apps such as QuackQuack, Schmooze and Aisle, which focus on India's metro cities, are now witnessing traction in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Gift this article For years, India's dating apps focused primarily on the country's metro cities. But as the dust settles post-pandemic, users in small cities are driving the next wave of growth in digital romance. For years, India's dating apps focused primarily on the country's metro cities. But as the dust settles post-pandemic, users in small cities are driving the next wave of growth in digital romance. New age dating apps such as QuackQuack, Schmooze and Aisle, which focus on India's metro cities, are now witnessing traction in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Larger companies, like Match Group's Hinge, Tinder, and Plenty of Fish, have had major success in India's metros, but experts say their penetration into other parts of the country has been lacking. This represents a significant opportunity for new entrants. India's fintech and e-commerce boom began in the metros before spreading deeper into India. The same thing will happen with India's dating space, according to Munish Vaid, vice president (Digital transformation & Technology) at Primus Partners India. 'Companies that are removing language barriers are making users feel more confident and comfortable in using these apps." Global incumbents designed apps for global audiences and haven't addressed the specific cultural and contextual needs of Indian users, according to Manish Advani, principal at ElevationCapital. The firm backed Schmooze in 2024 with a $4 million cheque. Swipe right QuackQuack, founded in 2010, was once focused on metro markets like Delhi and Mumbai, but the company says a majority of its new users now come from outside the big cities. 'We're adding about a million users every 70 to 90 days," said company founder and chief executive Ravi Mittal. 'Around 65-70% of our new users are coming from other cities in India," Mittal said. The platform's push has been premium first. But as it stands, only about 5-7% of its user base is a paying customer. 'I'd say we're more premium than premium because we give very few options to free users," said Mittal. The company's website says they have over 38 million members. The figures mentioned above indicate that between 1.8 million and 2.5 million of their users are paying customers. Currently, the company's 'plus' subscription costs ₹ 349 a month and offers users not just premium features but also offline experiences, like dating events and mixers. Mixers offer premium users the chance to interact with their match in an environment curated specifically to meet potential love interests. Similarly, Schmooze is witnessing unexpected love stories from markets they had not targeted at all initially. 'We started in the US, moved back to India with a focus on metro cities," co-founder and chief executive Vidya Madhavan told Mint. Schmooze, founded in 2021, realised that a lot of users who were signing up on the platform from other parts of the country weren't able to access the app due to location restrictions. The startup then decided to make the app available pan-India and now claims a user base of 3 million in the country. 'Tier-2 and tier-3 cities are growing at the same pace as urban centres. But the difference is that we've not really done anything to enable growth there. It's all organic," said Madhavan. The app's premise is simple: 'Swipe on memes, and we'll help you find people with similar tastes." Meanwhile, Aisle, which positions itself as a high-intent dating app for people looking for long-term relationships or marriage, has decided to increase its focus on regional offerings this fiscal year. Currently, its regional plays are focused on the southern states with apps like Arike (Malayalam), Anbe (Tamil), Neetho (Telugu), and Neene (Kannada). 'We started with a simple insight that there are multiple Indias within India, and over time we realised that when you go into different regions, it is a hyperlocal play," said Chandni Gaglani, head of Aisle Network. The company says that apps like Arike, Anbe, Neetho, Neene are language and region first. That is the reason why Arike, built for Malayalis performs well not just across Kerala but also in NRI markets like the UAE, the UK and the US where the community has a strong regional presence. Aisle was founded by Able Joseph and Sarath Nair back in 2014. Info Edge acquired a 76% stake in the company for ₹ 91 crore in 2022. Aisle became a step-down subsidiary of matrimonial app Jeevansathi. Earlier this year, Jeevansathi infused ₹ 30 crore into the dating app. Currently, Info Edge's stake in Aisle through Jeevansathi stands at 92.83%, according to an exchange filing in March. Since the acquisition, Aisle's revenue has grown, but losses have also widened. In FY24, the company clocked ₹ 34.8 crore in revenue against ₹ 31.4 crore in FY23. Its losses widened to ₹ 27.4 crore, from ₹ 18.8 crore in FY23. However, the company is now focusing on controlling the burn and claims that it has decreased it by 42%. 'This year, the cash burn is at less than ₹ 1 crore. In fact, we're looking at some of our apps becoming profitable this fiscal year. Arike is already break-even," Gaglani said. Small fish in big pond To put into perspective where Indian companies stand at the moment, a key metric used by incumbent dating app companies is paying users. Bumble Inc's group of apps, which includes Bumble, Bumble For Friends, Badoo, Geneva, Fruitz and Official, had about 42 million monthly active users globally, according to the company's annual report from their last fiscal year. The company ended 2024 with 4.1 million total paying users. Match Group is even larger. It has more than 82 million monthly active users across its four business units: Tinder, Hinge, Match Group Asia (MG Asia), and Evergreen & Emerging (E&E). Among these, Match Group has a total of 14.1 million paying users at the end of the June quarter. Aisle Network says that their user base across the network, which includes both Aisle and the local language apps, stands at 30 million, with 60% of the growth coming from Aisle. Currently, 15% of Aisle's members between late 20s and early 30s are paying premium users and contribute between 30% and 35% to the company's revenue. Rest of the revenue comes from other age categories. Men account for 90% of the spending. Meanwhile, for Malayalam dating app Arike, the paying userbase is much higher, hovering between 35% and 40%. Madhavan from Schmooze said that their paying user base at the moment was 'very small". However, she said that the company is now actively moving towards monetising some of their offerings to grow their revenue. The company ended FY24 at Rs1.4 crore and plans to grow their revenue by at least eight times with these new strategies by the end of this fiscal. Should I stay or go? The key challenge with dating apps, whether incumbents or new players, is not just user retention but also getting them to pay. What's more, if people are able to find love, they move off the app, which makes them lose paying users. Most dating app startups work on a freemium basis, much like existing incumbents, where users get a certain amount of likes, swipes and actions. After that, they have to pay for one-off products or set up monthly payments to tier-based subscriptions. 'Given that we're an intention-based app, unnecessary retention is not part of our roadmap. If people are dropping off the app early, then that's a top of the funnel fix," said Aisle's Gaglani. That said, Aisle's premium features include unlimited likes, advanced preference filters, boosted visibility, and more. Schmooze has a similar format, where users can swipe on 200 memes for free and share compliments. But Madhavan wants to take it a step further and is working on making dating a less anxious affair, especially when it comes to messaging people first to get the conversation going. 'Our artificial intelligence AI will suggest conversation starters based on commonalities across both profiles and will help users set the tone." The company plans to release this and other features like AI-based picture selection slowly over the course of a few weeks, before finally bundling it all together into what it calls Schmooze AI. This will be a different subscription option compared to its existing offering. 'One is where the Schmooze AI package which will be priced differently. The other will be bundled into the general subscription. This will be priced lower than if you buy these two separately," said Madhavan. But for these companies to scale, monetisation remains key and the challenge. 'Initially, companies can't go too heavy in terms of subscriptions. They'll want to capitalise on that model slowly and steadily. Otherwise, there's no way these companies can run a infrastructure heavy business," said Vaid of Primus Partners India. State of the market In 2023, the Indian dating industry's revenue stood at $547.9 million, according to Grand View Research, and is projected to hit $1 billion by 2030. Globally, the revenue forecast is $14.4 billion. Despite the opportunity, only a handful of Indian startups are making headway. Data from Tracxn shows only 20 Indian startups in the space, with most stuck at the seed funding stage. Only Aisle has seen a significant acquisition. Among others, TrulyMadly, backed by Inflection Point Ventures and other angel networks, has raised $9 million in total funding, it last raised an undisclosed amount in 2022 ; Fluttr has raised a total of $1.8 million from TCA, Brand Capital and others, as of August 2024; Juleo has raised a total of $4.3 from Roll Up Vehicles, Angel List, and Invstt, and last raised $2.5 million in August 2024. Elevation had backed Schmooze in 2024 with a $4 million cheque. 'The major players like Bumble, Tinder, and Hinge have been losing traction in India over the past year, struggling to maintain product-market fit with local audiences. This creates clear opportunities for new platforms tailored to Indian preferences," said Elevation's Advani. As small-town India swipes right on homegrown apps, the next chapter of the dating boom may not just come from Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru. Topics You May Be Interested In Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Couple agreed to a casual hook up — but never imagined this would happen after: ‘I had to tell someone'
He came for dinner — and ended up in her poetry book. One man's steamy friends-with-benefits fling just got immortalized in verse — and now the internet's swooning. Tobias, known as @tobiasly on X, set social media ablaze this week after revealing a sizzling romantic entanglement that inspired a published poem. In response to a prompt from dating app Schmooze asking users to 'share a piece of lore about your dating life,' Tobias dropped a now-viral thread that's racked up over 2.8 million views and left readers hot under the collar — and emotionally unprepared. 'I matched with someone on Bumble a few years back,' he wrote. 'We went on a couple dates & realized we weren't relationship material but the physical chemistry was really good, so we decided to be fwb [friends with benefits] as long as we were both single.' One night, early in their no-strings setup, things took a surprising literary turn. 'She invited me to her place… & she made me a three course vegan meal,' Tobias recalled. 'First was the main course, then lots & lots of sex followed by dessert.' A delicious memory — and not just because of the food. Turns out, the woman — an aspiring poet with a social media following and a three-book publishing deal — was also keeping notes. Some time after they'd gone their separate ways (she had found a boyfriend by then), she messaged Tobias to tell him a certain memorable night had made it into print. He rushed to buy the book on release day — and there it was: 'I Baked Brownies For Dessert.' The poem she wrote didn't hold back: 'The recipe said they needed to cool for twenty has never been a virtue of were sitting on my bed more delicious than the brownies.…I will not confess to intentionally wearing an outfit that is easily removedbut I will not deny it, either.' From raunchy to romantic, it was more than a kiss-and-tell — it was kiss-and-publish. 'We help ourselves to each other until I lose count of puddle beneath us says it was several.…You ask, 'Did I earn my brownie?'I laugh as if you didn't earn the whole tray.' Tobias confessed that sharing the post was nerve-wracking: 'This is the most personal thing I've ever shared online & I'll probably delete but I had to tell someone.' He later turned off replies after some people critiqued the poem. 'Poetry doesn't have to rhyme or follow a certain structure or meter,' he wrote in defense. 'Sometimes it's just getting your thoughts into the world & this was one small piece of her work of self-discovery.' As for commenters accusing him of fumbling the relationship? 'Quite a few ppl saying 'how could you not make it work?' or 'you really fumbled,' completely missing the part where we weren't compatible,' he clarified. 'Physical attraction/chemistry is not enough for a healthy relationship.' Still, one thing's for sure: Tobias may not have earned the relationship, but he definitely earned the whole damn tray. As previously reported by The Post, stories like Tobias's underscore a broader cultural reckoning with modern hookup culture — one that's increasingly leaving women feeling disillusioned and young men unsure of the rules. In 'A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century,' author Louise Perry attempts to intervene in what she calls a 'hellscape' of dating apps, casual sex, and performative intimacy. As hookup stories continue to dominate online conversations, Perry's message is clear: both parties in a relationship deserve more than performative pleasure and poetic goodbyes — they deserve honesty, boundaries, and respect. Solve the daily Crossword
New York Post
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Couple agreed to a casual hook up — but never imagined this would happen after: ‘I had to tell someone'
He came for dinner — and ended up in her poetry book. One man's steamy friends-with-benefits fling just got immortalized in verse — and now the internet's swooning. Tobias, known as @tobiasly on X, set social media ablaze this week after revealing a sizzling romantic entanglement that inspired a published poem. In response to a prompt from dating app Schmooze asking users to 'share a piece of lore about your dating life,' Tobias dropped a now-viral thread that's racked up over 2.8 million views and left readers hot under the collar — and emotionally unprepared. 'I matched with someone on Bumble a few years back,' he wrote. 'We went on a couple dates & realized we weren't relationship material but the physical chemistry was really good, so we decided to be fwb [friends with benefits] as long as we were both single.' One night, early in their no-strings setup, things took a surprising literary turn. 'She invited me to her place… & she made me a three course vegan meal,' Tobias recalled. 'First was the main course, then lots & lots of sex followed by dessert.' A delicious memory — and not just because of the food. Turns out, the woman — an aspiring poet with a social media following and a three-book publishing deal — was also keeping notes. Tobias, aka @tobiasly on X, set the internet on fire this week after sharing a steamy hookup story that turned into a published poem. Antonioguillem – Some time after they'd gone their separate ways (she had found a boyfriend by then), she messaged Tobias to tell him a certain memorable night had made it into print. He rushed to buy the book on release day — and there it was: 'I Baked Brownies For Dessert.' The poem she wrote didn't hold back: 'The recipe said they needed to cool for twenty minutes. Patience has never been a virtue of mine. You were sitting on my bed more delicious than the brownies. …I will not confess to intentionally wearing an outfit that is easily removed but I will not deny it, either.' From raunchy to romantic, it was more than a kiss-and-tell — it was kiss-and-publish. 'We help ourselves to each other until I lose count of orgasms. The puddle beneath us says it was several. …You ask, 'Did I earn my brownie?' I laugh as if you didn't earn the whole tray.' Tobias confessed that sharing the post was nerve-wracking: 'This is the most personal thing I've ever shared online & I'll probably delete but I had to tell someone.' He later turned off replies after some people critiqued the poem. 'Poetry doesn't have to rhyme or follow a certain structure or meter,' he wrote in defense. 'Sometimes it's just getting your thoughts into the world & this was one small piece of her work of self-discovery.' As for commenters accusing him of fumbling the relationship? 'Quite a few ppl saying 'how could you not make it work?' or 'you really fumbled,' completely missing the part where we weren't compatible,' he clarified. He didn't waste a minute buying the book the day it came out — and sure enough, there it was: 'I Baked Brownies For Dessert.' The poem pulls no punches. Farknot Architect – 'Physical attraction/chemistry is not enough for a healthy relationship.' Still, one thing's for sure: Tobias may not have earned the relationship, but he definitely earned the whole damn tray. As previously reported by The Post, stories like Tobias's underscore a broader cultural reckoning with modern hookup culture — one that's increasingly leaving women feeling disillusioned and young men unsure of the rules. In 'A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century,' author Louise Perry attempts to intervene in what she calls a 'hellscape' of dating apps, casual sex, and performative intimacy. As hookup stories continue to dominate online conversations, Perry's message is clear: both parties in a relationship deserve more than performative pleasure and poetic goodbyes — they deserve honesty, boundaries, and respect.
