There are a variety of dating apps out there, but there are very few of them that appeal to a broad audience, one of them being Grindr.
Grindr is a popular dating app that uses a mixture of geolocation and free/paid services to help gay, bisexual and bi-curious men find viable dates. The Los Angeles-based service has been operating since 2009 and has more than five million users in 192 countries. However, the company is still self-funded with no outside investors, which makes it hard to build up a thriving company culture.
That's why Grindr is apparently considering the possibility of selling its popular dating app. The company "has hired Raine Group LLC to advise it on a possible sale, people familiar with the matter said. The sale process is early and no deal is assured, said the people, who asked not to be named because the process is still private," Bloomberg reported.
This move is particularly interesting, since Grindr has been operating a premium subscription service for a long time. Users pay $12 a month for an ad-free application and increased functionality. Grindr also launched Blendr, a dating app for straight and lesbian couples. However, Grindr's problems are hardly new or unique. "Dating apps are struggling to sustain revenue growth, in part because after customers find a match, they tend to stop paying for the service. They also face competition from free services," Bloomberg reported.
Recent surveys found that there are over 3,900 businesses earning more than $2 billion total revenue that label themselves as dating services.
