A new dating app which shunned $30 million of funding from the US equivalent of Dragon’s Den today launched in London hoping to take on the likes of Tinder.
Coffee Meets Bagel, founded in 2012 by three US-based, South Korean-born sisters, uses Facebook profile information to recommend romantic matches based on users’ friends of friends.
It claims its algorithm finds more suitable matches.
Every day at noon, users receive their top match and have 24 hours to “like” or “pass” and they then have seven days to chat before the private conversation disappears altogether.
Earlier this year, the founders turned down a $30 million offer for the company from US billionaire Mark Cuban on Shark Tank, the American version of the hit TV show Dragons Den. It was the biggest ever offer in the show’s history.
Business news in pictures - July 9
The app is already available in the US, Hong Kong, Sydney and Toronto.
The company runs a so-called “freemium” model like Candy Crush, where the app is free to download but users can pay for extra features.
