It can support you in finding a great match. “And we offer multiple ways that people can interact with us. “I think we consider ourselves a serious dating site,” she said. When asked what sets Zoosk apart, Steckelberg was unconvincing. Zoosk faces a challenge with carving out its brand image in that crowded list. Dating apps are proliferating quickly overseas, too, such as Momo, whose founder, Tang Yan, readily compares his product to Tinder. (The number 2 player, eHarmony, is less than half the size of Match Inc.) Beneath Match, the acquisitive king of the space, are a number of niche players, from Spark Networks (JDate, Christian Mingle) to new, female-first offerings like Bumble, founded by former Tinder executive Whitney Wolfe. Large, more time-intensive web sites like Match and OkCupid still dominate the market those two are both part of Match Inc, which had nearly $800 million in revenue in 2013 and is owned by Barry Diller’s InterActiveCorp. Mobile-only offerings like Tinder and Hinge have created buzz with millennials in urban areas. Most insiders believe that estimate is far too low, but there is a dearth of outlets that measure the market. IBISWorld’s most recent report on the category estimates it at $2 billion in sales a year, having grown some 5% in the past five years. The online-dating industry continues to grow. And I think that being female, I bring a new perspective.” I think I was the right CEO for right now because of my business and finance background.
I want to lead the company into the next era. “Now I’m able to take the foundation they had in place and bring a broader perspective around business and the customer. “Alex and Shayan were talented product visionaries,” said Steckelberg in a visit to Fortune’s New York office earlier this week, after three months at the helm. In other words: Zoosk has to grow up, fast. She brings experience and a serious finance background to the table.
She spent five years at PeopleSoft (before Oracle bought it), two years at WebEx, and nearly four at Cisco. The co-founders are in their mid-30s Steckelberg is 47. She faces the task of turning the company around, and her appointment shows that Zoosk is making financial performance a priority. The new chief executive is Kelly Steckelberg, who has been at Zoosk four years and held roles as its CFO and COO. And in January, it laid off 15% of its staff, or 25 people. Its two co-founders, CEO Shayan Zadeh and president Alex Mehr, stepped down. In December, the company called off the IPO.
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