320: Why Hinge’s Justin McLeod Decided To Rebuild His Dating App From The Ground Up

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s not easy to rebuild an entire company—especially when things are going well. But that’s exactly what Justin McLeod did with his dating app, Hinge.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After Hinge first launched in 2012, it saw exponential growth. Despite this, McLeod made the risky decision to rebuild his app from scratch in 2016. Why? He felt that the company had strayed too from its original vision or helping people find and build meaningful connections. So instead of remaining the brand that connects “friends with friends,” it rebranded to become “the dating app designed to be deleted.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">McLeod’s decision paid off. Today, Hinge is a subsidiary under Match.com, has seen huge growth on a global scale, and is setting up a date every three seconds globally. In this podcast episode, McLeod shares exactly what it took to get through this challenging transition and what’s in store for this beloved dating app in the near future. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If there’s any other type of content you’d like to see that would be valuable to you during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out at support@foundr.com. </span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Key Takeaways</span></h2> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">McLeod’s own love story, and how it inspired the idea behind Hinge </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why, after years of success, McLeod decided to rebuild his dating app from scratch</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The reaction of Hinge’s board of directors and team in response to this change </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How Hinge fulfills its mission of getting more people out on great dates</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The type of data that Hinge collects to set itself apart from comp