Mandy Ginsberg has never used Tinder. But it has made it a global phenomenon with 50 million users worldwide, 9 in Italy, the app at the top of the pyramid of sex – and love – seeking worldwide. When Tinder was born (2012), I was already married, says the Texas executive, who has lived in Florence for a year, enrolled her 13-year-old daughter at the American International School in the city. She was the CEO of Match.com from 2010 to 2017 and started developing a few branches in 2006, including Tinder. So I didn’t have to use it. But first, yes, I searched for men on the Internet: there were no apps, only dating sites, and it was an important experience because after trying the technological version of the “trailer”, I realized that there was a lot was meeting new people before it was much more complicated.
She worked for 14 years at Match Group, whose products are all geared towards the dating industry: Tinder, Match, Hinge, OkCupid, Meetic and PlentyOfFish. It has quadrupled its stock price — now worth $31 billion — making Match Group one of the fastest-growing tech companies in the world. He is a board member of Uber Technologies and ThredUp. Try learning Italian by playing tennis. He understands it but still doesn’t speak it. We meet Amanda Ginsberg, known as Mandy, in the former Medici granaries in Piazza del Cestello, where the start-up incubator Nana Bianca has set up the congress hall. Speak to an audience of Americans united in a group with a name meant as a pun: Connect Us. A network connecting the Americans-Florentine was formed at the instigation of Consul Ragini Gupta. Not all expatriate Americans, only those in the technology business. Digital nomads.
Ms. Ginsberg, how did you find Florence from the point of view of a US manager?
Living there has exceeded all expectations, but who knows if it will be a lasting decision. It was surprising to find this international community and business environment very interested in it. I love food, art and history, like many former American CEOs like Joshua Dick and Morgan Fiumi (respectively leaders in Urnex coffee machine cleaning and film post-production, ed. ed.), and I love hanging out with many American to cooperate with companies based here.
What’s included in the Connect Us projects?
At Nana Bianca, I spent a day brainstorming with Vino.com managers and investors. The goal of the network is to put our wealth of experience at the service of Florence: the city has given me a lot just to reciprocate.
How has it changed Tinder?
When Match.com called me in 2005, I never imagined it would become a global giant. We incubated Tinder through a hackathon, a marathon of programmers dedicating a week to dedicated projects instead of working on mundane things. We did it once a year. After that we went to the universities to offer it to the students. grew up like crazy.
Why does it work better than other dating platforms?
Because it’s lightweight and easy to use, just swipe the screen left or right. Start a conversation simply and engagingly. The secret was word of mouth, which grew like wildfire. But we had to figure out how to monetize a product that most people use for free. We spend a lot of time thinking about it.
For years, people were ashamed to say they used a dating app.
Tabs started failing before Tinder. We’ve come to the paradox that when you meet someone, you take it for granted that they use these apps and otherwise you’re almost surprised. Other apps have had to contend with tabs, not Tinder, which is seen as a little more “casual”. But I think there’s a lot more embarrassment in Italy than abroad, I often hear people saying ‘oh I’d never use it’. Apps are very popular across Europe. In Italy only in big cities.
Can we see it as an instrument of emancipation?
Tinder hasn’t changed the fact that dating continues to happen before a coffee or a drink, not online. Whether the chemistry is right or not remains to be seen live. What Tinder does allows you to meet people in ways you wouldn’t otherwise meet them. help, that’s all. A Harvard study shows how these apps are breaking down social and ethnic barriers like never before, especially if you live in a small town. And that the gay world is 10%: If you’re gay in a small town in Oklahoma, what do you do? Tinder solves the problem.
Is there a difference between men and women in this regard?
The paid formula is a male prerogative. But otherwise I don’t think so. It is true that in some countries there are too many men compared to women, for example in India. For this reason, some of our apps are designed more for women.
What do you think of those who accuse these tools of undermining family values?
People have done so much to harm families without Tinder. Not that if you want to cheat don’t go to Tinder because your wife will find out. But if you want to get married and have kids and you’re having a hard time getting to know someone, it’s harder without Tinder. You have no idea how many people I hear, even in Italy, that they can’t meet someone because they’re all coupled or because they’re working all the time. Everything these apps do gives you a chance. To argue that they violate family values is frankly nonsense.
Is sex the most important revenue generator in the digital world?
We are primal beings, falling victim to instincts that keep telling us three things: feed us, find shelter, have sex. We are not meant to be alone and are experiencing an immeasurable increase in loneliness today. And a great need to remedy. Do people have sex through apps? Certainly. But they fall in love and still have children. Half the people in the US and Europe are divorced, there are so many single moms in their 40s who want a second trip. And don’t you have the right to fall in love at 60? Tinder allows you to connect with the world. In the end, life is worth living when you have someone to share it with, right?
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November 7, 2022 | 09:15
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