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Tinder Founders Sue Dating App's Owners For At Least $2 Billion (techcrunch.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: A group of Tinder founders and executives has filed a lawsuit against parent company Match Group and its controlling shareholder IAC. The plaintiffs in the suit include Tinder co-founders Sean Rad, Justin Mateen and Jonathan Badeen -- Badeen still works at Tinder, as do plaintiffs James Kim (the company's vice president of finance) and Rosette Pambakian (its vice president of marketing and communications). The suit alleges that IAC and Match Group manipulated financial data in order to create "a fake lowball valuation" (to quote the plaintiffs' press release), then stripped Rad, Mateen, Badeen and others of their stock options. It points to the removal of Rad as CEO, as well as other management changes, as moves designed "to allow Defendants to control the valuation of Tinder and deprive Tinder optionholders of their right to participate in the company's future success."
The lawsuit also alleges that Greg Blatt, the Match CEO who became CEO of Tinder, groped and sexually harassed Pambakian at the company's 2016 holiday party, supposedly leading the company to "whitewash" his actions long enough for him to complete the valuation of Tinder and its merger with Match Group, and then to announce his departure. In response, the plaintiffs are asking for "compensatory damages in an amount to be determined at trial, but not less than $2,000,000,000." IAC and Match Group issued a statement denying the allegations: "...Match Group and the plaintiffs went through a rigorous, contractually-defined valuation process involving two independent global investment banks, and Mr. Rad and his merry band of plaintiffs did not like the outcome. Mr. Rad (who was dismissed from the Company a year ago) and Mr. Mateen (who has not been with the Company in years) may not like the fact that Tinder has experienced enormous success following their respective departures, but sour grapes alone do not a lawsuit make. Mr. Rad has a rich history of outlandish public statements, and this lawsuit contains just another series of them. We look forward to defending our position in court."
The lawsuit also alleges that Greg Blatt, the Match CEO who became CEO of Tinder, groped and sexually harassed Pambakian at the company's 2016 holiday party, supposedly leading the company to "whitewash" his actions long enough for him to complete the valuation of Tinder and its merger with Match Group, and then to announce his departure. In response, the plaintiffs are asking for "compensatory damages in an amount to be determined at trial, but not less than $2,000,000,000." IAC and Match Group issued a statement denying the allegations: "...Match Group and the plaintiffs went through a rigorous, contractually-defined valuation process involving two independent global investment banks, and Mr. Rad and his merry band of plaintiffs did not like the outcome. Mr. Rad (who was dismissed from the Company a year ago) and Mr. Mateen (who has not been with the Company in years) may not like the fact that Tinder has experienced enormous success following their respective departures, but sour grapes alone do not a lawsuit make. Mr. Rad has a rich history of outlandish public statements, and this lawsuit contains just another series of them. We look forward to defending our position in court."
Does anyone really think a bunch of camgirls sending out kik invites are worth that much?
I swiped left.
Whenever I see a smaller company sell out to a massive one, then the founders of the small company bitch about being screwed over and losing control, I ask myself that.
If you sell out, you're being paid for your company, and are no longer going to be in charge.
If you want to stay in charge, don't sell out.
I find it absurd that Match pretty much owns all online dating now. I realize that it can be hard to say no to a lot of money, but if you created something cool and want to stay in control of it, why sell?
Years earlier: Yahoooooooo!!!!! We're RICH bitches! We got ours. Hookers and blow from now on. Woot!!!!
Today: Oh, wait. It's worth even more than we that. We want more! We're suing. Give us more!!!!!!
Damn attorneys would probably sue themselves for a buck.
Fewer Than Half of Young Americans Are Positive About Capitalism
... maybe they are onto something.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Tindr is filled with bots, transvestites, and narcissists. Stay far away from it. Stay far away left from it.
The lesson to be learned here is not to get impatient and greedy when you have a promising company; don't sell out to the first bastard who dangles a big wad of acquisition (or IPO) cash in your face.
All these dating apps are actually scams, is it any wonder that the parent corporations are full of unethical evil people? Talk about exploiting the public. Lonely, and desperate people are being used to generate millions for companies posting fake profiles, generating fake clients, no real unpaid communications, always conning users to spend more, never deleting non-active profiles, exaggerating their membership numbers etc. oh, and failing to take any responsibility for the serial abusers and scammers who use such sites to prey on the socially unsuccessful.
Rich people ripping-off rich people; interesting.
Since SCOTUS has effectively claimed an employment contract is worthless (to the employee), it will be interesting, if Mr Rad and friends have standing, to hear that confirmed or denied in this case.
Dood. Seriously? This in Tindr there isn't a real post anyware on that bitch. "kids these days actually use these apps all the time" as fucking joke. It's nothing but fake accounts and trolls.