*By: Madison Alworth*
Millennial matchmaking app Hinge found itself a partner, handing over a big part of itself to digital dating conglomerate Match Group.
And for Hinge CEO Justin McLeod, it was a solid pairing.
"I think they are an excellent scaling partner for us," said McLeod in an interview with Cheddar Tuesday. "We really want to take that growth that we've seen mostly in big cities in the U.S. and really start to take that to the rest of the country and also abroad"
Hinge, founded in 2012, is available across the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and India. The company says it grew its active member base by around 400 percent last year.
Last week Match said it would take a 51 percent stake in the app, with an option to buy the rest of it down the road. It's the latest in a series of strategic grabs for the company, which owns more than 40 dating brands, including Tinder, OkCupid, and PlentyOfFish.
But according to McLeod, little will visibly change for Hinge users. He said what sets the app apart from the competition is the extra care Hinge takes in setting up potential couples.
"We don't view a match as the end of our responsibility, we really want to get people out on excellent first dates," he said.
And Hinge seems to be doing something right. According to McLeod, three out of four first dates arranged through the platform lead to second dates. And some matches are leading all the way to marriage. Hinge is reportedly the most mentioned, mobile-first dating app in the New York Times' Wedding section.
McLeod credits that success to a philosophy of saying no to swiping.
"We started as a swiping app back in 2013, and then in 2016 we rebooted the app and created a much more relationship-focused service," said McLeod.
By switching to a "liking" platform where users can leave comments on pictures or statements they enjoyed, Hinge is seeing more thought-out interactions and connections.
"On our platform you have to be much more thoughtful and intentioned in your actions."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/hinge-has-a-match)
From the end of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to the beginning of a new zombie apocalypse, here's what's going on in entertainment.
One person was killed and multiple people were sent to local hospitals after a boat capsized Monday during a tour of an underground cavern system built to carry water from the Erie Canal beneath the western New York city of Lockport, officials said.
There was plenty of uncertainty in the run-up to this year’s Tony Awards, which at one point seemed unlikely to happen at all because of the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike.
Classical music concerts have been popular since the age of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart, but you've probably never thought about attending one in a cemetery. Our own Chloe Aiello spoke with Andrew Ousley, founder of Death of Classical, to learn more about a concert series held in the catacombs of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
You may not know her name, but you've probably seen her face. Madhulika Sharma has graced Vogue India and ELLE Magazine and modeled for popular brands such as Reformation and Skims. Cheddar's own Hena Doba spoke with Sharma to discuss her globe-spanning modeling career, her education in fashion history, and working alongside Kim Kardashian.
The intimate, funny-sad musical “Kimberly Akimbo” nudged aside more splashier rivals on Sunday to win the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on a night when Broadway flexed its muscle in the face of Hollywood writers’ strike and fully embraced trans-rights with history-making winners.
The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by different avatars on a huge screen above the altar, led the more than 300 people through 40 minutes of prayer, music, sermons and blessings.
New York's Assembly and Senate passed a bill to create a commission that would consider reparations for slavery.
New Orleans' Big Freedia, who many heard on Beyonce's new hit "Break My Soul," talks about upcoming business ventures and music projects, including a new show called Big Freedia Means Business on Fuse TV.
Cheddar's own Chloe Aiello tries out some unusual pickle flavors with Eddie Andre, head of brand at Grillo's Pickles.
