One Big Idea Allowed Tinder to Leapfrog the Competition

I love come-from-behind victories, and the story of how Tinder figured it out and leap-frogged the competition is truly inspiring.

It’s late 2012 and Tinder is on life support.

The nascent dating app had recently launched, but barely anyone was using it.

The concept—swiping right to match with someone, left to pass—was ingenious but the sad truth was, no one knew the app existed.

Big Beginnings

This was not what the founders had anticipated, not by a long shot.

Tinder was born of high hopes and big bets.

Much earlier that year, Sean Rad and Justin Mateen noticed that dating apps were clunky, awkward, and often ineffective. The biggest issue was that people hesitated to put themselves out there for fear of rejection. Rad and Mateen knew there had to be a better way.

And then it hit them.

Their brainstorm was an app where users could see potential matches and swipe right if they were interested or left if they were not, but matches only happened when both people swiped right, eliminating the sting of one-sided rejection.

Bingo!

Armed with this small but ingenius insight, Rad and Mateen partnered with Jonathan Badeen, who designed the now-iconic swiping interface, and enlisted some engineers to bring the app to life.

Tinder was built under the auspices of Hatch Labs, a well-funded, highly respected startup incubator. There, the two founders found some additional partners and by September 2012, the app was ready to launch.

But there was a problem.

A Great Idea With No Users

Despite its clever design, Tinder struggled mightily to get traction.

The team knew their app had potential, but getting people to download it—and actually use it—was another challenge entirely.

The app was live, but downloads were slow. The problem was not Tinder itself; it was distribution.

How do you convince people to try something new, especially in the crowded world of dating apps?

That’s when co-founder Whitney Wolfe Herd had a simple, but brilliant idea.

Instead of spending money on ads or PR, they should instead focus on where Tinder’s ideal users—college students—were already gathering.

She and the team hit the road. Starting at USC, they did not just promote Tinder, they made it an exclusive experience: They threw parties, with one catch: To get in, attendees had to download the app first.

Going Viral

The strategy worked like wildfire.

College students, eager to be part of the hottest new party, downloaded the app to get access. And once they got it, they started using it, swiping on people at the event. The social proof was immediate—if their friends were using it, they had to try it too.

Word spread like wildfire and Tinder became a campus phenomenon.

What started as a handful of college parties soon turned into a national movement.

By the end of 2013, Tinder had millions of users. Within a few years, it became the go-to dating app worldwide, revolutionizing modern dating.

Today, Tinder boasts over 75 million active users per month and has generated billions in revenue. But it all started with a simple insight—great ideas do not sell themselves.

The right strategy can break - or make! - any product.

The Takeaway

Great products do not go viral by accident. They need a spark—something that makes people excited. Want buzz? Try one (or all) of these strategies:

• Exclusivity – People love being part of something others cannot access.

• Social proof – When people see others using or talking about your product, they are far more likely to try it themselves.

• In-person experiences – Online marketing is great, but a real-world moment where people interact with your product, sticks.

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Steal This Strategy

🎥 Video - The Tinder startup story in 2 minutes
A great breakdown of Tinder’s marketing strategy.

📖 Book - Contagious: Why Things Catch On
Jonah Berger explains why ideas and products spread.

🛠️ Tool - AppTweak: Optimizae Your App
Learn how to get your app ranked higher and attract more downloads.

Overnight Challenge

Think of a creative way to generate buzz for your product or service. Could you add an element of exclusivity? A viral challenge? A social event? Some Guerrilla marketing perhaps? Brainstorm one idea and take the first step toward making it happen.

About Steve

Steve Strauss is the best-selling author of The Small Business Bible (and 17 other books), Inc.’s small business columnist, a lawyer (non-practicing), and an entrepreneur. He sold his last venture, TheSelfEmployed.com to Mark Cuban & Zen Business. Need a ghostwriter or a newsletter for your business? Contact Steve!

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