Tinder founder Sean Rad will step down from his role as chief executive, according to Forbes.
Rad will stay at the helm of the social dating app until its parent company InterActivCorp finds a replacement. He then will serve as president and join Tinder’s board.
Tinder and IAC representatives could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Update (Nov. 5, 1:35 p.m.): A Tinder representative provided the following statement from Rad. “We’re recruiting a new CEO to lead Tinder through this time of explosive growth and expansion, adding world-class talent to the management team and allowing me to focus on Tinder’s product and brand. Alongside the rest of the Tinder board, I look forward to working with the new CEO to realize Tinder’s massive potential.”
Rad learned he was booted before delivering a keynote talk at Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia last month, the outlet reported. It was during that same onstage chat that Rad revealed Tinder’s plans to offer a paid premium service that would add features to its otherwise free-to-download app.
Rad’s ouster was largely due to the June 30 sexual harassment and discrimination suit filed by former Tinder employee Whitney Wolfe, according to Forbes. Justin Mateen, the former chief marketing officer who co-founded the app with Rad, resigned after the suit was settled.
Tinder recently shared staggering statistics for its app, which asks users to approve or disapprove potential suitors by swiping right or left. Users log in an average of 11 times a day and spend nearly 90 minutes a day on the app. Tinder processes 1.2 billion swipes and makes 14 million matches daily.
That kind of engagement is unheard of. And it’s most likely why IAC is eager to take tighter control over the wildly successful app.
Tinder in 2012 launched out of IAC’s incubator Hatch Labs, which gave the Internet behemoth a controlling stake in the startup. Forbes said that IAC will continue to retain a 60 percent stake in Tinder while Rad owns 10 percent. The rest of the equity is shared among other employees. VC firm Benchmark Capital also has an equity stake in Tinder after General Partner Matt Cohler, whom Rad refers to as a mentor, joined the app’s board last Tuesday.
Staff reporter Melissah Yang can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @MelissahYang for the latest in L.A. tech news.
