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==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.zoosk.com Official website]
* [http://www.zoosk.com Official website]
other links
[http://www.datethewealthy.com Date The Wealthy]


[[Category:Online dating services]]
[[Category:Online dating services]]

Revision as of 01:43, 24 November 2012

Zoosk, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryConsumer services
FoundedFremont, California, U.S. (2007 (2007))
FounderAlex Mehr
Shayan Zadeh
Headquarters,
Area served
Worldwide
ServicesOnline dating service
RevenueUS$90 million (2011)
Total equityUS$40.1 million (2011)
Number of employees
100 (October 2011)
Websitezoosk.com

Zoosk is a romantic social network with an online dating service that integrates with other social networks.[1][2][3][4][2][5]

Zoosk is available in 25 languages and serves more than 70 countries.[3] The company earned the #29 spot in The Wall Street Journal’s The Next Big Thing 2011 – The Top 50 Venture-Funded Companies list.[1]

The company was founded in 2007 by co-CEOs Shayan Zadeh and Alex Mehr.[1][6][2] Zoosk’s headquarters are in San Francisco, CA.

History

Zoosk launched in December 2007. Its co-founders, Shayan Zadeh and Alex Mehr, are the company’s co-CEOs.[6][1][2] Zoosk integrates dating and social networking and has a popular Facebook application.[7]

Zadeh and Mehr were roommates at graduate school at the University of Maryland. Zadeh worked at Microsoft after graduating with a master’s degree. Mehr earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. and later worked for NASA. Mehr attended business school at the University of California at Berkeley, but he dropped out to work on Zoosk.[8]

Zadeh and Mehr originally opened a market research company that leveraged social media. Shortly after that company launched, Zadeh and Mehr began using their market research technology to build Facebook games. One of these games led to Zoosk.[8]

Product

Zoosk is a site that combines social networking and online dating. Social graph information is incorporated into user profiles. The company has a popular application on Facebook. Zoosk has a dedicated website, a mobile app, and a desktop chat client.[5]

Zoosk targets younger users aged 25 to 35.[5][2] 70% of its users are under age 35. It uses gamification and popularity rankings to encourage participation. Zoosk also offers “couple services” to users who have already found a match. These services include couple profiles.[9]

Email Spam

Beware that Zoosk will first ask the user for their email address and a password. It then hijacks the user's contact list and sends an email pretending to be the user to his/her contacts. The email normally has "xx shares photos with you" as subject, to lure others to register. And during the registration process, Zoosk will do the same all over again.

Funding

Zoosk’s investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, ATA Ventures and Canaan Partners.[2] The company has raised more than $40 million in equity.[1]

Awards and recognition

The Wall Street Journal ranked Zoosk number 29 on its The Next Big Thing 2011 – The Top 50 Venture-Funded Companies list. This ranking highlights the U.S. venture-funded companies most likely to succeed. Zoosk moved up from a number 42 spot the previous year.[1]

About.com’s 2011 Reader’s Choice Awards named Zoosk’s iPhone app a finalist in its Best Dating App competition.[10]

Zoosk was nominated for a Crunchies award in 2010 for Best Time Sink Application.[11]

Also in 2010, Zoosk was featured in the Flo Rida and T-Pain single “Zoosk Girl,” which appeared on Flo Rida’s third album “The Only One".[12]

According to AppAppeal, in August 2012 Zoosk was the fifth most popular dating app in the world and the third in the U.S.[13] In 2012, the company also won a prestigious [14] Effie Award for its advertising campaign "Online Dating, Your Way".[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "The Next Big Thing 2011 - The Top 50 Venture-Funded Comapnies" The Wall Street Journal Accessed September 6 2012
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kincaid, Jason "Zoosk Lands Another $30 Million for Social Dating" The Washington Post Accessed September 6 2012
  3. ^ a b "Form 8-K" United States Securities and Exchange Commission Accessed September 8 2012
  4. ^ Minotti, Mike "Romantic social network Zoosk encourages lovebirds to stick around with Couple Profiles" Venture Beat Accessed September 8 2012
  5. ^ a b c Kincaid, Jason "Zoosk Hits 40 Million Members, Eyes $20 Million In Revenue This Year" Tech Crunch Accessed September 7 2012 Cite error: The named reference "TC" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b "Zoosk profile" CrunchBase Accessed September 6 2012
  7. ^ Ward, Bryan "Zoosk Is Facebook's Fastest Growing Application" AllFacebook Accessed September 6 2012
  8. ^ a b "Shayan Zadeh & Alex Mehr Interview" Vimeo Accessed September 6 2012
  9. ^ "Mehr Says Zoosk Is Social Network for `Romantic Life'" The Washington Post Accessed September 7 2012
  10. ^ "Best Dating App Readers' Choice Award 2011 Finalists" About.com Accessed September 9 2012
  11. ^ Kincaid, Jason"Congratulations Crunchies Winners! Facebook Takes Best Overall For The Hat Trick" TechCrunch Accessed September 9 2012
  12. ^ Graff, Gary"Flo Rida to Show Range of Skills on Double Album, 'The Only One'" BillBoard Accessed September 9 2012
  13. ^ "The Most Popular Dating App Per Country" AppAppeal Accessed September 10 2012
  14. ^ "Effie Awards" Advertising Educational Foundation Accessed September 10 2012
  15. ^ "Effie:Zoosk" Effie Worldwide Accessed September 9 2012

other links Date The Wealthy