Coffee Meets Bagel is a dating and social networking service based in San Francisco. Coffee Meets Bagel was incepted by three sisters, namely Soo Kang, Arum Kang, and Dawoon Kang. On 17 April 2012, the sisters launched the app in New York City. The app aims to match a person with a potential partner through a mutual friend on Facebook. The app has two main sections where a person can browse profiles, and these are Discover, and Suggested.
In the Suggested section, there are suggested matches by the app, and one has to like to get started. On the Discover section, you can browse through the profiles of the users who meet the criteria you have specified in the Discover filters. Compared to other dating sites, Coffee Meets Bagel is relatively easy to use and very convenient as well.
Inception
After its inception in April 2012, the company announced to have raised a seed funding $600,000. Lightbank led the funding, and it also included the investment of Peng T. Ong, the co-founder of Match.com. On 10 May 2012, the company was launched in Boston, and this was followed by another launch on 24 October 2012, in San Francisco.
In an episode of the Shark Tank that aired in January 2015, the Kang sisters were part of it. They had gone in search of an investment of $500,000 in exchange for 5% of their business. The Sharks were very impressed, and Mark Cuban did not hesitate to make them an offer. However, the offer turned out to be the biggest in the history of the series.
Mark Cuban shocked everyone after offering the sisters $30 million for the entire business instead of the $500,000 they wanted for the 5% of the business. The Kang sisters were not willing to part with the business, and they turned the offer down. The rejection led to a lot of backlash to the sisters, but they stood their ground, saying that they believed the business would become much more valuable in the future.
After rejecting the offer, critics stated and believed that that was the end of Coffee Meets Bagel. However, to their astonishment, the Kang sisters have proved all of them wrong as they have worked very hard, and their site continued growing. It even went international with its launch in Sydney and Hong Kong in 2015.
Evolution
Despite turning down Mark Cuban’s offer, the Kang sisters still needed funding for their fast-growing business in order to get to its full potential. They worked really hard, and on 4 May 2018, they raised a total of $6.7 million in series B funding. This was a very big boost to their company, and their business expanded even further.
One of the reasons why the site is very successful is because it has many unique selling points compared to other dating sites. Coffee Meets Bagel uses Facebook to match its users based on the things that they have in common. The men are sent 21 matches daily, and the matches they like to get the option to like the matches who have already liked them. Direct contact is only available when a Coffee (used to refer to men) and a Bagel (used to refer to women), both click the like button on a potential match.
Awards & Achievements
One of the biggest achievements of the site is making more than 50 million matches since it was launched. As of 2019, they had more than 7 million users, and this is a huge achievement, considering it has been operational for about seven years. In 2019, Coffee Meet Bagel won the Shorty Award. This was for a marketing video they made on rapper Ice-T taking coffee and bagel for the first time.
Net Worth of Coffee Meets Bagel in 2024
As of November 2024, Coffee Meets Bagel is estimated to be worth $150 million. The app, which was launched in 2010, has seen immense growth over the years and has succeeded amid stiff competition. The company was once able to raise more than $7.8 million in external funding, and this shows the rate of success they have. The co-founders refused a $30 million buy-out back in 2015, and today, they can celebrate their decision back then.
Coffee Meets Bagel is an online dating platform that is designed to help singes make wise connections. It was launched in 2012 and as of 2024; it had more than 8 million users. This goes a long way to show the magnitude of growth in the company. The Kang sisters had a vision, and they have worked very hard to achieve it. Today their site is ranked among the top dating sites, and they are not slowing down as they have plans to launch in Seattle and other cities as well.
I just saw the episode on Shark Tank, you sisters Rock!! I am currently looking for work, had to leave my current job due to being a very toxic environment. If you have a position in your company, I would really love to join your team.