Thrill
Parent company of @frivilapp & http://t.co/C5DYovfHgZ..
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
| N/A | €0.0 | round | |
N/A | Convertible | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Thrill Pte Ltd. operates a mobile dating application aimed at the Indian market, positioning itself with a distinctive, female-centric user verification model. Founded in November 2012 by Josh Israel and Devin Serago, the company established a presence in both Singapore and Delhi.
The founders, Israel and Serago, previously co-founded Plan A Drink, Inc., a dating platform developed at the Los Angeles-based accelerator, Start Engine. After determining the product-market fit was not ideal for the US, they identified an opportunity in emerging markets, which led to the creation of Thrill. Israel holds a degree in Labor and Employment Relations from Rutgers University, while Serago earned a degree in Business Administration from Monmouth University.
Thrill's platform operates on a unique premise where women hold the gatekeeping power. While female users can join freely, male users must apply and be voted in by the existing female community to gain access, a mechanism designed to enhance safety and the quality of the user base. The application requires users to log in via social media accounts like Facebook or LinkedIn to further verify profiles.
The company's business model gained significant traction, securing a total of $1M in funding over two rounds. An initial seed round in May 2013 involved investors like Samir Bangara, former MD at Walt Disney Company India, and Rajesh Kamat of CA Media. In January 2015, Thrill raised an undisclosed amount from People Group, the parent company of the major matrimonial portal Shaadi.com, for a significant minority stake. This deal also involved merging People Group's existing dating property, Fropper, under the Thrill brand, which was expected to make Thrill a profitable entity with an expanded user base and revenue stream from Fropper's existing operations.
Keywords: mobile dating, online dating India, female-centric dating, dating app, matchmaking app, Josh Israel, Devin Serago, People Group, Shaadi.com investment, social discovery, Fropper acquisition, user-voted access, curated dating, seed funding, mobile application, social networking, Indian youth market, online matchmaking, digital dating platform