Tinder withdrew from Russia, Twinby filled the void: Project owners earned 2.6 million dollars

The dating site Tinder joined Western sanctions and left the Russian market. In Russia, this void seems to have been filled by a project from two young entrepreneurs named Veronika Yakovleva and Valeriy Klimov. 

The two graduates of the Moscow HSE (Higher School of Economics) have already earned 2.6 million dollars (approximately 88 million TL) by developing an alternative dating app to Tinder in Russia.

According to Forbes, the two young people came up with the idea of creating a dating app called Twinby in 2021.

Yakovleva, a young entrepreneur living in Moscow, had gained work experience in various IT projects after graduating from HSE. Klimov was a businessman living in Moscow who had accumulated significant capital by working for years in advertising and crypto projects.

TINDER WITHDREW FROM RUSSIA, TWINBY ENTERED THE MARKET

When the development of the application was completed, they did not miss the opportunity to replace Tinder, which was popular in Russia. As Tinder withdrew from Russia in 2023, Twinby entered the market by launching a major marketing campaign, and the number of downloads for the application increased rapidly.

The campaign, which was carried out with a budget of approximately 1 million dollars, ensured that the application was downloaded 2 million times by the autumn of 2023.

The knowledge the two entrepreneurs acquired during their education at HSE formed the foundation of the application.

They differentiated themselves from other dating apps, particularly with a "matching system based on personality typologies." The application aims to match users through scientifically supported tests.

NUMBER OF ACTIVE USERS APPROACHED 1 MILLION

Twinby's success grew rapidly thanks to the right marketing strategies and collaborations with influential leaders. With the support of celebrities such as the famous rapper Alisher Morgenstern and socialite journalist Ksenia Sobchak, the application reached a wide audience.

As the project grows, the entrepreneurs plan for the application to become profitable in Russia by the end of this year. They also aim to expand into the European market in the future. To this end, they are planning to increase the functionality of the application by raising new funds.

Twinby has currently reached 5.5 million downloads in Russia, and the number of active users has risen to 940 thousand. The entrepreneurs plan to take the application to the international market in the long term and are continuing their work in line with this goal.

News Source: 12punto