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  • January 2022
  • Case
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Dating Ring

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lindsay N. Hyde
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:13
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Abstract

In 2015, the co-founders of Dating Ring, an online dating startup that relied on human matchmakers to arrange dates between its members, were deciding whether to either shut down the service or instead manage Dating Ring as a "lifestyle company," ramping down growth expectations, abandoning plans to raise more venture capital, and keeping tight control over costs. Dating Ring's founders originally aimed to achieve a billion dollar valuation, and their participation in the elite Y Combinator accelerator has stoked their ambitions. However, growth had subsequently sputtered and the founders had not been able to raise more venture capital.

Keywords

Entrepreneurship; Failure; Business Exit or Shutdown; Internet and the Web; Venture Capital; Service Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

Citation

Eisenmann, Thomas R., and Lindsay N. Hyde. "Dating Ring." Harvard Business School Case 822-013, January 2022.
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About The Authors

Thomas R. Eisenmann

Entrepreneurial Management
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Lindsay N. Hyde

Entrepreneurial Management
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More from the Authors
  • LinkedIn: Project InVersion By: Sara McKinley Torti and Thomas R. Eisenmann
  • Decent: Building Affordable Healthcare for All By: Lindsay N. Hyde, DJ DiDonna and James Barnett
  • DocSend: A Path off the Plateau? By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jeffrey Huizinga
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