A case study slide deck accompanying the final presentation on the current lawsuit against Tinder launched by it's former co-founder Whitney Wolfe for the Advanced Practices in Digital Reputation Management course in University of Toronto's Digital Strategy Certificate program.

1. Breaking up is Hard to Do,
The Fallout between
Co-Founders at Tinder
!
Course:SCS 2879 003 Advanced Practices in Digital Reputation Management
Instructor: Martin Waxman
Prepared by: William Smith

2. What is Tinder?
A: Tinder is a dating app for
both iOS and Android devices
that uses your Facebook
profile to create your presence.
Both users have to like each
other before commencing
conversation.

3. Situation
!
• Tinder is part of a portfolio of dating sites including Ok Cupid and
match.com generating sales revenues of $788 Million per year for
IAC.
• The crisis is a very damaging sexual harassment and discrimination
suit instigated by former co-founder and marketing vice president
Whitney Wolfe against Tinder CMO Justin Mateen. Co-named in the
suit as well is Tinder CEO Sean Rad as well as Match CEO Sam Yagan
for not acting on Wolfe’s concerns.
• Coincides with rumoured plans for IAC to spin the dating site portfolio
under the Match banner as a separate company. Thus boosting the
share price for the parent company and it’s chair and CEO Barry Diller.

4. Timeline
• IAC takes control of the new product incubator Hatch Labs in 2011.
• Whitney Wolfe and Sean Rad are hired on as Vice-President of Marketing and CEO respectively in
May 2012.
• Justin Mateen was hired on by Sean RAD as Chief Marketing Officer in August 2012.
• Tinder was created in 2012 by a core team of five people in a new product incubator owned by IAC.
• Two the co-founders Whitney Wolfe and CMO Justin Mateen start dating in the December 2012.
• Wolfe and Mateen break up December 2013.
• From January to April 2014 Wolfe was on the receiving end of constant verbal abuse during meetings
and events as well as very nasty text messages from Mateen her immediate reporting manger.
• Wolfe is fired April 2014 after going to Sean Rad repeatedly to complain about Mateen’s behaviour.
• The sexual discrimination and harassment lawsuit was launched June 30 in Los Angeles.
• Traditional, online and social media took the story starting the same day and continued on for the
next few weeks.

6. Tinder/IAC Key Messages
• What happened to Wolfe is reprehensible and
Tinder CMO Mateen has been put on indefinite
leave.
• We don’t condone that behaviour in our company.
• We don’t agree Wolfe was a co-founder and her
role in the creation and marketing of Tinder was
less than what she is representing in her suit
against us.

7. IAC Objective/ Strategy
• Objective is to wind the story down in the news
cycle.
• Raise awareness that an internal investigation is
being conducted and that Mr. Mateen has been put
on indefinite leave.
• Conduct a reactive crisis media relations
campaign.

8. Tactics/Audiences
• Reactive media relations campaign. The initial response was
through Tinder’s PR department the same day the suit was placed.
• IAC corporate communications took over the lead in-house spokes
person Matthew Traub with national media.
• Secondary spokespeople the Match group CEO Mr. Yagan with
regional media and at the Sun Valley Conference IAC Chair Mr.
Diller interviewed at the Allen and Co. Media Technology
Conference.
• Focused on business media, the technology community and the
investment industry.
• Did not use their own social media channels to push the story out.

9. Played Defensively
and Match/IAC failed.

10. Why did Match/IAC Fail?
• While some tech blogs like Techcrunch reported the story tilted in
favour of Tinder and IAC.
• Other sites with more gravitas like Bloomberg-Businessweek were far
more sympathetic to Wolfe and dug deeper behind the story and found
she predated Mateen in what is now Tinder, did more of the marketing
work and had strong cause to hold onto her co-founder status.
• Just because the story is quieting down with big news outlets, bloggers
are still commenting and the spotlight will return when the sexual
discrimination and harassment case goes to trial and will get a lot
worse.
• The problem is not going away and can still do harm to Tinder and
Match’s reputation.

11. Strategic Concerns
• Tinder though positioned as a start up was created by an IAC incubator group
to be part of the Match group from the start.
• In some articles and blog posts it’s revealed that Mateen and Rad had far less
input in Tinder’s creation than positioned by the company and Wolfe had much
more input on the marketing strategy and even suggesting the name of the
app.
• Tinder is part of group of online dating site companies under the Match.com
banner owned by IAC, controlling 28% of the market and worth $788 million in
sales last year.
• Wall St. would like IAC to spin off the Match group off as a separate company
thus increasing the parent company’s share price.
• Wolfe’s discrimination and harassment suit, if it goes to trial will put these plans
in jeopardy and cause damage to the Match group within IAC.

12. My Recommendation to IAC
and Match
• For the story to die, both Justin Mateen and Sean Rad have to be
terminated from their jobs immediately.
• IAC has to settle out of court with Whitney Wolfe, acknowledge
her co-founder status and apologize. Regardless of the size of
the cash settlement, it will be well worth it.
• A protracted court case will be another media circus and cost
the company a chance to spin off it’s dating group as well as
dealing with the online mob, will be more expensive.
• Take a stand that sexism and “brogrammer” behaviour is not
welcome in the IAC group of companies and will be dealt with
appropriately.

13. My Recommendations
Continued
• Listen to the conversation in the media on social media via
Marketwired’s Mapping tool.
• Time line, respond within 24 hours of the lawsuit being filed.
• Strategy, engage business, mainstream and online media as well
as bloggers covering the technology industry.
• Get our message out via video Vimeo and Youtube with IAC Chair
Mr. Diller as the spokesperson,outlining the key messages in the
previous slide.
• Measure via Marketwired’s Mapping tool for online conversations
and monitor conventional media after the video has been shared
and media relations campaign through conventional methods.

14. Suggested Reading
!
• http://www.scribd.com/doc/232086262/Whitney-Wolfe-lawsuit-against-Tinder
• http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-02/tinders-forgotten-woman-whitney-wolfe-sexism-and-startup-creation-
myths#r=most%20popular
• http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/09/whitney-wolfe-vs-tinder/
• https://medium.com/message/how-tinder-co-founder-whitney-wolfe-hacked-metcalfes-law-f607dddbde66
• http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-02/tinder-suit-for-harassment-reinforces-boys-club-image.html
• http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-07/will-tinders-trouble-spread-to-iacs-online-dating-empire
• http://time.com/2962804/tinder-women-and-the-question-every-investor-should-ask/
• http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/01/us-tinder-lawsuit-harrassment-idUSKBN0F52JC20140701
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2014/06/17/the-new-hot-or-not-like-tinder-but-just-for-fun/
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/03/tinder-whitney-wolfe-sexual-harassment-lawsuit_n_5555660.html
• http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/business/media/tinder-is-target-of-sexual-harassment-lawsuit.html?_r=0
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/07/01/read-the-most-surprising-allegations-from-the-tinder-sexual-
harassment-lawsuit/