The rise of Sean Rad, who served as Tinder CEO twice and is now taking on Match Group and IAC in a $2 billion lawsuit (IAC)
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Tinder/GLAAD
Tinder founder Sean Rad has had a tumultuous few years.
When Tinder launched in 2012, it was a near-instant success. The dating app made over a million matches in less than two months, became a sensation on college campuses, and gained recognition from tech's elite. Six years after launch, the company is valued around $3 billion and is one of the highest-grossing apps in the App Store.
But Tinder also had its share of troubles. One of its cofounders, Whitney Wolfe, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against another cofounder, Justin Mateen. Rad stepped down from his post as CEO, only to return to the helm six months later. Eventually, he switched stepped aside as CEO for good to become Tinder's chairman.
Now, Rad and a group of nine other former and current Tinder employees are suing InterActiveCorp and Match Group, the owners of Tinder, for $2 billion.
Here's how Rad got his start, helped build Tinder into a billion-dollar startup, and went to war with IAC.
Maya Kosoff contributed to an earlier version of this story.
Sean Rad, the son of Iranian immigrants who came to Los Angeles in the 1970s, grew up in the Persian community of Beverly Hills. His parents worked in the consumer tech industry.
Noam Galai/Getty Images for TechCrunch
"In my family, there was a need to make something of our lives," Rad told Rolling Stone. "Not doing something big with your life was just not accepted."
Source: Rolling Stone
He was initially drawn to show business, but a high school internship for an entertainment manager turned him off to the whole industry.
Getty
"I figured I could amass a lot of wealth by doing things I love — then I can control my own fate as an artist," he told Rolling Stone.
Source: Rolling Stone
Rad's parents gave him his first cell phone when he was 13. Five years later, he started an integrated mobile messaging company called Orgoo.
Flickr via jdlasica
Source: Rolling Stone
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Tinder founders say former CEO 'groped and sexually harassed' an executive at a company party in bombshell $2 billion lawsuit
- Tinder's parent company allegedly faked financial information to lower the dating app's valuation, according to a new lawsuit
- Tinder's founders are suing Match Group and IAC, saying they've been ripped off — and they're seeking at least $2 billion in damages