Love is in Air!
Platform and the Business of Love
What happens when the two places- College and Office- where you may find a soul mate shut down and then go virtual ? You turn to platforms ! And for a weekly dose of Running Platform Marketing Life, you have come to the right place. You could also read these earlier newsletters on Love and Relationships.
For me ,the following two lines from an immortal song from the movie Anand written by Yogesh Gaur, sung by Mukesh and composed by Salil Chowdhary summarise whatever I can think about relationships !
कहीं तो ये दिल कभी मिल नहीं पाते
कहीं पे निकल आये जन्मों के नाते
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If you would like to read a summary of the 45 posts in 2020, please do read this newsletter.
DTW
During the Week, Bumble went public and sold 50 million shares to asset managers, hedge funds and the like at $43 a share, raising $2.15 billion.
Platforms like Bumble have made this beginning of giving more power to women to make the first move in a relationship and thus control the direction and speed of its evolution. Perhaps a Valentine Day date may not be right time to bring the “Money Management in Relationship” issue to the fore but everybody should do it ASAP.
Managing Money happens to be single largest cause of divorce and surely leads to multiple rifts while they are together. Multiple FinTechs are trying to help couples manage their finance well. Honeydue is a free mobile app that makes it easy for couples to stay on top of money. Others like HoneyFi app provide a full-service couples money where they can build a financial profile by answering questions about financial styles and how they manage money as a couple.
There is a growing trend of traditional business either vacating this financial management space or being pushed out by new age FinTech platforms. For example, Qapital which is a challenger bank built on behavioral science, launched QapitalⓇ Dream Team™ Beta – the first ever holistic money planning tool for couples.
There is plenty of research which suggests that proper financial planning by couples can do wonders for their financial and mental health.
Many apparently unrelated business are also trying their hand at the dating market to create a better value proposition for their products. Of late, Peloton users have started using the various discussion group to create non-fitness related connections with other users. Some of these relationships have transitioned from virtual to IRL.
According to an analysis by Statista, Valentine’s Day, widely considered to be one of the most romantic holidays of the year, was expected to generate sales of just under 17 billion U.S. dollars in the United States in 2021. Most of this value would be captured by modern e-commerce and delivery platforms.
Platforms across the world have seen their revenue go up significantly such Hallmark driven “days” events. In November 2020, Chinese e-commerce platforms including JD.com and Alibaba did business worth 116 Billion USD during Single’s Day.
Of course , if nothing works then you could definitely go to Invisible BoyFriend or Invisible GirlFriend and build one soulmate for your specification at an introductory package of $24.99 per month that includes 200 messages as well as 1 personalised note.
OTW
Over the Weekend, I finished reading Unfinished - a new memoir by Priyanka Chopra Jonas. I really admire her courage in going international and of course being the kind of spokesperson for some of the larger socio-economic issues. The book is great for somebody like me who does not follow much of personal side of creative economy but falls short of insights of her evolution as an astute businessperson. She happens to be promoter and also an investor in Bumble.
In the pandemic, she has managed to produce two feature length films and written a memoir! May her tribe grow.
Here is Wishing a Happy Valentine’s Day from my loved ones to yours. Let me leave you with these lines from my favourite poet Kahlil Gibran on Love.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
Stay Safe, Wash your Hands and Wear Mask, may be two!
I Love You
Shailendra
PS- I have also started planning for my Annual Himalayan Summer Trek 2021 from May 22nd to 30th in association with AAGAAS. As usual , we would be trekking with friends and family in Garhwal Himalayas between Mandakini and Alaknanda Valley. This is primarily organised with local support to promote eco-tourism and thus may not have any luxury/paraphernalia but focuses on great experience and even better company. If you feel that a friend, colleague or a family member might be interested in this trek, please ask them to use the link to join to WhatsApp group for Annual Himalayan Trek organised by AAGAAS, Pipalkoti.
I loved this photo <3 and the newsletter too (as always) :)
as they say in old phrase एक से भले दो. So does the power of love and relationship. and it seems that not only with bumble and other dating apps which are promoting this. But many startups like mamaearth and vedaearth which were founded by couples and making millions as a success. and obviously the love and relationship is growing.
regards