Love has always been complicated, especially for the queer community. On top of the inherent challenges of being queer in a straight world, the COVID-19 pandemic has added some new hurdles to the sex & dating landscape, cutting us off from one another and from our hard-earned traditions and safe spaces. Nevertheless, the queer community has done what it’s always done when faced with a challenge: adapted, evolved, and grown stronger.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we asked 10,000 Grindr users in the U.S., U.K., Brazil, Mexico and India about how their behaviors and expectations have changed since the pandemic’s onset and found that, despite all the loneliness of a year spent in isolation, romance isn’t dead. In fact, the opposite might be true. The Grindr community appears to be using this time to dig deeper into their core values: what they want from a partner, what their comfort zone looks like in a changed world, and how to stay healthy—physically, sexually, and emotionally.

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Head over to www.grindr.com/covid for the full report, as well as our COVID sex & dating safety guidelines created in partnership with Building Health Online Communities (BHOC). If you’re not meeting up this Valentine’s Day, you’re not alone. If you are, you owe it to yourself and your community to heed expert-recommended ways to minimize risk. Either way, we’re here to help you stay informed, stay safe, and stay connected.

Meet Marielle Rodriguez (she/her), our Product Manager working on our Anti-Abuse team at Grindr!

‍Marielle has been with Grindr for just over a year and has loved the work, the learning, and the achievements that Grindr has made in that time. Previously, Marielle was a Test Manager for a team of testers and had been part of the Quality Assurance world for more than 15 years before transitioning to product management. One of Marielle’s most recent accomplishments was taking part in her first Hackathon at Grindr where her team took home 1st place!

Check out Marielle’s Grindr story below, and take a look at our careers page to learn more about our open job opportunities.

Have you always worked in Product Management for Tech Companies? What drew you to the role or the dating space specifically?

There was a very special and endearing project I was working on at my previous employer and being part of that mobile app prototype sparked my interest in Product Management. I was passionate about the difference this prototype could have in someone’s life and the impact it would have on users.

I also loved the ability to collaborate cross-functionally to deliver a product that started as just an idea. While I wasn’t too familiar with the Product Manager role, I inadvertently was performing that work and when the opportunity to try this at Grindr presented itself, it felt right.

Tell us why you joined Grindr. What do you love most about our mission and our culture?

Initially, I was not familiar with the app; it wasn’t even installed on my phone. So when I downloaded it and created my account, I thought, “What am I doing?” I was new to the dating space but as I spoke to more folks on the Anti-Abuse team, I began to understand and feel very strongly about the work and the efforts of the team and what it means for our users and the queer community. Supporting the LGBTQIA+ community in building connections in a safe and secure space is work worth doing and I needed to be a part of it.

Also, the employees at Grindr truly make the culture here. Being around so many passionate, collaborative, and innovative colleagues motivates me to continue to do the work that I do. People work at Grindr for more than just a paycheck and you can really feel that.

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Tell us a little bit more about your role as a Product Manager for Anti-Abuse. What is the function to Grindr and how does it support users?

Anti-Abuse has many facets and dimensions. Our work is mostly done behind the scenes and doesn’t always directly interface with the users. As a Product Manager, I am part of the integrations with systems and services that eliminate and reduce spam on our platform.

Those efforts also expand out to other bad actors and behaviors that users should not experience. Our efforts are to provide users with safety and security when using the app and engaging with the community in a trusted way. Oftentimes, when people think of spam on our app, they tend to categorize everything under the same umbrella. But there are many dimensions to the work that Anti-Abuse is doing. Beyond preventing scams, we are leaning in with the moderation team to proactively identify bullying, abuse, and activity that should not be happening on the app. There is a real human on the other side of the phone and we want to make sure that our users' safety is top priority in every interaction.

What interesting problems is your Grindr team solving for and what are you looking forward to for the future?

One of the most fascinating challenges working in Anti-Abuse is the evolution of spam and the negative use of social media apps. Our efforts to detect patterns and aid our moderation team is one of the biggest challenges we’re focused on solving. We aim to build new and unique features that build trust with our users and allow them to be their authentic selves.

While spam and bad actors are never a good thing for our users, they present interesting challenges for our team to solve. Not only do we have to work with the engineering and CX teams on developing strategies to counteract abuse, but also to mitigate it proactively as technology evolves.

What are your goals for Grindr’s Anti-Abuse team as you continue to grow and scale the team?

Anti-Abuse’s goals are ongoing and focus on making the user’s experience safe and positive, helping them find genuine and meaningful connections. To do this we are partnering with the engineering and moderation teams on implementing more solutions that identify bad actors earlier and more often. We consistently go through user-reported data and flags to make sure that we are addressing concerns while simultaneously being conscious of an inclusive moderation process. The goal is to make sure that we get bad actors off the app and keep Grindr a fun, engaging, and safe experience for everyone.

Beyond that, Grindr is a very collaborative company and as we grow and new product features are rolled out, we will continue to partner with other teams to keep our users' safety and security at the forefront of the work that we do. Our vision is a world where all queer people belong; empowered to connect, love, live joyfully, and build authentic community. To that end, we need to bring in talent that understands the importance of our users’ safety and is passionate about supporting the global queer community.

If you are interested in working with creative and passionate people like Marielle on user safety and security, you should check out our open Product Director, Anti-Abuse role!

Check out our careers page for a full list of open positions at Grindr.

We want to share with you what we are hearing, and what we’re doing as a result.

Since our last Voice of the Customer report, we’ve seen a clear theme around community resources and education, showing how much our community is engaged, curious, and wanting to learn more about themselves and each other.

Monkeypox

We’ve heard from many of you that Monkeypox is top of mind. To help get you the information you need, we’ve linked to global Monkeypox resources on our help page, which can be easily accessed either from the home page of our help center or from the sidebar inside our app. This help page has quickly become our #1 most viewed article.

Grindr for Equality, the social justice arm of Grindr, is partnering with public health groups around the world to share information with folks that’s specific to their area. We also had an Instagram Live session with the White House special task force as well as our partners at Building Healthy Online Communities, and have sent BHOC's national US vaccine site locator tool to all US users in both English and Spanish.

We’re working on more ways to help our users, both within the app and outside it by advocating for increased access to testing and vaccination. More to come.

Gender Resources

“Cis” and “Cis Man” were two of the most common searches within the help center this quarter. (Note: searches are actually typing something into the search bar which is an incredibly strong signal of interest.) This search was so specific, it was a mystery as to why, until we realized that the gender identity FAQ page (linked to from an in-app tooltip) had “If I’m cis and someone asks my pronouns, is it offensive to give a joking answer?” as the first result. Folks wanting to learn more about gender immediately came across a term they didn’t know, and searched for it in our center.

We’ve now highlighted “What does it mean to be cisgender?” as the first FAQ entry to make it easier to find, and we’re gathering together to see what else we can do to support those who want to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community.

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Warnings

We’ve heard from you that you’d like more communication and transparency around content moderation decisions and rules, as well as the opportunity to correct behavior before being banned. This is especially true for situations where you believe you weren’t necessarily trying to cause harm to others.

We’re happy to announce that we have now added an in-app warning for commercial activity. This is in addition to the existing warning for harassment and bullying.

Scam Awareness Guide

We updated our Scam Awareness Guide, and sent it out in an inbox message- 20% of you clicked through to read the full guide – that’s a high level of engagement!

We’ll continue to update and share our guides periodically, and are so glad it’s been helpful to so many of you.

Bugs And Outages

Unfortunately, we’re still hearing from you that bugs and outages are a concern. We’re always working to eliminate these issues, and want you to know that bug reports are triaged by a dedicated support team and shared with our Engineers to help them reproduce the error and find solutions.

The current 7-day average for how many users had a crash free experience is 99.3% on iOS and 99.79% on Android. Though this is an improvement from last quarter, we still want this number to be at 100%.

-Alice Hunsberger, VP, Customer Experience | LinkedIn

Grindr went to a remote-first office environment in response to the global pandemic. Since then we have made remote-first our ongoing office strategy, while creating regional "hubs" where people can work in person, if and when they choose. We have also been launching and expanding new and existing perks to keep our employees productive and connected.

Our current remote-first office perks include a monthly snack box membership, money to dial-in your home office set-up, regular virtual and in-person team-building events, and monthly stipends for meals and health & wellness activities. We recently added Included Health and FOLX to our line-up of benefit offerings, which are health and wellness services that cater to the unique needs of our LGBTQ+ employees—needs that often go unaddressed by traditional health insurance companies.

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Our philosophy has been to create a perks and benefits offering that is diverse and highly tailorable. It's challenging to ensure our benefit offerings address the needs of our very diverse employee population, but it is incredibly gratifying when we find terrific organizations with which to partner, like Included Health and FOLX Health, who are as equally committed as Grindr is to improving the total health and wellness of all our employees.

Grindr takes great pride in our inclusive and progressive support for our employees and we look forward to announcing additional perks and benefits for employees and their dependents soon.

‍Meet Tyler Watson (he/him), Staff Data Scientist with Grindr!

Tyler’s background is in international development and retail. Tyler made the career shift into data science five years ago after a bit of self-study and an immersive data science program. While this may be an uncommon career path for political science undergrads, in Tyler’s own words, “I like to tell people I traded one of the sciences for another - nobody has ever laughed at that, but it’s too early to say those samples represent the overall population.”

Learn more about what brought Tyler to Grindr below and check out our careers page to stay up-to-date on open roles!

What drew you to the dating space?

I hadn’t worked in the dating space before starting with Grindr in 2021! My previous job as a data scientist was focused on using machine learning (ML) to reduce costs at a large retailer. This was full of interesting challenges, but I felt disconnected from our customers and had a feeling the people working on personalization, recommender systems, and other models that customers interacted with directly were having more fun.

It’s in my nature to spend time wondering why people behave the way they do in a given situation. I find it interesting to think about the differences between what people say they want and what they demonstrate they actually want, and how people signal things they want to communicate but might not want to say outright…it was inevitable that I would eventually start working on user-facing data science projects.

Social apps, and dating apps in particular, are huge messy ecosystems where noticing patterns in behavior is extremely rewarding since it ultimately helps you understand people better.  

What was your career path to the software industry?

I started my career as an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea because I was scared to start a desk job right out of college. This was an incredible two-year experience that had a major impact on my personality and how I view the world. One of the most important things I learned was that I wasn’t cut out to teach young kids because I couldn’t help laughing when they misbehaved.

I initially wanted to join the Foreign Service when I moved back, but the US State Department was less interested in that than I was. Fortunately, I was able to find a role in international development consulting (a fairly niche field that only really exists around government agencies that fund foreign aid projects). I spent several years working in project management and business development, which involved international travel to places not often visited by tourists. I was also in meetings with experienced foreign officials and non-profit leaders that had life experiences completely different from mine. I like to think this taught me to look for common ground with people I meet.

I started to get frustrated with the way we made decisions though - our approach was often to just ask the person who had spent the most time in the relevant country what they thought we should do. This was what really pushed me to start looking into data analytics, and then data science. Eventually, I learned enough about data science to know I wanted to dive in and make a full career change - I’ve been working in software ever since.

Tell us why you joined Grindr. What do you love most about our mission and our culture?

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The most rewarding part of working in international development for me was seeing the positive impact our work had on people’s lives. Whether it was increasing access to education, training farmers to be more efficient, or helping small businesses bring their products to market, the work I did ultimately helped improve livelihoods and increased the amount of joy in the world, which was a key driver in my decision to join Grindr.

The opportunity to do challenging and exciting data science work while also facilitating human connection, helping underserved communities, and increasing the amount of joy in the world was what attracted me to Grindr. It's fulfilling to know that if I do my job well, people are more likely to find love, friendship, and sex - whichever of those they need in their life.

How have you grown professionally while on our team?

Working at Grindr has given me ample opportunities to develop my skills and grow my expertise. In my previous role, the scope of my work usually started with data engineers giving me access to the stakeholder team’s data and ended with me delivering a model to ML engineers who would integrate it into that team’s systems. At Grindr, data scientists move much faster and work in areas that may be considered data science, data engineering, product analytics, and machine learning engineering. Developing a wider range of skills has been challenging and rewarding - expanding my focus beyond the narrow part of data science where I had previously focused was one of the things I was hoping for here. It’s made me much more resourceful, and it helps me navigate stakeholder conversations better.

I work with teams outside of engineering much more at Grindr than I did in my previous role. This has given me a cross-functional understanding of how different parts of the business work together. I have also had opportunities to present my work to people around the entire company, which has made me better at adjusting my message to the audience and thinking through what they care about.  

What interesting problems is your Grindr team solving for and what are you looking forward to for the future?

My team is focused on building high-performing machine learning and experimentation platforms at Grindr. Grindr has done a good job serving our users throughout our history (better at some points than at others), but there are features people have come to expect from social and dating apps that we don’t offer yet. The full rollout and adoption of our new experimentation platform will help us get there. It will allow us to observe the impact our product changes have on user behavior and thus make changes to the app that our users are excited about and value.

Setting this foundation will also allow us to evaluate the impact that different versions of ML models have when they are in production. For example, does personalization in the grid lead to a better user experience, or do we see that people prefer the more straightforward distance-based approach we currently use? We are setting standards now for how we will build, evaluate, deploy, and monitor ML models and getting the tools in place to support those standards so that we can speed up our time from idea to production. Once these are in place, the sky's the limit for ML at Grindr - there are countless ways we will be able to help users make meaningful connections.

Do you have a favorite memory of working at Grindr so far or a moment that stands out to you that really captures what it is like to work here?

I was on Team Grindr this summer in the AIDS/Lifecycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. There were about 15 of us on our team, and we spent a week biking 545 miles together to raise funds for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Los Angeles LGBT Center. Our leadership made it clear through their support that participation in this event was important to the company - many of our employees and users have been impacted by HIV and AIDS. In the months leading up to the event, we received repeated shout-outs during our all-hands meetings and encouragement while we trained.

While most companies make charitable donations, I felt like this went far beyond optics and was something Grindr employees at every level were genuinely happy to support. This experience captured the overall environment of positivity and support here. People at Grindr truly believe in supporting the global queer community.

If you are interested in working with talented data scientist like Tyler at a mission-driven company with a human centered product, you should consider applying for open positions with us!

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left the already vulnerable Ukrainian LGBTQ+ community in an even worse situation. Like the rest of the world, we at Grindr have been thinking about what we could do. Here’s what we’ve done so far.

Our Employees

‍The news of this crisis underscored the need to get more financial resources to the LGBTQ+ community in Ukraine. Grindr made an immediate financial contribution to OutRight Action International’s Ukrainian Emergency Fund, which is making grants to Ukrainian LGBTQ organizations as well as to organizations in other parts of Europe that are helping displaced Ukrainian queers.

For Ukrainian Grindr users

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‍We are making our safety-related information optimally accessible to Grindr users logging in from Ukraine, to demonstrate our care. We have also translated our safety guide and safety messaging into Ukrainian and shifted the text in such a way that lets folks know we stand with them.

For Grindr users world-wide

‍We knew Grindr users outside Ukraine would want to join in providing life-saving support, so we publicized a fundraiser for OutRight Action International’s Ukrainian Emergency Fund to the global Grindr user base, giving them an opportunity to get involved.

While we are deeply troubled by Russia’s actions toward Ukraine, we are also warmed by the outpouring of generosity and care from our users for the Ukraine LGBTQ+ community. Grindr stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people in this time of crisis, and we add our voice to the chorus calling for a swift end to this military aggression. We will continue to look for ways to support those in need.  

Welcome to the Trend Report

This report is your guide to the best of the month, as defined by our users and curated by the diligent Grindr crew. Think of it like a casual monthly conversation on cultural and social trends that the community is into. To create the report, we tapped into the minds of 10,000 Grindr users to get their thoughts and feelings on the queer pop culture they care about: music, movies, TV, and more. We’ll continue to track these trends each month while rotating additional topics to add some flavor.

For March, we also asked users about their kinks. Since spring fever is a very real thing and people are finally ready to travel outside the house, it felt like the right time to do a check-in on what’s turning them on this year. Let’s just say no public space is safe…

Pop Culture Favorites

For the second month in a row, Miley is on top of the Grindr Hot 100 with her sexy new song dedicated to female pleasure, “River.” Daddy Pedro also remains on top as The Last of Us came to a thrilling finale. The Oscars took home the award for most cultural impact this month (go Michelle!) and John Wick was the biggest smash at the Grindr box office. Does John Wick’s number one spot have anything to do with Rina Sawayama co-starring in the new film? Hm…

Songs

1. River Miley Cyrus‍
2. All Of The Girls You Loved Before Taylor Swift
3. A&W Lana Del Rey

Shows

1. The Last of Us HBO
2. ‍The Night Agent Netflix
3. ‍Succession HBO

Movies

1. ‍John Wick: Chapter 4
2. Scream VI
3. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

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Pop Culture Moments

1. ‍The Oscars
2. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour
3. ‍The Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial   

Kink Preferences

Grindr users have conflicting feelings about certain kinks. On one hand, public sex is the kink that users are most interested in trying, and also their favorite kink that they’ve already tried. But on the other hand, it’s also the second least favorite kink users have tried. Sounds like someone accidentally got poison ivy on their knees…

Check out the other preferences below to see how yours match up.

What kink are you most interested in trying this year?

What’s your favorite kink that you’ve already tried?

What’s your least favorite kink that you’ve tried?

When do you introduce a kink to someone?

How often do you go on Grindr looking for someone with similar kinks?

Do you use My Tags to share your kinks?

Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility, the day in which we honor the joy and resilience of trans people, as well as raise awareness about the discrimination and violence that they face. Historically, the trans community has been wildly underrepresented in pop culture, especially in film. Having media like films and documentaries accurately depict the trans experience is essential for trans visibility. Seeing films made by trans people with trans people on screen can be empowering for the trans community, and is especially valuable for those who don’t have trans people in their own lives.                  

So, to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility, Grindr Cinema Club is recommending some excellent feature-length films that have illuminated transness for audiences over the past three decades. These films are spread across all genres. Better yet, they’re all made by queer, genderqueer and/or trans filmmakers. They’ll make you laugh and cry and feel both anger and hope. Just like transness, these films contain multitudes.

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‍Paris Is Burning (dir. Jennie Livingston 1990)

‍Where to watch: HBO Max, The Criterion Channel

File under: Documentary, Drag, New York City

This seminal documentary from genderqueer director Jennie Livingston takes an in-depth look at New York City’s ballroom scene in the 1980’s. Immersive, charming, and tragic, this world is populated by queer and trans BIPOC artists, models, and performers striving to make it big. Featuring the legendary Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija and Dorian Corey.

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Bound (dir. The Wachowski Sisters, 1996)

‍Where to watch: Pluto TV, Paramount+                          

File under: Noir, Crime, Cult Classic

Anybody who is a fan of The Matrix or The Wachowski Sisters should check out their feature directorial debut starring Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilley, and Joe Pantoliano. This film is about a sexy, edge-of-your-seat heist that subverts the gender binaries of film noir.

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The Matrix (dir. The Wachowski Sisters, 1999)

‍Where to watch: Tubi, HBO Max                                   

File under: Sci-fi, Hollywood, Oscar Nominee

Yes, The Matrix Trilogy is a trans metaphor.

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By Hook Or By Crook (dir. Silas Howard, 2001)

‍Where to watch: Amazon Prime                    

File Under: Buddy Adventure, Cult Classic, San Francisco  

Capturing the grit of 70’s road movies (think Easy Rider), this film stars trans director Silas Howard (Transparent) and artist Harry Dodge (My Meteorite) as two buddies in search of love and money on the streets of San Francisco.

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Stud Life (dir. Campbell X, 2012)

‍Where to watch: Tubi                                  

File under: Slice of Life, BIPOC, International   

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British trans director Campbell X brings us a brash and funny story about the friendship between J, genderqueer and butch, and Seb, a cute white twink. Their bond is tested when J falls in love with a beautiful femme. Starring T’Nia Miller, Kyle Treslove, and Robyn Kerr

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Strong Island (dir. Yance Ford, 2017)

‍Where to watch: Netflix                                

File under: Documentary, True Crime, Oscar Nominee                  

Yance Ford became the first out trans person to ever be nominated for an Oscar with this documentary that recounts the true story of his brother’s murder. This compelling exploration of masculinity, race, and class is a must-see.

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Lingua Franca (dir. Isabel Sandoval, 2019)

‍Where to watch: Tubi, Netflix                               

File under: Indie Darling, Great Performances, Drama          

Writer, director, editor, and coproducer Isabel Sandoval plays Olivia, an undocumented trans Filipino caregiver pursues a marriage to obtain a green card. This film is a beautiful, nuanced, sexy rendering of trans pain and joy, and dare we say a masterpiece.

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Disclosure (dir. Sam Feder, 2020)                                                

‍Where to watch: Netflix                           

File under: Documentary, Trans History, Hollywood              

And we can’t leave out Sam Feder’s comprehensive and unprecedented look at the history of transgender visibility and representation in film, tv, and Hollywood-at-large.

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We’re All Going To The World’s Fair (dir. Jane Schoenbrun, 2021)

Where to watch: HBO Max                                 

File under: Horror, Edgy, Indie Darling                  

Where does the corporeal world end and the internet begin? Lonely teenager finds out when she immerses herself in an online role-playing horror game from trans auteur Jane Schoenbrun.

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Anything’s Possible (dir. Billy Porter, 2022)

Where to watch: Amazon Prime                                

File under: Young Adult, Coming-of-Age, Romantic Comedy

When Khal, who is cis, develops a crush on high school classmate Kelsa, who is trans, they develop a romance despite the drama that it causes. For the fan of Dear Evan Hansen and Heartstopper, this film is from director Billy Porter ( Pose — a series inspired by Paris Is Burning).

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Lastly, we look ahead to the future with a couple of titles that we’re excited to get a wider release…

Kokomo City (dir. D. Smith, 2023)                                                

‍File under: Documentary, Edgy, Indie Darling                                    

A gorgeous, complex, and frank portrait of four trans black sex workers from New York and Georgia from trans director and Grammy-nominated producer D. Smith. Fresh out of Sundance.

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Mutt (dir. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, 2023)

‍File under: Drama, Great Performances, New York City                                    

A day in the life of a young transmasc man named Feña who navigates the dynamics of old relationships made anew since transitioning. Fresh out of the Berlin Film Festival.

Meet Amit Bhasin (he/him)

Amit currently works as our Finance Manager on the small but mighty Financial Planning & Analysis team at Grindr! After graduating from UCLA with a BA in Business Economics, minoring in Accounting, he spent a few years working in finance roles before starting with Grindr in 2020. Amit’s team supports the organization in making data-driven and financially sound decisions. Some examples of key projects that fall under their scope include building short-term and long-term financial plans, defining KPIs, tracking company performance, data analysis, forecasting, external stakeholder reporting, and much more.

Check out Amit’s Grindr story below, and take a look at our careers page to learn more about our open job opportunities.

Have you always worked in finance for the tech industry? What drew you to the tech or the dating space specifically?

Yes - I have! However, I would say that my work experience is a little broader than your typical person with my job title. I started my career in investment banking, working with clients in the technology sector on a broad range of corporate transactions… think M&A, IPOs, and other capital-raising engagements. This was where I discovered how much I loved learning about different business models in the tech space, including consumer internet, social, and online dating. After a couple of years in investment banking, I pivoted to in-house Corporate Development positions at companies in the software space. In these roles, I helped leadership teams build business cases for acquiring and investing in other companies.

I joined Grindr’s FP&A team in 2020 and have been with the company for two and a half years. It’s been such a fun experience to build and execute a monetization strategy for the company! I’ve learned so much about the nuances of our user funnel and how the health of our business impacts the way that we can show up for the queer community. Along the way, I’ve gotten to flex my technical skills and partner with talented stakeholders across the organization. Most recently, I was actively involved in taking the company public through the SPAC we completed last year. It was such a great experience to see Grindr through this pivotal transition from a private to a public company.

Tell us why you joined Grindr. What do you love most about our mission and our culture?

As a member of the LGBTQ community, the company’s mission of connecting queer people with one another resonated deeply with me. I love working somewhere with such an open and accepting culture. We are a company that values authenticity and you can really feel that in the way employees collaborate and treat each other. It’s also such an exciting time to join Grindr! We are growing and doing so much with the business – I am 100% on board with the journey.

What does a Finance Manager for Grindr do?

A lot of people think finance folks are just “excel gurus” cranking out fancy spreadsheets and aesthetically pleasing PowerPoint presentations all day. This is certainly true and I’m no exception – I’m a nerd when it comes to structuring financial models with auto-updating formulas, toggleable inputs, and conditional formatting (oh my!).

However, my favorite part of the job is the cross-functional collaboration and broad scope of work that I get to do. One day, I’ll be synthesizing input from our product team into long-term, driver-based revenue projections. On another day, I’ll partner with our data team to better understand the nuances of our operating data. It’s all very intellectually stimulating and keeps me excited about coming to work every day.

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How have you grown professionally while on our team?

Grindr is a company that is invested in its employees’ career growth. Since joining, I’ve had the opportunity to work on high-visibility projects, many of which involve C-suite level stakeholders and other leaders at the company. I’ve also played a pivotal role in growing the FP&A team, as the function’s scope and responsibilities have expanded.

It’s been so rewarding to add members to the team and help develop new talent. I am forever grateful to my manager and mentors, who really set me up to be successful at this company. I feel continuously challenged to expand my skill set and take on new opportunities to learn.

What interesting problems is your Grindr team solving for and what are you looking forward to for the future?

There are so many interesting challenges that I get to tackle in my role but, I would have to say building a framework to think through our growth strategy has been (and continues to be) very exciting. We have so many products and features we are road-mapping for our users, some of which will be entirely new offerings. With no existing data or comparable precedents for these new products, it has been challenging but fun to think through sizing the financial impact of these initiatives.

The core mission of Grindr is to connect the queer community with each other and the world around them. The more I can do to support the growth of the business, the more Grindr can do to support the global LGBTQ community. We have a lot of impactful offerings in store for our users and I’m excited to see how they play out!

Do you have a favorite memory of working at Grindr so far or a moment that stands out to you that really captures what it is like to work here?

Without a doubt, being a part of our bell ringing ceremony at NYSE on our first day of trading as a public company. I had been a member of the transaction team and there had been so much effort in making this possible. It was gratifying to see the deal come to fruition and a highlight of my career.

Not to mention, it was such a historic moment to be a part of – seeing an LGBTQ-focused company become publicly traded at one of the oldest institutions in financial services. We literally had drag artists and queer performances right in front of Wall Street!

Amit’s team is hiring! If you are interested in working for a collaborative, high-impact company, you should check out our open roles today!

#WorkItWednesday is Grindr's feature on employees and programs at the heart of the work we do to connect the LGBTQ community with each other and the world around them. In this edition, we chat with Jeffery King about his experience joining Grindr as our Community Advocate.

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‍Meet Jeffery King (he/him), Grindr’s Community Advocate! Jeffery’s background has always been in some form of Customer Service. He started working in recruitment firms that brought him all the way to Melbourne, Australia, and back. Having spent considerable time in recruitment and training, Jeffery officially transitioned into the tech space 5 years ago and has loved every minute of it. Jeffery started at Grindr in 2021 and really enjoys working at the intersection of tech and the LGBTQ community.                            

Learn more about what brought Jeffery to Grindr below and check out our careers page to stay up-to-date on open roles!

Have you always worked in Customer Service at a tech company? What drew you to your role or the dating space specifically?‍

I have always been in some form of customer service role, mostly because I love looking at a process or situation and coming up with a solution for it; but I also like understanding how how that solution fits into the entire puzzle. Is this a one-off situation or does this happen a lot? Do the people who create, administer, or work with this, know it? Tech is full of those kinds of situations!

Working at Grindr presents the unique opportunity to work on these sorts of challenges with a very human-centered product. Because we are working with people, sometimes in their most vulnerable states (looking for dating, love, sex, and connection), we get to approach our work through a special lens of how tech can best serve them. That sort of impact really drew me to the work that I do at Grindr.            

Tell us why you joined Grindr. What do you love most about our mission and our culture?

I get to show up to work every day and not have to filter who I am and what my life looks like, both as a person of color, but also as a member of the LGBTQ community. Grindr has a special culture that starts from a place of understanding, compassion, and celebration. Other companies may have these pieces in their culture, but I find Grindr unique in that they have all of these, plus!

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I also love that the people here really care. I’ve worked with some brilliant people in my career, but never this many smart, creative, and motivated people who truly believe in the mission and work that they are doing. I’m very grateful to work among passionate colleagues who have become more than co-workers, but also friends.  

What interesting problems is your Grindr team solving and what are you looking forward to in the future?

In Customer Experience (CX), we’re always trying to solve issues that arise when people interact with each other, but also communicate to the company what our customers are experiencing and ways in which we can make that experience more positive. One of the things that I love about Grindr is that our users’ input helps to influence the product development process. Because we are working with a product that is so personal to the experience of LGBTQ people around the world, it is vital that we continue to listen and iterate on ideas that can make their experience better.

Another favorite and interesting part of my role is when I’m seeing our customers talk about something that I personally don’t feel the same about. Trying to understand their point of view makes my role very interesting. I get to really put myself in their shoes and think about the “what” and the “why” - I get to look at whether other folks might feel the same way and how we can grow the app and user experience from this.

How have you grown professionally while on our team?

One of the best things about Grindr is that the CX team is directly included in conversations with other parts of the business. Unfortunately, that’s still a very rare thing across many organizations and industries. Being able to actively engage with different teams in a meaningful way means I have a stronger understanding of how decisions are made and can better represent our users in these discussions.

I regularly work with talented product leaders, designers, and engineers to translate feedback from our users. Being a part of those conversations has helped me learn how to navigate discussions and understand how we can take feedback and turn them into actionable improvements for our app.

Do you have a favorite memory of working at Grindr so far or a moment that stands out to you that really captures what it is like to work here?

If I could pick one favorite memory of working at Grindr, it has to be our company-wide gathering in June. For our first in-person meeting since the pandemic, the leadership team brought the company out to West Hollywood for an onsite. It was beautiful to be surrounded by so much queer energy. For a week we were in a little bubble where there was nothing but love, respect, and laughter…the way the world should be for ALL people.

If you are interested in working with talented, caring, and compassionate teammates like Jeffery, at a mission-driven company, you should consider applying for open positions with us!

In honor of Women’s History Month, we want to recognize and celebrate the contributions of trans women throughout history. Trans women have played a vital role in the fight for women’s rights and gender equality, even as they face discrimination and marginalization within both the women’s movement and society at large.

From Sylvia Rivera, who was instrumental in the Stonewall uprising, to Wendy Carlos, a prominent musician and advocate for trans rights, trans women have fought tirelessly for their rights and the rights of all women.

But, despite the progress made, trans women continue to face significant challenges, including violence, discrimination, and limited access to healthcare and legal protections. It is crucial that we continue to uplift and support trans women in their fight for equality and justice. As we reflect on the contributions of trans women this Women’s History Month we’ve put together a list of just a few of the trans trailblazers whose impact on the fight for equality can’t be overstated.

Sylvia Rivera (1951 – 2002)

“I was a radical, a revolutionist. I am still a revolutionist…I am glad I was in the Stonewall riot. I remember when someone threw a Molotov cocktail, I thought, ‘My god, the revolution is here. The revolution is finally here!’"

Sylvia Rivera was a trans rights activist and prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising, which marked a turning point in the LGBTQ rights movement. Rivera was a tireless advocate for the rights of trans people, people of color, and those who lived in poverty. She co-founded several organizations, including STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), which provided support for trans youth. Despite facing discrimination and marginalization her entire life, Rivera never gave up fighting for justice and equality.

Christine Jorgensen (1926-1989)

“Nature made a mistake which I have had corrected and I am your daughter.”

Christine Jorgensen played a significant role in the history of gender identity and trans rights. In 1952, Jorgensen made headlines around the world when she became one of the first people in the United States to undergo sex reassignment surgery. Jorgensen’s openness about her transition and her advocacy for trans rights helped to raise awareness of gender identity and inspire others to come forward and live openly as transgender individuals. Her legacy continues to be celebrated during Women’s History Month and serves as an inspiration to those fighting for trans rights today.  

SOPHIE (1986-2021)

“Transness is taking control to bring your body more in line with your soul and spirit so the two aren't fighting against each other and struggling to survive.”

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SOPHIE was a groundbreaking musician and producer who helped reinvent the electronic music scene, particularly in the realm of avant-garde pop. SOPHIE began making music in her early teens and eventually gained widespread recognition for her unique style, which blended elements of pop, techno, and industrial music. In addition to her musical talents, SOPHIE was known for her advocacy on behalf of transgender and nonbinary people, using her platform to raise awareness and push for greater acceptance and inclusion. Her untimely death in 2021 was a devastating loss for the music world, but her legacy as a trailblazer and visionary artist continues to inspire.

Crystal LaBeija (1930s-1990s)

“I have a right to show my color, darling. I am beautiful, and I know I’m beautiful.”

Crystal LaBeija was a prominent figure in the LGBTQ community during the 60s and 70s, particularly as a leader and founder of the ballroom scene in New York City. LaBeija competed in the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pageant, a competition that was documented famously in The Queen. As a Black trans woman, LaBeija faced significant discrimination throughout her life. However, she refused to be silenced and instead used her voice to advocate for the rights and visibility of trans people of color. LaBeija founded the House of LaBeija, which became one of the most renowned and respected houses within the ballroom scene.

Wendy Carlos (Born 1939)

“As human beings we do change, grow, adapt, perhaps even learn and become wiser."

Wendy Carlos is a pioneering electronic musician and composer who made major contributions to the development of electronic music. Carlos began experimenting with electronic music in the 1960s and became one of the first musicians to use the Moog synthesizer. She gained widespread acclaim for her work on the soundtrack for the film A Clockwork Orange, as well as several successful albums, including Switched-On Bach. Carlos’s innovative use of technology paved the way for future generations of female musicians and composers. As a trans woman, Carlos played an important role in raising awareness and promoting the acceptance of the trans community in the music industry.

As of today there will be a designated button in the Grindr side menu (under the profile settings) where all US-based Grindr users can go to order an at-home HIV test kit for free. The project is called “Together TakeMeHome,” and it enables you to order an at-home HIV test in less than a minute–similar to how ordering free COVID tests worked. You can use the link in Grindr or go directly to order a kit here in English and here in Spanish. Grindr will collect no data in the process.

Many Grindr users face barriers to testing in person, including clinic operating hours, transportation, costs, concerns about privacy, and fear of judgment. Over the last three years, TakeMeHome has given away 125,000 HIV test kits, and more of those have gone to gay, bi, and trans people using Grindr than any other dating app platform. Plus, one-third of those kits went to first-time testers, showing the power and innovation that comes from bringing these partners together.

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The result has been a national expansion of the program, powered by an easy-to-use website funded by the CDC and operated by BHOC and Emory University. It allows anyone in the US, including Puerto Rico, to order up to two free at-home test kits every ninety days. And, as we look to the future, Grindr will expand our commitment to home testing in other countries. This project is currently aiming to give out one million kits over five years. We’re incredibly proud of this partnership, so please check out “Together TakeMeHome,” know your status, tell your friends, and let’s continue to fight the epidemic together.