The Dallas Morning News took a close look at a raft of lawsuits facing Dallas-based online dating company Match.com, including a series of bitter lawsuits with rival startup Bumble, which I’ve written about previously on this blog. DMN Reporter Danielle Abril asked me for insight into how litigation figures into the growing pains faced by fast-growing startups like Match’s Tinder app, which has seen its stock price double amid a flurry headline-grabbing litigation ranging executive compensation disputes to patent infringement and trade secret theft.
Writes Abril:
Now, amid this historically high-growth period, the $1.3 billion publicly traded online dating juggernaut is working through its latest relationship squabble: two high-profile and high-stakes legal battles that some worry could derail the company’s trajectory.
“It’s impossible to know the truth of it, but they’re the kind of allegations that could cause serious distraction,” said Joseph Ahmad, founding partner of Houston-based Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing PC law firm and a commercial litigator not involved in Match’s lawsuits.
Read the entire Dallas Morning News article here.
The online dating industry is evolving by the week with all players involved keeping a close watch on Facebook’s moves to enter this market. Abril notes that these market forces – plus Match.com’s internal drama and dynamics – are an important leadership test for CEO Mandy Ginsberg.
“Good executives in this position know how to deal with an unexpected major crisis,” Ahmad said. “This is the test — is it going to take you down or can you manage your way through this crisis and still perform on a business and operational level? From what I’ve seen on the legal side, I’m confident in saying that is not an easy job.”