The Truth About What Happened To Coffee Meets Bagel After Appearing On Shark Tank
There are plenty of fish in the sea, and the same goes for dating apps. But that didn't stop sisters Dawoon, Arum, and Soo Kang from developing one on their own, with the hopes of taking the pain out of meeting potential lovers and boosting everyone's chances of finding their true match. Their very own app, Coffee Meets Bagel, is unlike any other, with its proprietary matching system that curates and whittles down the best matches possible, unlike Tinder or Bumble, which give you an endless — and frankly overwhelming — list of potential partners.
Coffee Meets Bagel also gives women the upper hand after the co-founders discovered through research that women are more interested in high-quality matches than men. "Instead of showing an unlimited number of matches to men and women like other dating apps do, we curate up to 6 Bagels (matches) for women every day. Our smart algorithm curates men who are highly relevant (similar social network, education, interest etc.) and who already expressed interest in the women," Dawoon told Forbes. This way, women don't waste time on guys who are not serious about them. Women also have control over whom they want to talk to and when."
The trio was confident with their dating app that they pitched it on "Shark Tank" to raise more funding. And while it didn't turn out as well as they hoped, they managed to score one of the biggest offers Mark Cuban has made on the show.
The Coffee Meets Bagel founders turned down a $30 million offer
Dawoon, Arum, and Soo Kang of Coffee Meets Bagel entered "Shark Tank," hoping to secure $500,000 in funding in exchange for a 5% stake in their business. The sisters pitched their app as the "highest quality dating service for singles." The sharks at the time were immediately intrigued by what the app had to offer, especially when the sisters revealed that they were raking in hundreds and thousands of dollars with the potential to generate millions in the coming years.
However, things turned sour when the Kangs were unable to provide the exact number of their user base, although they pointed out that it was between 100,000 to 500,000. That prompted Mark Cuban to bow out, firm with his stance that he needed a specific number to invest. The sharks also scoffed at how the sisters take $100,000 each as a salary from the business even if they were still in the red, but the trio noted that it was already a significant pay cut from what they were earning before they started their company.
None of the sharks placed an offer, as they all agreed that it was too big of a risk with little return, but Cuban challenged the sisters and asked them if they would take $30 million for their business. Their response? A flat-out no. "We see this business growing as big as Match.com. Do you know how much they're generating? $800 million a year," Arum said. "We think this model and the product [Coffee Meets Bagel] have the potential to be as big as Match."
Coffee Meets Bagel is now reportedly valued at $150 million
Even though Dawoon, Arum, and Soo Kang didn't get the funding they hoped to get on "Shark Tank," the sisters were still able to raise money from other investors. Tech Crunch reported that Coffee Meets Bagel closed a $7.8 million Series A financing after their stint on the show, and since then, more investors put their finger in the pie. According to Crunch Base, the Kang sisters managed to raise $23.2 million in funding overall. Coffee Meets Bagel is up and running to this day, with the outlet noting that they have a valuation of $50 to $100 million. The number of successful relationships born from the site exponentially increased, too.
"Almost every week, we see a New York Times wedding announcement of couples meeting through Coffee Meets Bagel," Dawoon told Yahoo! Finance in 2019. "We kind of lost track at this point because there are so many marriages and even children — we call them bagel bites — but there are hundreds of thousands." That same year, Cheddar News reported that they hit a whopping 10 million users.
In an interview with Lifehacker, Dawoon said that they remain passionate about creating positive dating experiences for singles still looking for their match. "I'm still trying to ensure that all singles out there get to experience connections that inspire them! I think what's so powerful about human connections is that they can empower you to reach outside of yourself: to grow, to discover, to learn, to be more than what you thought was possible," she said. "It's an amazing feeling, and I want this for everyone in the world."