Hinge: Justin McLeod (2021)

How I Built This · 8 May 2023 · 1h 32m

What this episode covers

Justin McLeod, founder and CEO of Hinge, explains how a painful breakup with his college sweetheart, Kate, and his struggle with addiction inspired him to build a dating app focused on meaningful relationships rather than hookups. He details the company's evolution from a clunky Facebook canvas app to a mobile-first platform, highlighting the strategic pivot to remove swiping in favor of detailed profiles and prompts to encourage thoughtful interaction. McLeod also discusses the difficult 2015 relaunch, the subsequent fundraising struggles, and the eventual acquisition by Match Group, which provided the resources to scale the brand as 'designed to be deleted.'

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies: Match Group, McKinsey, IAC
Products: Hinge, Tinder, Facebook, Match.com, eHarmony

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

The Startup CPG Podcast18 Apr 2025 · 34m
Founder Feature: Max Luthy of Plink!
Max Luthy, co-founder of Plink!, discusses scaling his fizzy electrolyte tablet brand from concept to a launch in 1,100 CVS locations. He explains how the company pivoted its value proposition from sustainability to daily hydration, refined its flavor formulation to be less sweet, and optimized its e-commerce conversion rate by switching checkout platforms. Luthy also shares insights on navigating retail category placement and managing the operational challenges of rapid demand growth.
Pricing, margins & unit economics Retail, wholesale & distribution
8 chapters
The Hardware Entrepreneur31 May 2017 · 39m
#028 - Meet the creators of FitBit for medication, with Peter Havas of PillDrill, USA
Peter Havas, co-founder and CEO of PillDrill, discusses his journey from a successful food-tech startup to creating a medication management system inspired by the Fitbit. He explains how PillDrill’s design principles of simplicity, flexibility, and dignity address the psychological stigma of medication, while leveraging a direct-to-consumer strategy to gather critical user feedback. Havas also details his reliance on the Brinc accelerator for manufacturing connections in Shenzhen and his philosophy on managing startup risks and investor relationships.
Starting a product company Industrial & consumer product design
9 chapters
Product Startup13 Sept 2016 · 55m
018: Re-inventing the walker with Jennifer Harris of Motivo
Jennifer Harris, co-founder of Motivo, explains how she and her design partner Jeremy Canopo reinvented the mobility walker by applying user-centered design to a stagnant market. They worked with over 300 users to develop the Motivo Tour, a sleek, contemporary walker that addresses the stigma and ergonomic failures of traditional bent-tube models. The episode details their journey from garage prototyping to scaling production, highlighting their decision to manufacture in the USA and maintain control over shipping and quality to ensure a premium customer experience.
Industrial & consumer product design Prototyping & iteration
8 chapters
The Builder Circle30 Sept 2025 · 1h 16m
S3 E1: Mastering Tech Adoption and The Hardware Development Workflow with Jon Hirshtick
Jon Hirshtick, founder of SolidWorks and Onshape, discusses the evolution of hardware development tools, emphasizing that software is a tool rather than a solution. He explains how customer visits and inferring needs drove the creation of features like the feature manager and cloud-native workflows. Hirshtick advises software founders to focus on usage metrics, understand market size realistically, and avoid the gap between demo and real-world complexity. He also shares lessons from his time on the MIT blackjack team regarding failure, persistence, and team dynamics.
EDA & CAD tools Validation & product-market fit
13 chapters
The Startup CPG Podcast20 Jun 2026 · 48m
Founder + Funder: Fundraising, Founder-Investor Fit, and Building the Next Big Breakfast Brand with Emily Groden of Evergreen and Brian Bernstein of Rich Products Ventures
Emily Groden, Founder and CEO of Evergreen, and Brian Bernstein, Principal at Rich Products Ventures, discuss the journey of building Evergreen from homemade waffles into a nationally distributed frozen breakfast brand. They detail the fundraising process, emphasizing the importance of founder-investor fit, operational alignment, and building relationships long before capital is needed. The conversation covers Evergreen's product expansion from mini waffles to pancakes and protein products, as well as the diligence and strategic value provided by a corporate venture fund.
Fundraising & investors Validation & product-market fit
8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by How I Built This. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.

Hinge: Justin McLeod (2021)

What this episode covers

Most relevant to

Topics

Mentioned

Related episodes from other shows

Founder Feature: Max Luthy of Plink!

#028 - Meet the creators of FitBit for medication, with Peter Havas of PillDrill, USA

018: Re-inventing the walker with Jennifer Harris of Motivo

S3 E1: Mastering Tech Adoption and The Hardware Development Workflow with Jon Hirshtick

Founder + Funder: Fundraising, Founder-Investor Fit, and Building the Next Big Breakfast Brand with Emily Groden of Evergreen and Brian Bernstein of Rich Products Ventures