How Tinder got its first users

Tinder was once named “Matchbox,” but the name was changed to “Tinder” because it sounded better and made people think of fire and warmth. The people who made Tinder first tried it out with college students at the University of Southern California. They got the phone numbers of 500 students and sent them texts about Tinder. Those were the early days of the Tinder campus marketing.

Then, they asked one girl if they could make her birthday party into a “Tinder party.” One of the co-founders, Justin Mateen's brother, had a bus for the party. The girl said “yes.” The only rule was that everyone had to download Tinder to get on the bus. 400 people actually did it. They showed the app on their phones to prove it.

After that, the creators went to as many fraternities and sororities as they could and talked about Tinder. That's how they got hundreds of more users, night after night, which contributed to the Tinder launch success. They even talked to people on the street and at coffee shops. Tinder campus marketing also worked because swiping left and right was like a fun game, and students simply loved it.

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