CMB Dawoon Kang Reddit AMA

Did You Miss Dawoon Kang’s Reddit ‘AMA’? Here’s 7 of the Best Q+A

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Coffee Meets Bagel’s very own Co-Founder and -CEO Dawoon Kang braved Reddit’s r/IamA January 22 to answer the questions on everyone’s mind: from tips for online dating, to where the name “Coffee Meets Bagel” came from. (And seriously, who’s the coffee? Who’s the bagel?!)

There are a lot of juicy questions and answers to sift through, so we’ve organized them and picked out the best. Here’s what happened after Dawoon Kang said, “Ask me anything!”

Tips for Online Dating

1. How Can I Increase My Match Rates on CMB?

Low match-rates are a big online dating frustration for many. However, CMB’s Dawoon has some helpful advice when it comes to making your profile more effective.

“When you answer profile questions, speak from your heart and talk honestly about what’s important about you and what you’re looking for in a date,” she said.

That’s because, Dawoon sums up, longer profiles are better than short ones. For more tips for online dating, skim Dawoon’s Reddit answer below.

Reddit: increase match rates

2. Is Dating Sunday Really the Busiest Day for Online Dating?

Dating Sunday isn’t just folklore! In fact, the co-founder says Dating Sunday “was so big for us that it actually broke a record — it was the biggest chat day in CMB history!” The next most-popular day for chatty Cathys? The following Sunday, January 13.

But if you forgot to log in during peak dates, don’t worry. All of January is a popular time for Coffee Meets Bagel, so you still have time to connect.

Reddit: dating sunday busiest day for online dating

3. What Are Some of the Best Online Dating Icebreakers?

In person, singles are forced to think quickly when it comes to breaking the ices. But, online? While more time to perfect a great opening line sounds pleasant, it can also be overwhelming. Should you tell a joke? Use a pick up line? Ask a question about something on their profile?

Dawoon responded with enthusiasm. “Jokes are GREAT,” She said. “Awesome to make someone laugh!” Secondarily, commenting on someone’s profile is also a great way to hit it off. Just be sure not to be generic.

Once, Dawoon said, she used one of her favorite quotes from one of her favorite books, “The Alchemist,” on her profile. “I loved it when someone tried to guess where it was from,” Dawoon said. “It was a great convo starter.”Reddit: online dating icebreakers

4. What’s Dawoon’s Online Dating Philosophy?

Something Dawoon has said in the past is that, “It’s not about getting as many Likes as possible — it’s about getting one right like.” And, Dawoon suggested, that’s why Coffee Meets Bagel is razor-focused on curating limited quality matches instead of an endless pool of singles.

Another Redditor, “usctrojan415” gives further insight: “You don’t date online…at the end of the day you need to be able to transition offline effectively.”

Reddit: Dawoon's online dating philosophy

Coffee Meets Bagel: How It Works and More

5. How Does ‘Discover’ Work?

To new community members, how Coffee Meets Bagel works might seem confusing. However, the platform is simple (even if our algorithm is complex)! Coffee Meets Bagel’s main draw is the “Suggested” section, where CMB’ers receive limited curated matches daily. The section is 100 percent free to use and to Like people.

But when CMB’ers want to search for extra Bagels using their own Advanced Filters (such as age, location, and education), they can choose to use the “Discover” section, too. In this section, it’s free to browse, but community members must use Beans or have a special subscription to Like people.

As “happyaboutlife100” puts it below, “[Discover] was meant as just an adjunctive part of CMB – i.e. the cherry on top.”

Reddit: how does discover work on Coffee Meets Bagel

6. What’s CMB Doing About Online Dating Bots?

Scammers and bots are the reality for many dating apps, and Coffee Meets Bagel is no exception. When Redditor “superken00” asked what CMB’s strategy was for dealing with these fake profiles, Dawoon responded candidly. Take a look!

Reddit: online dating bots

7. What Does the Name ‘Coffee Meets Bagel’ Mean?

Thank you, “dl2ew” for asking a question everyone is ready to get to the bottom of! What does the name “Coffee Meets Bagel” mean, and where did it come from? Is the premise that you’re supposed to meet up for coffee? Dawoon gives a three-fold answer — see what she says in the screen-cap.

Reddit: What does coffee meets bagel mean


OK — so we didn’t learn who the coffee and who the bagel is on Coffee Meets Bagel. But, perhaps the magic is in the mystery. To see more of Dawoon Kang’s “Best Of” from her Reddit AMA, follow CMB on Instagram or view the full r/IamA.

Become your best Bagel by downloading dating app Coffee Meets Bagel.

 

 

Ice-T Tries Coffee and Bagels With Coffee Meets Bagel

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When the internet found out that rapper and actor Ice-T had never tried coffee and bagels, they went wild. And, us? We didn’t know how to feel. At first, we were confused and worried for Ice-T. How could this have happened to any man, especially the star who played our favorite cop on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”?
But soon, our angst turned to inspiration.

We, dating app Coffee Meets Bagel, were going to have Ice-T try coffee and bagels – STAT!

CMB promptly reached out to Ice-T. Soon, we had a date set to film Ice-T trying coffee and bagels inside the rapper’s own home.
But we wouldn’t stop at having Ice-T try just a single type of coffee or bagel. We were going to provide a spread: black coffee, coffee and creamer, iced-coffee, plain bagels with cream cheese, bagels and lox, everything bagels, and more. It was any New Yorker’s dream.
Watching Ice-T try coffee and bagels for the first time was like watching a baby eat their first birthday cake (or, at times, a sour lemon). His reactions, as well as his commentary, touched our hearts.

“That one bite, I feel like I just ate a loaf of bread. People eat this whole thing?”

Take a look at our favorite cuts from our time with Ice-T. Can you guess which varieties of coffee and bagels Ice-T loves, and which varieties he loves to hate? And can you guess what other types of coffee and bagels we had Ice-T try that didn’t make the final cut?
We hope Ice-T’s enthusiasm for trying something new inspires singles to try a new approach to dating. Download Coffee Meets Bagel. Meaningful matches, for meaningful dating.

Say ‘Hi’ to CMB’s New CFO and CTO

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Coffee Meets Bagel is so excited to introduce two new fantastic leaders to our executive bench: CFO Quincy Yang and CTO Will Wagner. As Coffee Meets Bagel continues to grow, we’re on the lookout for top talent to add to our team. And Quincy and Will? Well, they’re the real deal.

CFO — Quincy Yang

CFO Quincy Yang
Quincy Yang is our very first Chief Financial Officer. Inspired by CMB’s mission to inspire positive changes in dating (and undoubtedly our free in-office bagels), Quincy comes to CMB with nearly 15 years of experience as a finance and business operations executive in high-growth technology companies, investment banking, and strategy consulting.
Before joining forces with CMB, Quincy was the first business-operations hire nearby at OpenTable — the world’s leading provider of online restaurant reservations. There, he identified key drivers of the business and provided strategic guidance on the company’s priorities.

Before that, Quincy was steering gaming companies Zynga and Storm8 toward success. (The fact that Quincy’s also been featured in GamePro magazine as an elite “Street Fighter” esports player is just as impressive, though surprisingly unrelated.) He also spent over five years at Yahoo.

Quincy’s helped both small, pre-IPO startups and large, publicly traded companies scale their businesses and build new functions, teams, and processes. We can’t wait to see what energy our talented Quincy will bring.

CTO — Will Wagner

CTO Will Wagner
Will Wagner, CMB’s new Chief Technology Officer, met his wife of 18 years through online dating. So when he heard about CMB and our focus on making meaningful, lasting connections, he knew he wanted to be a part of it.

As someone with over 15 years of experience in the industry, Will is going to fit right in with CMB and the Kang sisters. Will’s worked with many other successful women leaders, such as the president and CTO of SurveyMonkey, Selina Tobaccowala, and the CEO and founder of Hearsay Systems, Clara Shih.

At SurveyMonkey, Will ran the engineering department and helped expand the team from just 15 to 150 people. He was also formerly the CTO of crowdfunding leader YouCaring, now part of GoFundMe.

When Will’s not scaling teams and products, he’s building other things — like a greenhouse hydroponic farm. The more we learn about Will, the more he surprises us. We hope Will brings his curiosity and adventurous spirit to the CMB team as he helps us continue to polish our product and ensure mission alignment.

Open Positions

Want to see your own name featured next on a blog like this? Ready to inspire positive changes in dating and relationships all over the world? Browse all of our open positions to see if we might be a good fit.

We’re Getting a Face(book) Lift

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At Coffee Meets Bagel, we’re all about being our best selves. And sometimes, that means making changes. The latest? We’re adding a phone-number login option. This login update will make Coffee Meets Bagel more convenient and safer to use. We’ll start rolling out this new login option today, but if you don’t see it yet, don’t worry! All users will see the new login option, whether on Android or iOS, within the next few days.

We’re Listening

It’s obvious why our phone-number login option will make Coffee Meets Bagel more convenient and accessible, especially to new users who may not have a Facebook account.
But that isn’t our only reason for the transition. We know your data is important to you. In fact, we saw a 378 percent increase (yes, seriously!) in the number of requests for alternative options to our Facebook login in the wake of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal.
And guess what? Your data is really, really important to us, too. So we’ve done a whole lot of research on how we can best keep your data safe while still keeping our app super convenient and easy to use.
And so, presto! The phone-number login option was born.

Why a Phone Login? Safety and Privacy

We’ve chosen this login option because we know many of you don’t feel comfortable logging into our app via Facebook. Plus, phone-number logins ensures only one account is made per phone.
We love Facebook for our gossip and friends update fix just as much as the next user, but unfortunately, Facebook and email login options pose higher risks — like the possibility of users creating multiple fake accounts. And at Coffee Meets Bagel, we’re all about being real.

We’ve also partnered with a third-party security firm specializing in identity protection and other safeguards to prevent fake accounts from being created with fake phone numbers. Because your safety and privacy is our primary concern. (You know, next to finding you spectacular matches.)

What If I’m Not Ready for This Change?

If you don’t feel like updating your Coffee Meets Bagel account with a phone-number login instead of your Facebook account right now, that’s all right. We know change takes time, so for now, you’ll still have the option to log in with Facebook.
If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at [email protected]!

Announcing a New Suggested Feed Design

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At Coffee Meets Bagel, our mission is to deliver high quality, meaningful connections to the millions of active Bagels using our app. To help us achieve our mission, we love to experiment with different layouts to ultimately understand how to deliver the best online dating experience.

What Have We Changed?
Selected Bagels from our Community will now see a new redesign of the Suggested tab: we have introduced a new way to view and Pass or Like your Suggested Bagels with a scroll-like style feed. The changes will take effect for the Android Community only when you download the latest version of Coffee Meets Bagel from the Google Play Store. (iOS Bagels will not experience any changes.) With previous styles of the Suggested tab, Bagels were presented in order and you viewed the next Bagel by Liking or Passing on the current Bagel. With the new Suggested feed design, you’ll be able to Like your Bagels in any order. Bagels will also no longer disappear once you’ve Liked them.

You can still experience the same depth of profile information as the original layout by selecting the Bagel’s photo.
By now, you might have noticed we removed the Pass button feature with the new redesign. With this option, you only need to Like a Bagel by selecting the heart icon. To Pass, simply take no action and the Bagel will disappear from your Suggested feed in 24 hours.

Why Are We Doing This?
At Coffee Meets Bagel, we strive to empower our Community with a platform designed around authenticity and ease. Our latest Suggested feed is built on best practices we learned from previous design changes. When we rolled out similar feed-like designs with the Discover section, we saw a 90% increase in connections!
Replacing our Suggested tab with a scrolling feed will help remove the pressure of making an irreversible yes-or-no decision on a potential Connection. Now you’ll be able to view all your Bagels at your own pace and without the urgency to say no.

Where Is The Pass Button?
With the new Suggested feed redesign, we’ve removed the ability to Pass on a Bagel. Instead, simply take no action on a Bagel if you don’t wish to Connect.
 
Tips for Using the New Suggested Tab:

  • To see more about the Bagel, simply select their photo and you’ll be brought to their profile page.
  • From the Suggested feed, you can Unmatch by clicking on the three dots on their photo.
  • To Unmatch and Report, go to the Bagel’s profile and select the same icon to bring up a menu with the additional Report option.
  • If you want to “Pass” on a Bagel, simply take no action. (We will count taking no action as a “Pass.”)
  • Regardless if you Like or Pass on a Bagel, all your Bagels will remain in your Suggested feed until the next noon.
  • If you have a lot of eligible Bagels in your area, you can “Unlock” an additional opportunity using your Beans at the end of the feed.

How Can I Help?
We pride ourselves on being a source of strength for our Community and your feedback directly influences the future of Coffee Meets Bagel in the online dating space. Please send us your comments and suggestions for our latest update at [email protected]

Video has Arrived!

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Please note: as of May 17, 2018, Community/Video will no longer appear in the app as we work on exciting changes to this section. Stay tuned for updates!

Lights … Camera … Bagels! Coffee Meets Bagel is excited to present our newest feature: Video! We created Video to help you connect more authentically with your Bagels.

 

We know you are focused on making genuine connections, but it’s hard to get a real sense of someone from a few pictures and a short bio. So we created a unique, question-of-the-day Video section to let you see your Bagels’ mannerisms, hear their voice, and get more insight about their personality — before you even meet!

 

So, how does it work?

 

At the top of the Video section, you will see Today’s Topic, which will be updated daily.

 

Scroll through the feed to see the Bagels who have answered Today’s Topic. Tap the video for sound. Click the Bagel’s thumbnail to view their full profile. See someone you like? Use the heart icon to Take their profile (the same way you would in Discover). Don’t see a heart icon? This means the Bagel is seeking a gender other than yours.

 

You can record your own video by tapping the camcorder icon next to Today’s Topic. Get your answer ready, make sure your face is in the screen, then press and hold the blue button at the bottom of the screen to record yourself.

 

Once you’re satisfied with your response, just tap “Post” and your video will upload to the feed.

 

Want to know something amazing we learned when testing Video?

 

37% of all videos posted were TAKEN, so posting videos really does increase your chances of being Liked and making more authentic connections. Don’t be shy, just be yourself!

 

Now go ahead and try out Video, check Today’s Topic, and let yourself be seen! *Upgrade to the latest version in your app store for access (version 4.0 on Android or 5.0 on iOS).

 

 

Introducing CMB Premium

Join CMB Premium to see exclusive feedback on Bagels' chat activity

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Today is your lucky day. We just launched CMB Premium, featuring our first-ever exclusives for Premium Subscribers only! Update your app to the newest version to access this subscription package.
You told us you want more clarity on how active your Bagels are, and more predictors to help you determine how responsive your Bagel will be to your chats. With Premium, we’re aiming to address these concerns to help you save time and focus on meaningful connections that lead to real dates!
Premium Subscriber Highlights:

  • Access to Activity Report — This cannot be purchased outside of CMB Premium. So…it’s kind of a big deal. As a Premium Subscriber, you’ll get access to Activity Reports for all of your Bagels. We’ll be adding even more stats, but this is what you can expect to see for now:
    CMB Activity Report

    1. Chats with Bagels: Number of chats in which they sent at least one message divided by total number of connections.
    2. Sends the first message: Number of time they sent the first message divided by total number of connections.
    3. Active within 72 hours: Has this Bagel opened the app within the past 72 hours.
    4. Usually replies within: Average response time to messages in chat.

    More to know:
    *Activity Reports update every 72 hours for each profile. Just check the Bagel’s profile in your History to see updates!
    *Stats for Chats with Bagels, Sends the first message and Usually replies within are calculated based on the most recent 10 connections for that Bagel.
    *Does one of your stats contain “No Data”? This means the Bagel doesn’t have enough chats yet. Since we generate new reports every 72 hours, check back to see when more information is ready!

    • See when your messages to your Bagel are read. This is another feature that cannot be purchased outside of CMB Premium. So again…big deal.

    CMB Read Receipts
    When your Bagel has read your message, you’ll see an icon with their profile picture next to the most recent sent message. If they haven’t read it yet, you won’t see an icon.

    • And more than $50 worth of fun in-app items designed to connect you with more Bagels!

    Join CMB Premium today for only USD $34.99/month!

    Go to Bean Shop

     
    Questions? Suggestions? You know who to email! [email protected] :)

    • Announcing: Chat Reopen!

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    We’ve heard your feedback: You asked for more control over your chats with the ability to reopen expired connections. And starting today, you will see a “Reopen” button at the bottom of all your closed chats!
    But that’s not all, the new Reopen feature also allows you to open chats without waiting to hear back from your Bagel. No more: “We’ll let you know if they want to keep chatting!” Instead, just click “Reopen” and the chat will immediately reactivate.
    We also made it easier to Unmatch from someone if you’re no longer interested. Simply tap the three dots at the top of the chat to Unmatch and close the chat.
    This Reopen feature can only be unlocked with Beans, and we think that’s a good thing. We want to make sure that you (and your Bagel) are serious about chatting. By requiring Beans to Reopen, our hope is that you will actually chat and take the time to set up a date!
    Update to the latest version of CMB on your phone now to have access to this feature!
    *Please note: You will not be able to reopen chats with someone who left the chatroom initially or someone who you Removed previously.
    Questions? Feedback? Let us know at [email protected]

    We are working with Yelp and Spotify to make your first date a success!

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    Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) is expanding our service beyond helping people discover others online to include ways to actually drive offline dates. Why? The majority of singles use dating apps because they actually want to go on dates or be in a relationship (78% of surveyed CMB users!), but current online/mobile dating services are completely lacking in servicing this part of the dating funnel. As CMB’s focus has always been to make more meaningful relationships happen, the natural next step for us was to expand into what happens after two people connect online. So with this in mind, we’re launching a series of web apps geared at facilitating successful offline dates. The first two, called Mixtape (makeamixtape.com) and DateSpots (datespots.co), are powered by Spotify and Yelp, respectively.

    • Mixtape: Powered by Spotify, Mixtape lets you create a playlist of songs you and your date have in common so you can get the conversation started on your dates. Through Spotify’s API, Mixtape is able to query users’ public playlists, top songs, and add the created mixtape as a Spotify playlist. Finding common ground is the key to having a fun first date. The idea came from one of our engineers, Brian Fang, who built this tool and used it to break the ice on his own dates.
    • DateSpots: Powered by Yelp, DateSpots helps singles find a great place for their first date. The site uses the latest Yelp Fusion API. First, you specify your first date spot preferences (type of venue – coffee house, bar, restaurant; price; and location). The site then queries Yelp’s database for the best matches and only returns venues that are rated 4 stars or above, have classy, intimate, romantic or trendy ambiance, and quiet or average noise level. With DateSpots.co, picking the first date spot is no longer a stressful event. We are excited to be Yelp’s first set of partners for their Fusion API. These kinds of granular queries (query by rating, price, and business attributes like atmosphere and noise level) from Yelp have not been possible until now. A survey we conducted among CMB users found that 84% of them check online review sites like Yelp when selecting first date locations, so we know that there’s a need for this kind of service.

    Why are we launching this now? January is THE BEST time for online dating because it’s on top of a lot of people’s mind. Online dating is like the fitness category when it comes to New Year’s Resolutions. Many singles are thinking about how to find a new beginning and a new relationship in 2017. I call it cuffing season in full effect. In January 2016, we saw a whopping 62% increase in the number of matches on Coffee Meets Bagel vs. December 2015.
    Click here for screenshots for the two web apps
    Click here for full press kit
    About Coffee Meets Bagel: Coffee Meets Bagel is a highly curated dating service where women call the final shot on who gets to talk to them among guys who expressed interest. We help singles find meaningful relationships by providing an experience that reflects the different ways men and women approach dating. Globally, we have generated more than one million dates and thousands of lasting relationships. Visit https://coffeemeetsbagel.com to find out more.