Dating app Down, earlier known as Bang With Friends, has been acquired by Southeast Asia’s renowned app operating in the same industry, Paktor.
Paktor, which has over $50 million in its kitty, including the recent funding round $32.5 million, has been actively pushing its business across the Southeast Asia. Now, with the acquisition of San-Francisco based company which operates two apps, Down and Sweet, Paktor seems all ready to spearhead its expansion in the US.
In an interview to The Tech Portal, Colin refrained from talking about the transaction figure, but it is worth several million. This deal should prove to be profitable to its investors, Great Oaks Venture Capital and Tim Draper, as Down has raised one million in its total funding. It is claimed to have been running profitable with the app raking in a million annual revenue, being generated from the in-app purchases.
Down has faced a lot of controversies since its inception due to the idea behind the app. Unlike other dating apps, it doesn’t involve the conventional idea of ‘true love’, but lets you approach the other person you are physically attracted to. This concept and their logo were surrounded by a lot of controversies. Having changed its former name, being pulled out from the apple’s store, they seem to have gone through a lot but the company seems to be happy with the pace they are moving forward.
Colin says the CEO of Paktor, Joseph Phua, discovered Down while researching the best performing apps in the USA. Colin tells, they emailed for awhile, then later had a chance to meet in person in Taipei, Taiwan. Adding further he says,
The two of us hit it off right away and found a great mutual respect for each other. Luckily, our strengths and weaknesses complement each others, so it’s been a great partnership so far.
Colin Hodge, Down’s CEO, will be joining Paktor’s team as the Head of the Paktor Labs, while Down and Sweet will continue to operate separately. He believes Paktor has an excellent product team that is constantly trying new features and strategies and affirms that together, as a team, they will continue to share feature ideas and notes across teams and apps.
Lately, Colin has been the only full-time employee in the Down Inc. less from the team of six. He has gone from a one-man army to now leading and building new features at Paktor Labs. Talking about the change he explains,
It’s always difficult ceding any control of a project that I’ve poured so much into, but it’s definitely an overall positive change.
He stresses over the fact that even after the change he will still be able to drive growth on Down and Sweet, while helping fuel Paktor’s launch to the next big step, and states,
I feel a sense of relief in having a solid team helping push things forward, and a renewed sense of challenge.
When asked about how is juggling with the responsibilities at Paktor Labs meanwhile handling both the other apps, he says.
I spend most of my time as Head of Paktor Labs, which includes Down and Sweet, among other high-growth projects, with Down being the biggest focus currently. Of course, I collaborate with the rest of the team to share knowledge and drive growth company-wide.
