Startups beware: Trying to be the next Tinder is a bad business model says hookup app’s CEO
Sean Rad said that the company was "flattered" by the attention, however.
Rad today made one of his first public appearances since stepping down as the hookup app's CEO last year at Web Summit.
He was demoted after his coworker brought a sexual harassment case against him. But five months later, he is back in the role.
He said: "It was a decision that we all made together. Of course I was going to stay, I saw my role as helping the new CEO [Chris Payne] make the best decisions for the company.
"The board wanted me to be the CEO again and I'm happy to play any role as long as I get to work on the product and make an impact on this world.
"I'll mop the floors if I have to - if that's the best use of my time," he added.
Changes to Tinder
Rad revealed the app will be making some announcements about the most significant algorithm changes Tinder has ever made, within the next few days.
Meanwhile, it is gearing up for it's parent company IAC's upcoming IPO. While Rad wouldn't reveal what kind of revenue the app is making, he hinted that it is the most profitable part of IAC.
"We are making money. We are a very, very healthy business," he said.
Tinder facilitates over 1.5 million dates a week, Rad said. It has seen 9 billion matches to date.
Rad, who designed and marketed as a no-strings attached sex meetup app, was quick to condemn negative press around his business, referencing the notorious Vanity Fair debacle which saw Tinder's Twitter account go into hyperdrive and embark on a 31-tweet rant at a Vanity Fair journalist.
"The press is always going to focus on things that are controversial. Eventually that will die."
Tinder subsequently apologised to the journalist, calling their tweets an "overreaction."