Ultra-Premium Dating Apps and Overcoming the Gym Rat Paradox

(Dating app Tinder recently announced a $500/month subscription level, and while this might seem like a niche option in a niche market, I think it’s a really big deal, for the business world and as a signal about general trends. It’s also a topic I’ve given a lot of thought to, because of my personal experiences, and because of how it connects to interesting challenges in other markets where the consumers are also, to some extent, the product, which is more common that you might think. It's also something that tripped me up recently when making a high-value investment decision, a mistake which I discuss in this post. I don’t want to give too much more away, but there will be talk of optimal dating strategies, lemon markets, the continuing bifurcation of society into peasants and elites, and why the best business models are the ones that let you export your problems to your competition. One final note: Although as always I have no interest in being offensive just to be offense, this post contains a number of blunt observations about groups of human beings, because there’s no other way to discuss the topic honestly. For that reason, and because hopefully this post contains what I believe to be hard-won, high-value economic analysis, it’s for paid subscribers only.)