HubPeople Founder Publishes Guide to Growing Dating Apps

Michael O’Sullivan, CEO of white-label dating platform HubPeople, has announced the release of his new book, Dating App: How to Build, Survive and Thrive in the World’s Most Challenging Industry, offering an insider’s perspective on the online dating business after years of working with thousands of dating platforms.

The Kindle edition launches on 3 July, with a hardback edition scheduled for 17 July. According to O’Sullivan, the book brings together lessons learned from helping launch and grow more than 4,000 dating apps that have collectively generated over $100 million in revenue.

Rather than focusing solely on technology, O’Sullivan says the book examines the practical realities of building and operating dating platforms, including product development, growth strategies, commercial challenges and the evolution of the online dating industry.

One of the book’s key features is its collection of interviews and contributions from well-known figures across the dating sector. Among those featured are Markus Frind, founder of PlentyOfFish; David Vermeulen; Matthew Gain; Lydia Hoey; Zackary Lewis; and Carsten Böltz. O’Sullivan said their experiences helped provide broader insight into the industry’s development and future direction.

The release comes as the dating app industry undergoes significant change, with companies increasingly investing in artificial intelligence, identity verification and new approaches to matchmaking as user expectations evolve. Now is a very difficult period of change for many apps, with more and more needing to overhaul their approaches to matching users and the toolset that they offer to singles.

O’Sullivan, who also serves on the board of the Online Dating and Discovery Association (ODDA), has spent years working behind the scenes of niche and mainstream dating platforms through HubPeople, a company that provides white-label software and infrastructure for dating businesses.

The Kindle release is available today, with the hardback release coming on the 17th of July.