Arum Kang, co-founder and former longtime CEO of Coffee Meets Bagel, is our guest this week.
She's one of three Korean sisters who, back in 2012, were fed up with how online dating often felt dejecting and demoralizing — especially for women.
Their solution? To create a serious dating app.
From the start, it billed itself as a platform for serious daters, boldly calling the app "the anti-Tinder." This meant that instead of giving users a sea of endless swipes to go through, it sent them just one curated match each day.
Together, the Kangs have turned Coffee Meets Bagel into a household name. But not without plenty of tears, workshopping, sisterly "bickering" and key leadership lessons along the way.
The company reports that 91% of its users are looking for a serious relationship — and have no time to waste. Meanwhile, the Asian American community, along with users in the Asia Pacific region, have become the app's biggest drivers of growth.
We discuss:
| 00:00:00: Introduction
| 00:04:51: Growing up between South Korea and Hawaii, and the fear of being "ordinary" that fueled her ambition
| 00:07:41: Lessons from Harvard Business School and conceiving the idea for Coffee Meets Bagel
| 00:13:13: Convincing her sisters to leave their high-paying jobs to start the company together
| 00:16:13: Building early traction through a minimum viable product (MVP), testing, and word of mouth in the online dating space
| 00:20:55: Working with family
| 00:24:36: The pressure of juggling life as a working mom and shifting her perspective on leadership
| 00:28:11: Lessons from early hires and building company culture around trust and candor
| 00:32:31: Advice to female and minority founders on fundraising and navigating bias in venture capital
| 00:35:23: Choosing profitability over hypergrowth
| 00:38:36: Navigating crisis, mass resignations, and leadership lessons
| 00:46:01: Why "hi" isn't enough — fixing the small-talk problem in online dating
| 00:47:13: Differentiating Coffee Meets Bagel from Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge
| 00:49:26: Outlook for Coffee Meets Bagel — doubling down on the Asian American market and expansion into Asia Pacific, the company's biggest source of growth
| 00:51:26: Product evolution — tackling ghosting, improving safety, and using AI to foster real connections
| 00:54:16: How to stay motivated when your company no longer feels like that "shiny new dream"
| 00:56:35: The endgame for Coffee Meets Bagel — thoughts on potential exits, IPO, or long-term independence
| 00:57:40: Saying no to a surprising proposition from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank
| 00:59:53: Energy management, founder burnout, and implementing a four-day workweek
| 01:04:59: Building relationships with investors
| 01:06:41: Audience question — advice to young entrepreneurs on fundraising strategy
| 01:07:10: Rapid-fire round
| About Behind the Business:
Behind the Business is a video series and podcast hosted by Michelle Toh, CNN and Fortune alum, that explores the decisions and philosophies behind today's most influential leaders. Recorded in person across the US, the show is grounded in the belief that business is in fact personal, providing the backstories of founders, corporate leaders, investors and creators and how they push through to make the most of both work and life each day. What's the worst day you've faced at your company? How do you cope with crisis or rejection? Or what's a pinch-me moment you'll never forget? In each episode, guests get into it all. New episodes every Thursday.
About Michelle Toh:
Michelle Toh is an award-winning international journalist. She has covered some of the top stories in global business and tech, most recently as a reporter based in Hong Kong appearing across CNN's digital and television platforms. Before joining CNN, she was an associate editor of Fortune Magazine, and her reporting has appeared in TIME, USA Today, and the South China Morning Post.
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