Elite dating app The Inner Circle is going after ‘Tinder-tired’ people in the US

david michael at summer polo cup 2015 inner circle

The Inner Circle

The Inner Circle cofounders David Vermeulen and Michael Krayenhoff. The Inner Circle.

The Inner Circle, an exclusive dating app that launched in Europe in 2013, is going after “Tinder-tired” singletons in the US.

The app, which vets people’s LinkedIn profiles before letting them use the platform, went live in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston this week as it continues its expansion across the US. It launched in New York City last October and signed up 32,000 people within the first three months.

“The US has become our fastest growing market, with New York and Boston leading the way,” Michael Krayenhoff, cofounder of The Inner Circle, told Business Insider. “Now with the launch of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Houston we expect the US to be our largest market by the end of the year.”

Krayenhoff added: “This success mainly seems to come from the fact that Americans seem to be Tinder-tired and looking for a more meaning full and less shallow way of connecting with people who are on the same page.”

In contrast to more established dating apps like Tinder and Happn, where it’s all about speed and getting through profiles, The Inner Circle allows people to share considerably more information about themselves beyond a short bio. People arrange meetups at high-end venues and they can let overseas members know if they’re planning to visit a particular city in the near future.

The Inner Circle

Attendees of a party hosted by The Inner Circle.

But The Inner Circle is still significantly smaller than Tinder and some of its other rivals, which boast tens of millions of users.

Overall, there are currently 280,000 people using the app, according to The Inner Circle. For every person that’s accepted onto (or into) the elite community, another is turned away.

“At the end of the day we are looking to create a close network of like-minded, inspiring singles who are kicking ass in their profession,” Krayenhoff previously told Business Insider. “Whether they are from the creative or corporate world, it’s about having that ambition and zest for life. And it’s these qualities that makes The Inner Circle work for our members around the world.”

The Inner Circle, similar in many respects to The League, claims to be a profitable business. However, Krayenhoff was unable to disclose any of the company’s financials.

It is also active in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Milan, Paris and Stockholm, as well as London and Berlin.

The company makes money by offering a premium version of its app and a number of events that it puts on throughout the year including a polo event in Richmond, South West London, where tickets were sold for £25 each.

Krayenhoff said the company doesn’t need to take any investment at this stage as it’s cash flow positive and growing.