Japanese venture fund invests in Teamo.ru
Teamo.ru, an online dating website for Russians designed for serious relationship seekers, has attracted a new round of investment. The company’s investment partner is UMJ Russia Fund, the venture fund managed by United Managers Japan, Inc. (Japan). UMJ Russia Fund’s portfolio is currently comprised of nine early stage companies in the Russian TMT sector. Taking into account its original investment, the total investment amount into Teamo.ru now stands at more than $2 million.
Teamo.ru is an internet startup launched by Fast Lane Ventures, the leading Russian company developing innovative internet businesses. The new investment is planned to finance further enhancement of the service and will support a new marketing campaign to win more users and raise the brand awareness.
The website has been live since December 2010, becoming the first dating service created with the purpose of helping users looking for a serious relationship on the Russian internet. At present, the website has about 1 million customers; thousands of which have found their long-term partners and others have already got married. The main source of income for the website comes from its monthly subscription fee.
What makes Teamo.ru unique is the scientific algorithms it uses, matching singles by 17 characteristics once they have undertaken a personality test developed by leading Russian psychologists and approved by The British Psychology Society. After the test each user can browse through their list of matches and decide who they would like to make contact with.
Yusuke Otsubo, Managing Partner of UMJ Russia Fund commented:
“Our interest in Teamo.ru is fueled due to two main reasons: First, is the huge potential of Russia’s online market for serious dating services and second is Teamo.ru’s leadership in the segment. We have always been attracted to companies that have first-mover advantage in a new business segments and Teamo.ru fits the bill.”
The online dating market in Russia is fundamentally based on two drivers: the demographic conditions and the fast growth of the internet audience. According to the national statistics more than 600,000 couples divorce each year, more than 3.5 million single men and women live in Russia’s million-plus cities. There are nearly 5 million single parents in Russia (about 600,000 are single fathers).
The target audience of the website are men and women aged 25+ based in large cities; mature people who think it is fine to look for a partner on the Internet; businessmen with little free time to organize their private life; divorced people often with negative experience of relationships and who know the kind of person they are looking for and single parents not only searching for their other half but for a person ready to help bring up their children.
Yuri Boyko, Venture Partner at Fast Lane Ventures, said that this investment, in addition to bringing international expertise of the market to Teamo.ru, makes it possible to expand the access to strategic partners.
Vladimir Shmidt, Managing Director of Teamo.ru commented:
“Our secret weapon is our sincere belief that our business can make people’s lives better. Teamo.ru’s objective is to provide a quality service to its users who look for a serious relationship and help them build strong and harmonious relationships. Not only is that a business, it is also a mission. We are very keen to do our best here.”
According to investigations led by Harris Interactive, 5% of all couples in the US who get married found their partners on one of the leading dating websites, also based on psychological compatibility.
“If we achieve the same result with Teamo.ru, we can proudly say that our duty for humanity is fulfilled,” added Shmidt.
About United Managers Japan Inc:
United Managers Japan Inc is a investment management company based in Tokyo, managing various private investment funds. UMJ Russia Fund is the first Japanese venture capital fund with a focus on Russian technology, internet and IT. The fund is managed by Yusuke Otsubo and Alexander Kim.
For more information on United Managers Japan Inc. please visit http://www.umj-jp.com