Unlocking Success: Grindr CEO’s Game Plan for a Leaner, Stronger Venture!

Mark Zuckerberg is not the only tech leader adopting a “startup mode” mentality. Grindr’s CEO, George Arison, is intentionally keeping the company’s nascent telehealth venture, Woodwork, small to enhance its potential for success.

Launched in May, Woodwork offers erectile dysfunction treatments and is currently operating in a limited capacity, with availability in just Pennsylvania and Illinois.

According to Arison, this deliberate scaling-down allows the team behind Woodwork to function like a “founding team” without being overwhelmed by corporate resources. He stated, “It’s a very small nimble team. We could easily give them two more people and wouldn’t really make a difference to the Grindr parent company, but you don’t want to overstaff something like that.”

Woodwork presently comprises three full-time employees, as Arison emphasizes efficiency in its operations.

The decision to limit user access is another strategic move. While broad advertising within the Grindr app could offer a low-cost route to expansion, Arison believes that it would be detrimental to the business’s health. “I don’t want them to have unlimited access to people on the product,” he explained. “I actually want to limit them to users so they can ensure they can learn from every single user that they’re engaging with.”

With its initial rollout in two states, Arison feels there are a sufficient number of users for meaningful data collection, yet not so many that the team feels pressure to exhibit growth prematurely.

Meta also aims to emulate a startup-like approach within its extensive superintelligence unit, albeit on a significantly larger scale. Mark Zuckerberg has noted that he is increasingly convinced that small, highly-talented teams can drive groundbreaking research effectively.

Snap is adopting a similar strategy, with CEO Evan Spiegel mentioning the need for a “crucible moment” in his annual employee letter. The company plans to create smaller groups, or “squads,” of 10 to 15 individuals, promoting an environment akin to independent startups.

Arison is focusing on a distinctly different strategy for Woodwork, stating, “A lot of the startups that are incubated inside of a company usually fail for that very reason, because they do try to do too much and then it doesn’t work out.”

To further insulate Woodwork, Arison prefers to keep discussions about it to a minimum during earnings calls. He communicated to stakeholders, “Hey, I’m not going to talk about Woodwork very much for the next few quarters until there’s anything useful to say because we want that team to have the ability to function on its own and have the luxury of time to execute.”

Some stakeholders interpreted this as a sign of deprioritization, to which Arison clarified, “I’m not deprioritizing anything; I’m doing exactly what I said.”

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