How two straight guys bought Grindr and made $2B

In this episode of the podcast, hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri interview Jeff Bonforte and Rick Marini, who share the story of how they acquired Grindr from a Chinese company under pressure from CFIUS, navigated latent homophobia in the investment community, and successfully turned the company around, leading to a public offering. They discuss the challenges they faced, including a toxic work culture, a decaying tech stack, and privacy concerns, and how they addressed these issues by resetting the talent, fixing the technology, and rebuilding the product. They also delve into their approach to private equity, emphasizing risk reduction, leveraging their network, and identifying opportunities where they can add value, as well as sharing insights on current trends in AI and crypto and offering advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.