SXSW 2012

Founder & CEO
Grindr LLC
Joel Simkhai is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Grindr LLC, the company behind the highly popular Grindr app and the Blendr app. Founded in 2009, Grindr is the pioneer and largest all-male meet-up app that uses location-based technologies to bring together a global community of more than 7 million users in 192 countries. Joel’s inspiration for Grindr was simple; he wanted to know who was gay around him but had a hard time figuring it out. He wanted a better way to help guys meet one another, and when smartphones with GPS came out, he knew the time was right. Since its launch, Grindr has become a worldwide sensation and garnered tremendous media and pop culture attention. In 2013, Joel launched the new version of Grindr and Grindr Xtra, rebuilt from the ground up with heightened functionality and performance including new filters, a revamped aesthetic such as a restyled Grindr logo and modern profile design. Leveraging his learnings in creating a tremendously engaging user experience on the award-winning and scalable technology platform that has made Grindr a phenomenon the world over, Joel launched Blendr in 2011, a mobile app for everyone to chat with new people, share photos and interests and even date. Prior to forming Grindr, Joel worked in several different fields, from finance to journalism to a start-up, before creating his own Internet marketing firm in 2003 that was later sold as Grindr gained in popularity. Joel has presented at leading industry events, including the TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco, SXSW Interactive conference, F.ounders conference, iDate conference, among others. Born in Tel Aviv, Joel immigrated with his family at the age of three from Israel to New York City. He later attended Tufts University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in a double major of International Relations and Economics. Joel currently resides in Los Angeles.