New Plenty of Fish Initiatives Under CEO Malgosia Green

CEO of POF, Malgosia Green

Image: POF

Plenty of Fish (POF) has had a reputation as a hookup app among dating app users, but under the direction of CEO Malgosia Green the last two years, the company is pivoting to create a more engaging and authentic experience for users.

In a recent interview with Green posted on the company’s blog, she discusses her primary goal to create a more authentic online dating experience at POF. The company’s research found that 84% of singles said they wanted more authenticity in dating and think all face filters should be banned. As a result, POF was the first to implement a face filter ban and committed to auditing 70 million images and removing face-filtered images. 

“There is a lot of superficiality in society, especially since the rise of social media where people see the lives of others only through the lens of perfectly curated photo feeds,” Green said. “Singles feel more pressure to conform to these ideals than ever before. Our aim is to alleviate the pressure that surrounds dating today.” 

In addition to banning filters, the company also created an initiative dubbed The Member Pod – an advisory council made up of 6-10 POF members. The company has an open application process on their website for anyone who wants to apply.

The Member Pod council will work with product, design and marketing teams to help “drive product innovation” according to Green, which includes testing and informing product updates and features. Later in the process, Green intends to gather the executive team and sit down with the council to listen and gain insight as to what they could be doing as a company to better serve members.

POF has also been very responsive in helping people better connect during the COVID-19 outbreak as they shelter at home, most notably through its in-app video chat features. POF just launched Live!, a livestream video platform within the app where users can check out streams of fellow members at any time and engage with them if they feel a spark. 

Green points out that the rollout of Live! was staggered, offered to those areas most affected by coronavirus first (such as California, New York and Washington), before it was rolled out across the U.S. (POF is based in Vancouver, Canada.)

“COVID-19 has certainly put a pause on in-person dating, but that doesn’t mean people have to stop dating altogether,” she said in the blog post. “I’m very proud of our team at Plenty of Fish who were able to pivot quickly and innovate to meet the heightened demand of digital connection during this time.” 

Within the Live! platform, the company also launched NextDate, a virtual speed dating service where at specified times twice a week, people can join and do rounds of 90-second video dates to see if there’s a connection with any matches.

Green had this to say about the new features: “We have the ability to profoundly impact millions of people’s lives and help them find meaningful human connections; that to me, is one of the most exciting aspects of the business.”

For more on this dating service you can read our POF review.