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Sean Howell

CEO, LGBT Foundation · 1 appearance on the record.

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founderexecutiveLinkedIn ↗buffalomarket.com ↗

Sean Howell is the co-founder and former president of Hornet, a gay social network and media platform. He later co-founded the food and beverage distribution company Buffalo Market and directed global initiatives focused on HIV prevention and LGBTQ+ health equity.

11statements → 9claims → 1claims resolved → 3.91/5average certainty → 1.36/5average debate potential → 13said about them ↓

0 supported 1 partly supported 0 contradicted 8 not checkable as stated how the 9 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

1 prediction · 8 assertions · 1 insight · 1 disclosure · every statement was checked. The prediction and assertions are the 9 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 1 is resolved, and 8 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

Everything Sean Howell said on Top Founders that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hornet spent zero dollars on customer acquisition since 2011
“We haven't spent anything on acquisitions since October, 2011.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 10:25 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Sean Howell: Direct ad deals will soon eclipse programmatic revenue at Hornet
“And oddly, despite loving technology and loving auctions we're seeing such a huge growth in direct deals that I'm sure someday that's going to eclipse programmatic very soon.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 2:45 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hornet Displaced Competitors in France, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Thailand, and Italy
“We're trying to deplete, displace competitors and key markets, and we've done that in France, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Thailand, Italy, and trying to do that the rest of the world.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 7:47 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?
Insight
Howell: Early product localization is a growth driver founders overlook
“I would actually say one of the things that has really helped us grow is we localized really early, and that's been great for our users, and one thing I see a lot of startup founders missing.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 12:00 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sean Howell: Subscriptions represent roughly 60% of Hornet's revenue
“It's about a 60% subscription. And the rest is divide between programmatic advertising and direct sales.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 2:36 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sean Howell: 5% of Hornet monthly active users pay for subscriptions
“So we've got five percent of our monthly active users that are paying our subscription.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 4:05 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?
Disclosure
Howell: Uber Signed a Recent Direct Advertising Deal with Hornet
“There's probably 5000, but Uber is a recent direct deal.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 6:17 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hornet: 50% of Paying Subscriptions Are Annual Plans
“50% of our subscriptions are actually annual.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 8:34 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hornet Monthly Recurring Subscriptions Average 5.5 Months Duration
“On the monthly renewal, those average out to five and a half months.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 9:01 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hornet raised $1.5M and reached breakeven in year three
“So we raised just about one and a half million very early in the company's history. And then we broke even through subscriptions in year three and we haven't fundraised since then.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 10:00 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?
Assertion Partly supported
Howell: Grindr sold for 7x revenue while Match trades at 36x
“Well, if you're a match, it's like 36. But Grindr, I think, sold for seven.”
Sean Howell Oct 7, 2016 ▶ 13:23 EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr?

The other half of the tape: Sean Howell's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 13 times in 2 episodes on Top Founders. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Nathan Latka 13

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2017 10 mentions in 1 episode
2016 3 mentions in 1 episode

Appearances (1)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
EP 440: $700k MRR, 100,000 Pay $7/mo For Gay Dating App Hornet, Will Beat Grindr? Oct 7, 2016 7m
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