Justin McLeod

Justin McLeod is a technology entrepreneur and founder of the dating app Hinge, which is marketed as "designed to be deleted." After several years in management consulting, McLeod attended Harvard Business School, where he focused on fostering human connection through technology. Rather than pursuing a consulting career after business school, he invested his resources into building a dating platform aimed at helping people form meaningful relationships, countering the prevailing endless-scroll culture in the online dating industry.

Hinge faced significant challenges in its early years, including financial difficulties that required unconventional decisions to sustain the company. McLeod later recognized a need to realign the app with its original mission, leading to a major restructuring and a complete product rebuild. This strategic pivot resulted in rapid growth, with Hinge receiving frequent mentions in The New York Times Weddings section and eventually being acquired by Match Group. Under McLeod's leadership, Hinge's revenue increased from under $1 million to approximately $400 million annually, and the app reached an estimated 23 million users.

McLeod has spoken openly about overcoming drug and alcohol addiction after college, attributing the discipline gained in recovery to his leadership approach and Hinge's culture of continuous improvement. His personal story was featured in The New York Times Modern Love column and adapted into an episode of the Amazon Prime series "Modern Love," with Dev Patel portraying McLeod. He was named to Crain's New York Business 40 Under 40 list, highlighting his influence in the technology and online dating sectors.

After stepping down as Hinge's CEO, McLeod founded Overtone, a matchmaking company focused on voice- and audio-forward introductions enabled by artificial intelligence. Overtone raised $18 million in seed funding and includes relationship therapist Esther Perel on its board. McLeod has participated in industry events such as the Fast Company Innovation Festival and the Milken Institute Global Conference, and has been a guest on podcasts including "How I Built This with Guy Raz" and "Masters of Scale." His public speaking addresses the intersection of technology, human connection, and ethical product design, reflecting ongoing themes in his career.