Introduction
Salt Lake City, Utah. The mid-1990s. A young Whitney Wolfe, no more than 11 years old, sets up a makeshift business on the side of the road selling bamboo tote bags to passersby. Even as a child, Whitney had a knack for entrepreneurship and a tenacious spirit that would serve her well in the years to come. Little did she know then that those early ventures were laying the foundation for a career that would revolutionize the online dating industry, challenge deep-seated gender norms, and culminate in the creation of Bumble, one of the most successful women-led tech startups in history. But the path to building her billion-dollar empire was fraught with obstacles and opposition.
Discovering the Startup Scene
Whitney’s entrepreneurial pursuits continued into her college years at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She sold bamboo tote bags to raise money for areas impacted by the BP oil spill, hinting at the socially conscious approach that would later become a hallmark of her ventures. After graduating in 2011 with a degree in International Studies, Whitney dipped her toes into the startup world, working briefly for a tech incubator and a philanthropic startup.
But it was her next move that would change the trajectory of her career. In 2012, at just 22 years old, Whitney joined the founding team of a promising new dating app called Tinder.
The Tinder Tribulation
As the Vice President of Marketing at Tinder, Whitney played an instrumental role in the app’s early success. She spearheaded its college campus expansion, going from school to school to onboard new users. Her marketing savvy and tireless work ethic helped propel Tinder to the top of the crowded dating app market. By 2014, Tinder was generating over a billion “swipes” per day and had become ubiquitous among young singles.
However, behind the scenes, Whitney faced a toxic work environment rife with sexism and harassment. As one of the few women in the male-dominated startup, she found herself constantly belittled, excluded from key meetings, and subjected to inappropriate comments. Things came to a head when Whitney’s romantic relationship with Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen turned ugly. After their breakup, Mateen turned verbally abusive and began harassing Whitney at work, threatening her position at the company.
When Whitney brought her concerns to Tinder’s leadership, she was met with indifference. Ultimately, she felt she had no choice but to leave the company she had worked so hard to build. In 2014, Whitney filed a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against Tinder and its parent companies. The case was eventually settled out of court, but the experience left Whitney devastated.
“I was being told the ugliest things by complete strangers, and they were having full debates about me online,” Whitney recalled of that painful period. “I wasn’t going to stand for it. I decided I was going to tell my story and take something terrible and turn it into something good.”
Birthing Bumble
Drawing from her negative experiences navigating the male-dominated world of tech startups, Whitney envisioned a new kind of dating app – one where women would be in control. In late 2014, she founded Bumble with the novel concept that women must make the first move and initiate conversations with matched users. No longer could women be bombarded with unsolicited messages or harassed for simply existing on a dating platform. Bumble was, from day one, designed to be a more empowering, kinder digital space.
But getting Bumble off the ground was no easy feat. As a female founder with a high-profile harassment lawsuit in her past, Whitney struggled to get investors and venture capitalists to take her seriously.
Undeterred, Whitney leaned into her vision and began assembling a team of talented individuals, mostly young women, to help bring Bumble to life. She partnered with Andrey Andreev, the founder of European dating app Badoo, who became Bumble’s majority owner and provided the technical infrastructure the fledgling startup needed.
In the early days, Whitney and her lean team worked out of a spare bedroom in Bumble’s first “headquarters” – a two-bedroom apartment in Austin, Texas. They poured their hearts into the app, fueled by a shared belief in Bumble’s mission to empower women and foster more respectful connections online. Slowly but surely, their hard work began to pay off as Bumble gained traction.
Empowering Expansion
As Bumble’s user base grew, so too did Whitney’s ambitions for the company. She recognized that Bumble’s women-first ethos had applications beyond romantic relationships. In 2016, the company launched Bumble BFF, a friend-finding feature that allowed users to swipe for platonic connections. The following year saw the debut of Bumble Bizz, a professional networking vertical that aimed to help women advance their careers.
These new offerings aligned perfectly with Bumble’s core mission of empowering women in all aspects of their lives. They also helped differentiate Bumble in an increasingly crowded dating app market. While competitors like Tinder were seen as hookup apps, Bumble cultivated a reputation as a platform for more meaningful connections.
Under Whitney’s leadership, Bumble also became known for its bold, unapologetically feminist brand. The company aggressively cracked down on bad behavior, banning hate speech, harassment, and unsolicited lewd photos. After the tragic mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, Whitney made the decision to ban gun photos on Bumble as well. And she didn’t shy away from taking political stances, fundraising for Planned Parenthood and denouncing Texas’ restrictive abortion law with full-page newspaper ads.
As Bumble blossomed into a global phenomenon, Whitney also focused on cultivating a supportive, inclusive culture internally. She implemented generous parental leave policies, took the company fully remote during the pandemic, and gave all employees a collective “burnout break” to recharge in June 2021. Her people-first approach landed Bumble on lists of the best places to work year after year.
By the end of 2020, Bumble had grown into a dating tech powerhouse with over 100 million users worldwide and $337 million in revenue. The company was thriving thanks to Whitney’s innovative leadership and unshakable belief in its mission. But she was about to face her biggest challenge yet.
Billion-Dollar Buzz
In 2019, disturbing allegations emerged about Bumble’s majority owner, Andrey Andreev. A Forbes investigation uncovered evidence of a misogynistic culture at Andreev’s previous company, Badoo, including wild parties featuring scantily clad models hired as “atmosphere.” While there was no suggestion that Whitney was involved in or aware of this behavior, the revelations threatened to tarnish the reputation she had worked so hard to build for Bumble.
Once again drawing on her reserves of resilience, Whitney took decisive action. She strongly condemned the alleged behavior at Badoo and pledged to uphold the values of respect and equality that Bumble was founded on. Behind the scenes, she worked to orchestrate a deal for Andreev to sell his ownership stake in MagicLab, the parent company of Bumble and Badoo, to investment firm Blackstone. The November 2019 deal, which valued MagicLab at $3 billion, made Whitney the CEO of the newly independent Bumble.
Just over a year later, in February 2021, Whitney took Bumble public. In a symbolic move, she made her Wall Street debut as she had so many other milestones – on her own terms and with her young son by her side. As Whitney rang the Nasdaq opening bell, she became the youngest self-made woman billionaire in the world at just 31 years old. Bumble’s stock soared 67% on its first day of trading.
Bumble’s blockbuster IPO was a watershed moment not just for Whitney, but for female founders everywhere. In 2021, women-led startups still received a paltry 2% of all venture capital funding. “Hopefully this will not be a rare headline,” Whitney said of being a woman leading a successful public offering. “Hopefully this will be the norm. It’s the right thing to do, it’s a priority for us and it should be a priority for everyone else.”
Hive Mind
As the world reopens in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Whitney has her sights set on Bumble’s next chapter. The company recently launched a new feature called “Night In” that facilitates virtual dating, including video games and ice-breaker activities. Bumble is also exploring new avenues for platonic connections with an eye on older age demographics.
Yet even as she guides Bumble to new heights, Whitney remains committed to the core mission of empowering women and ending misogyny that has driven her from the beginning. She knows firsthand the hurdles that women, especially those in tech, continue to face and is determined to use her platform to help pave a better way forward.
With Whitney Wolfe Herd at the helm, Bumble seems poised not just to thrive as a business, but to continue blazing a trail for a kinder, more equitable online world. And while the road ahead is sure to have its share of challenges, one thing is certain: Whitney will never stop swiping right on empowering women and fighting for what’s right.
Key Events
- Mid-1990s – As a child, Whitney starts bamboo tote bag business in Salt Lake City
- 2011 – Graduates from Southern Methodist University with degree in International Studies
- 2012 – Joins founding team of dating app Tinder as VP of Marketing
- 2014 – Files sexual harassment lawsuit against Tinder, later settles; Founds Bumble
- 2016 – Bumble launches BFF feature for finding platonic friends
- 2017 – Bumble debuts Bizz vertical for business networking
- 2018 – Whitney bans gun photos from Bumble in wake of synagogue mass shooting
- 2019 – Allegations emerge about Bumble’s majority owner; Whitney orchestrates his exit
- 2021 (Feb) – Takes Bumble public; Becomes world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire
- 2021 (June) – Gives all Bumble employees a collective paid week off to combat burnout
Lessons from the Hive
Whitney Wolfe Herd’s remarkable journey offers valuable lessons for entrepreneurs, especially women and underrepresented founders:
- Transmute adversity into opportunity: Whitney didn’t let painful experiences like harassment defeat her; instead she channeled them into creating something better. Embracing hardship as fuel for innovation can give you the drive to persevere and the insight to spot opportunities others miss.
- Stand firm in your vision: The most revolutionary ideas often meet the strongest resistance. When Whitney pitched a dating app that put women in control, many male investors scoffed. When she took a stand against misogyny, some questioned her motives. But Whitney remained undaunted in her convictions. Arm yourself with that same unshakable belief in your mission.
- Cultivate an empowering culture: Whitney’s people-first policies and promotion of diversity aren’t just good PR; they’ve been key to Bumble’s success. Investing in employees’ wellbeing and sense of ownership can pay huge dividends in loyalty, productivity, and innovation. Building a company that walks its talk also helps attract values-aligned customers.
- Don’t shy away from taking a stand: In an era of growing social consciousness, more and more consumers expect brands to speak out on important issues. While some advised Whitney to stay quiet on topics like reproductive rights and gun violence, she understood that taking bold stances was not only the right thing to do, but a key differentiator for Bumble. Wearing your values on your sleeve comes with risks, but it’s often what turns customers into true believers.
- Embrace your unique leadership style: Whitney never conformed to the image of a stereotypical tech bro. She unapologetically brought her full self to her role, whether that meant ringing the Nasdaq opening bell with her toddler son on her hip or admitting to struggling with burnout during the pandemic. Her authenticity resonated both inside and outside the company. The lesson? Define leadership on your own terms and lean into what makes you different – it just might be your secret weapon.
Still only in her early 30s, Whitney Wolfe Herd has already left an indelible mark on the worlds of tech, dating, and female entrepreneurship. By refusing to accept the status quo, rewriting the rules, and always innovating, she has demonstrated the world-changing power of a single swipe. At this rate, there’s no telling how far her drive to empower women and design a kinder world will take her next. But if her track record is any indication, it will be a journey well worth following.