Ladies First

Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd took the bull by the horns and came out on top with a billion-dollar idea that operates on kindness and respect, so she shares with MJ Jose

- MJ Jose

The skeptics thought no woman would ever make the first move. But Whitney Wolfe Herd, young, creative, and undaunted, stuck to her guns. In just four years, her women-centred social networking platform Bumble accumulated over 50 million users in 150 countries, with ladies having made the first move almost a billion times globally. These impressive numbers are only part and parcel of an even more powerful narrative—one that Wolfe Herd was able to move forward with on her own terms because she refused to go down without a fight.

Her first foray into the business of online dating apps was through Tinder, which she co-founded and helped propel to success. In the wake of harrowing experiences of sexual harassment and discrimination involving a co-worker, Wolfe Herd decided to leave the company. It was a difficult time; she became the target of cyber bullying, which left her feeling depressed. This inspired her to sketch out the concept of Merci, an online safe space for women. Andrey Adreev, the founder of dating platform Badoo, met with Wolfe Herd and encouraged her to utilise her female-first concept to build a new dating app. Adreev offered to partner up, promising to cover initial funding and access to his tech team. Wolfe Herd was reluctant at first (she’d sworn off dating apps for good) but realised it would be a waste to pass up the opportunity.