Women all over the world experience a lot of discrimination, harassment, and abuse, especially in the dating scene. Even when it comes to online dating sites and apps, many of them are not very female-friendly.
That changed when Bumble was launched in 2014. As Bumble users would know, only the ladies can make first contact whenever a match happens on the app.
Given the female-friendly nature of Bumble, it might not surprise you that the founder behind this dating app is a woman. Her name is Whitney Wolfe Herd and she, herself, is no stranger to abuse against women.
Whitney Wolfe Herd, Abusive Relationships, and Tinder
A profile done by TIME on Whitney Wolfe Herd mentions how "her history of toxic relationships, the misogyny of tech" is exactly why Bumble exists today.
TIME's profile expounds on the said history of toxic relationships by talking about an abusive ex-boyfriend during her high school years. According to TIME, the ex-boyfriend went as far as to threaten Whitney Wolfe Herd with a gun.
According to Wolfe Herd, as quoted by TIME's report, "I experienced severe emotional abuse from my high school boyfriend during my really formative years, and it stripped me down to nothing."
Her experience with abusive boyfriends did not end there. Wolfe Herd is one of the co-founders of the popular dating app Tinder. During her time in Tinder, she focused on the marketing side of the business and began dating fellow Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen.
According to the report by TIME, Whitney Wolfe Herd was the subject of discrimination and sexual harassment during her time in Tinder. A former Tinder employee told TIME that Tinder executives would discuss Wolfe Herd's breast size during meetings she was not present for. Another former employee also told TIME that Wolfe Herd had been "'slut-shamed' at the office."
Justin Mateen had been part of the slut-shaming experienced by Wolfe Herd. Per the report, Wolfe Herd alleged that he called her a whore during a meeting.
Whitney Wolfe Herd eventually left Tinder and filed a lawsuit in 2014 against the whole company. The lawsuit ended in a settlement in which she received $1 million as well as company stock.
The Birth of Bumble
Given the abuse she experienced at Tinder, it's no surprise that Whitney Wolfe Herd wanted to leave the dating app industry after. She wanted to launch a social platform solely for women. She, however, was convinced to stay in the industry by Andrey Andreev, the founder of another dating app called Badoo.
According to the report by TIME, "Wolfe Herd said she would only do it if women could be in control."
Bumble was eventually launched in 2014. In contrast to other dating apps, Bumble allows women to message the men they match with first. According to Forbes, Andreev eventually sold his stake in Bumble in 2019.
Related Article: Bumble Dating App From Tinder Founder Only Allows Women To Make The First Move
Whitney Wolfe Herd and Bumble: Today and in the Future
When Bumble went public in February, Whitney Wolfe Herd became the youngest self-made woman billionaire, according to Forbes. At the time her company had gone public, Wolfe Herd was 31 years old.
Per Forbes, Bumble now operates "in 150 countries with 2.8 million paying users as of March 2021." TIME reports that Bumble has over 420 brand ambassadors on more than a hundred college campuses in the United States.
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic putting a hitch in the dating plans of countless people out there, many have turned to Bumble for online dating, making the pandemic a busy time for the company.
Due to this, Whitney Wolfe Herd allowed 700 employees to go on a week-long burnout leave last June.
As far as the future is concerned, it is safe to say that Bumble will continue to grow both as a dating app and a company as more and more things go online and digital. The future may be uncertain given the pandemic, but if there is one thing you can look forward to post-pandemic from Bumble, according to TIME, it's the company's plan to "open Bumble-themed coffee shops."
Also Read: Bumble Survey Shows 30% of 1000 Americans Won't Go On Dates with People Without the COVID-19 Vaccine
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Isabella James
