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| name        = Whitney Wolfe Herd
| name        = Whitney Wolfe Herd
| birth_name  = Whitney Wolfe
| birth_name  = Whitney Wolfe
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1989|07|01}}
| image        = TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2018 - day 2 (30647055838).jpg
| birth_place  = [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], U.S.
| caption      = Wolfe Herd in 2018
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1989|7|1}}
| birth_place  = [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]], U.S.
| nationality  = American
| nationality  = American
| education    = [[Southern Methodist University]] (BA)
| education    = [[Southern Methodist University]] (BA)
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'''Whitney Wolfe Herd''' (née '''Wolfe'''; born July 1, 1989) is an American entrepreneur and business executive who founded the dating application [[Bumble (app)|Bumble]] and serves as its chief executive officer and executive chair. Before launching Bumble, she was a co-founder and vice president of marketing at [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]], one of the first mobile dating platforms to popularize the swipe-based matching model. Wolfe Herd departed Tinder in 2014 and launched Bumble later that year, building the app around the core principle that women make the first move in heterosexual matches — a design choice intended to shift traditional gender dynamics in online dating.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-04-12 |title=Bumble, the dating app where women call the shots |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/12/bumble-dating-app-women-call-shots-whitney-wolfe |work=The Guardian |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> Bumble grew into one of the largest dating platforms in the United States, and when the company went public in February 2021, Wolfe Herd became one of the youngest women to take a company public on a major American stock exchange.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2021-02-11 |title=Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd on BMBL stock, shares, and the app's initial public offering |url=https://fortune.com/2021/02/11/bumble-ipo-ceo-whitney-wolfe-herd-bmbl-stock-shares-interview-app-initial-public-offering/ |work=Fortune |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> In 2018, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' named her one of its 100 Most Influential People.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe Herd: The 100 Most Influential People of 2018 |url=https://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5217594/whitney-wolfe-herd/ |publisher=Time |date=2018 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> After stepping back from the CEO role, Wolfe Herd returned to lead Bumble in 2025, announcing plans to reimagine the platform for a new generation of users.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-05-10 |title='The Interview': Can Whitney Wolfe Herd Make Us Love Dating Apps Again? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/magazine/whitney-wolfe-herd-interview.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
'''Whitney Wolfe Herd''' (née '''Wolfe'''; born July 1, 1989) is an American entrepreneur and business executive who founded the dating application [[Bumble (app)|Bumble]] and serves as its executive chair and CEO. Before launching Bumble, she was a co-founder and Vice President of Marketing at [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]], where she played a central role in building one of the first mainstream mobile dating platforms. Wolfe Herd's departure from Tinder in 2014 was accompanied by a high-profile sexual harassment lawsuit that drew widespread attention to workplace culture in the technology industry. She subsequently founded Bumble, a dating app distinguished by its requirement that women initiate conversations in heterosexual matches — a design choice rooted in Wolfe Herd's stated goal of shifting power dynamics in online dating.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |last=Garber |first=Megan |date=2015-04-12 |title=Bumble: the dating app where women call the shots |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/12/bumble-dating-app-women-call-shots-whitney-wolfe |work=The Guardian |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> In February 2021, Wolfe Herd took Bumble public on the [[Nasdaq]], becoming one of the youngest women to take a company public in the United States.<ref name="fortune-ipo">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2021-02-11 |title=Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd on BMBL stock, shares, and the app's initial public offering |url=https://fortune.com/2021/02/11/bumble-ipo-ceo-whitney-wolfe-herd-bmbl-stock-shares-interview-app-initial-public-offering/ |work=Fortune |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> She was named to the ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' 100 list of most influential people in 2018 and has been recognized as one of the most prominent figures in the technology and dating industries.<ref name="time100">{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe Herd: The 100 Most Influential People of 2018 |url=https://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5217594/whitney-wolfe-herd/ |publisher=Time |date=2018 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


== Early Life ==
== Early Life ==


Whitney Wolfe was born on July 1, 1989, in [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe Herd |url=https://atxwoman.com/whitney-wolfe/ |publisher=ATX Woman |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> She grew up in Salt Lake City and attended school in Utah before pursuing higher education in Texas. From an early age, Wolfe demonstrated entrepreneurial instincts. While still a student at [[Southern Methodist University]] (SMU) in [[Dallas]], Texas, she launched a clothing line called Tender Heart, which sold bamboo tote bags to raise money for areas affected by the [[BP oil spill]] in the Gulf of Mexico.<ref>{{cite web |title=SMU senior Whitney Wolfe launches second business, clothing line Tender Heart |url=http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/smu-senior-whitney-wolfe-launches-second-business-clothing-line-tender-heart |publisher=SMU Daily Campus |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The project attracted attention and demonstrated her ability to combine a social cause with a consumer product — a theme that would recur throughout her career.
Whitney Wolfe was born on July 1, 1989, in [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]].<ref name="biography">{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe Helped Make Tinder a Success. Then She Created Its Fiercest Competitor. |url=https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/a66106070/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble |publisher=Biography |date=2025-09-22 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> She grew up in Utah before relocating to [[Texas]] for her higher education. Details about her family background and upbringing prior to college remain limited in publicly available sources.


Details about Wolfe Herd's family background and childhood remain limited in publicly available sources. What is documented is her early inclination toward building businesses and her move to the technology sector shortly after completing her undergraduate education.
While still a student at [[Southern Methodist University]] (SMU) in [[Dallas]], Wolfe demonstrated entrepreneurial interests. She launched a clothing line called Tender Heart, which was covered by the university's campus newspaper, ''The SMU Daily Campus''.<ref name="smu">{{cite web |title=SMU Senior Whitney Wolfe Launches Second Business, Clothing Line Tender Heart |url=http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/smu-senior-whitney-wolfe-launches-second-business-clothing-line-tender-heart |publisher=SMU Daily Campus |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The venture reflected Wolfe's early inclination toward building consumer-facing brands, a skill set she would later apply in the technology sector.
 
After completing her studies at SMU, Wolfe moved to [[Los Angeles]], where she entered the technology startup world. It was in this environment that she became involved with a group of entrepreneurs who were developing what would become Tinder, one of the most consequential mobile applications in the history of online dating.<ref name="bi-tinder">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-01 |title=Tinder Co-Founder Whitney Wolfe and Bumble |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-co-founder-whitney-wolfe-and-bumble-2015-1 |work=Business Insider |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


== Education ==
== Education ==


Wolfe Herd attended [[Southern Methodist University]] in Dallas, Texas, where she earned a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree.<ref>{{cite web |title=SMU senior Whitney Wolfe launches second business, clothing line Tender Heart |url=http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/smu-senior-whitney-wolfe-launches-second-business-clothing-line-tender-heart |publisher=SMU Daily Campus |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> During her time at SMU, she was involved in entrepreneurial activities, including the Tender Heart clothing venture. Her time at the university also connected her with networks in the technology startup world that would prove significant for her subsequent career at Tinder.
Wolfe Herd attended [[Southern Methodist University]] (SMU) in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], where she earned a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree.<ref name="smu" /> During her time at SMU, she was involved in entrepreneurial activities, including the launch of a clothing line. Her time at the university coincided with a period of growing interest in mobile technology and social networking platforms, and her post-graduation career trajectory led her directly into the technology startup ecosystem of [[Los Angeles]].<ref name="bi-tinder" />


== Career ==
== Career ==


=== Tinder ===
=== Tinder (2012–2014) ===
 
In 2012, Whitney Wolfe joined a team of entrepreneurs working on a mobile dating application that would become [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]].<ref name="biography" /> She served as the company's Vice President of Marketing and is credited as a co-founder of the app. In her marketing role, Wolfe was instrumental in driving early user adoption of Tinder, particularly among college-aged users. She reportedly traveled to university campuses to promote the app, a grassroots marketing strategy that helped Tinder gain rapid traction among young adults.<ref name="nyt-2017">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2017-03-18 |title=Bumble, the Feminist Dating App, and Whitney Wolfe |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/fashion/bumble-feminist-dating-app-whitney-wolfe.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
 
Tinder's introduction of the "swipe right" mechanic to indicate interest in a potential match fundamentally changed the landscape of online dating, transforming it from a desktop-centric activity into a mobile-first social experience.<ref name="nyt-interview-2025">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-05-10 |title='The Interview': Can Whitney Wolfe Herd Make Us Love Dating Apps Again? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/magazine/whitney-wolfe-herd-interview.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The app grew to become one of the most downloaded applications worldwide, and Wolfe's marketing contributions were a significant factor in its early success.<ref name="biography" />
 
However, Wolfe's tenure at Tinder ended acrimoniously. In June 2014, she filed a lawsuit against Tinder and its parent company, alleging sexual harassment and discrimination by co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Justin Mateen, as well as other senior executives at the company.<ref name="heavy">{{cite web |title=Tinder Whitney Wolfe Sean Rad Justin Mateen Sexual Harassment Suit |url=http://heavy.com/tech/2014/07/tinder-whitney-wolfe-sean-rad-justin-mateen-sexual-harassment-suit/ |publisher=Heavy |date=2014-07 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The lawsuit alleged that Mateen had sent Wolfe threatening and derogatory text messages and that she had been stripped of her co-founder title because the company's leadership felt that having a young female co-founder "ichael make the company look like a joke."<ref name="heavy" />


After graduating from Southern Methodist University, Wolfe joined the team that was building [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]], a mobile dating application that used a swipe-based interface to allow users to quickly approve or pass on potential matches. Wolfe is credited as a co-founder of Tinder and served as the company's vice president of marketing.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-01-29 |title=Whitney Wolfe Says Goodbye to Tinder, Hello to Bumble |url=http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2015/jan/29/whitney-wolfe-says-goodbye-tinder-hello-bumble/ |work=Los Angeles Business Journal |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> In that role, she played a central part in popularizing the app, particularly among college-age users. Her marketing strategy included visiting college campuses to promote the platform, and she is credited with coining the name "Tinder."<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2022-09-19 |title=The True Story Behind Swiped, Whitney Wolfe Herd, and the Birth of Bumble |url=https://time.com/7314564/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble/ |work=Time |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Whitney Wolfe Helped Make Tinder a Success. Then She Created Its Fiercest Competitor. |url=https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/a66106070/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble |work=Biography |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
The case attracted significant media attention and became one of the earliest high-profile sexual harassment claims in [[Silicon Valley]]'s technology industry, predating the broader [[Me Too movement]] by several years.<ref name="wapo-2015">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-12-02 |title=Whitney Wolfe, founder of dating app Bumble, has had quite the year. She just can't discuss parts of it. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/12/02/whitney-wolfe-founder-of-dating-app-bumble-has-had-quite-the-year-she-just-cant-discuss-parts-of-it/ |work=The Washington Post |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> In November 2014, the lawsuit was settled for a reported sum of just over one million dollars. As part of the settlement, Wolfe was prohibited from publicly discussing many details of the case.<ref name="bi-settle">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2014-11 |title=Whitney Wolfe Settles Sexual Harassment Tinder Lawsuit for $1 Million |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/whitney-wolfe-settles-sexual-harassment-tinder-lawsuit-1-million-2014-11 |work=Business Insider |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref><ref name="wapo-2015" /> Mateen was suspended from Tinder following the public disclosure of the lawsuit.<ref name="heavy" />


In 2012, Tinder launched and quickly became one of the most downloaded dating applications in the world, fundamentally changing how people met romantic partners.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-05-10 |title='The Interview': Can Whitney Wolfe Herd Make Us Love Dating Apps Again? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/magazine/whitney-wolfe-herd-interview.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The app's rapid growth made it a cultural phenomenon and established the swipe mechanic as a defining feature of modern mobile dating.
=== Founding of Bumble (2014) ===


However, Wolfe's tenure at Tinder ended in acrimony. In June 2014, she filed a lawsuit against Tinder and its parent company, alleging sexual harassment and discrimination. The suit named Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen and CEO Sean Rad, among others.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tinder co-founder Whitney Wolfe sexual harassment suit |url=http://heavy.com/tech/2014/07/tinder-whitney-wolfe-sean-rad-justin-mateen-sexual-harassment-suit/ |publisher=Heavy.com |date=2014-07 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> Wolfe alleged that she had been subjected to harassing text messages and that her co-founder title had been stripped because the company's leadership said that having a young female co-founder "made the company look like a joke."<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Tinder co-founder Whitney Wolfe and Bumble |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-co-founder-whitney-wolfe-and-bumble-2015-1 |work=Business Insider |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The lawsuit drew extensive media coverage and became part of a broader public conversation about the treatment of women in the technology industry.
Following her departure from Tinder, Wolfe Herd initially considered stepping away from the dating app industry entirely. However, she was approached by [[Andrey Andreev]], the Russian-British entrepreneur and founder of the social networking platform [[Badoo]], who proposed a partnership to build a new dating application.<ref name="forbes-billion">{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Clare |date=2017-11-14 |title=Billion-Dollar Bumble: How Whitney Wolfe Herd Built America's Fastest-Growing Dating App |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2017/11/14/billion-dollar-bumble-how-whitney-wolfe-herd-built-americas-fastest-growing-dating-app/#1cb7bf24248b |work=Forbes |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


The case was settled in September 2014 for a reported sum of just over one million dollars.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2014-11 |title=Whitney Wolfe settles sexual harassment Tinder lawsuit for $1 million |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/whitney-wolfe-settles-sexual-harassment-tinder-lawsuit-1-million-2014-11 |work=Business Insider |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> Under the terms of the settlement, Wolfe was restricted from publicly discussing certain aspects of her experience at Tinder.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-12-02 |title=Whitney Wolfe, founder of dating app Bumble, has had quite the year. She just can't discuss parts of it. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/12/02/whitney-wolfe-founder-of-dating-app-bumble-has-had-quite-the-year-she-just-cant-discuss-parts-of-it/ |work=The Washington Post |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> Justin Mateen was suspended from his position at Tinder in the wake of the allegations.
Wolfe Herd founded Bumble in 2014, headquartering the company in [[Austin]], [[Texas]].<ref name="atxwoman">{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe |url=https://atxwoman.com/whitney-wolfe/ |publisher=ATX Woman |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The app's defining feature was its requirement that women make the first move in heterosexual matches — a design choice intended to address what Wolfe Herd described as the pervasive problem of unwanted messages and harassment that women experienced on other dating platforms.<ref name="guardian" /> In conversations with same-sex matches, either party could initiate contact.


=== Founding of Bumble ===
Wolfe Herd has stated that her original vision for Bumble extended beyond dating. Speaking at [[South by Southwest]] (SXSW) in 2018, she said, "What I originally wanted to do with Bumble is rewrite the Internet," attributing the company's success to its fundamental belief that women should be able to make the "first move" in romantic connections.<ref name="sxsw">{{cite web |title="What I originally wanted to do with Bumble is rewrite the Internet." - Whitney Wolfe Herd |url=https://sxsw.com/interactive/2018/sxsw-2018-featured-speaker-whitney-wolfe-herd-in-conversation-with-gayle-king-video/ |publisher=SXSW |date=2018 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


In the months following her departure from Tinder, Wolfe initially considered stepping away from the dating app industry entirely. However, Russian entrepreneur and [[Badoo]] founder Andrey Andreev approached her with a proposal to build a new dating platform. Wolfe agreed, on the condition that the new app would address the problems she had experienced and observed in online dating — specifically, the harassment and hostile behavior that women frequently encountered on existing platforms.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-04-12 |title=Bumble, the dating app where women call the shots |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/12/bumble-dating-app-women-call-shots-whitney-wolfe |work=The Guardian |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
The app distinguished itself in a crowded dating app market through this women-first approach, as well as through features such as time-limited matches (conversations expired if not initiated within 24 hours) and photo verification. Bumble grew rapidly, attracting millions of users and establishing itself as the primary competitor to Tinder in the United States.<ref name="forbes-billion" /><ref name="vf-bumble">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-08 |title=Bumble App: Whitney Wolfe |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/bumble-app-whitney-wolfe |work=Vanity Fair |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


Bumble launched in December 2014 with a distinctive feature: in heterosexual matches, only women could initiate the first message.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-04-12 |title=Bumble, the dating app where women call the shots |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/12/bumble-dating-app-women-call-shots-whitney-wolfe |work=The Guardian |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> This mechanic was designed to reduce unsolicited and often inappropriate messages that women received on other platforms and to create a dating environment where women felt more empowered. At a 2018 SXSW panel, Wolfe Herd described the company's founding ethos, stating: "What I originally wanted to do with Bumble is rewrite the Internet."<ref>{{cite web |title=SXSW 2018 Featured Speaker: Whitney Wolfe Herd in Conversation with Gayle King |url=https://sxsw.com/interactive/2018/sxsw-2018-featured-speaker-whitney-wolfe-herd-in-conversation-with-gayle-king-video/ |publisher=SXSW |date=2018 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The company attributed its growth to the fundamental principle that women should be able to make the first move in romantic connections.
=== Expanding Bumble Beyond Dating ===


The app grew rapidly. By 2017, ''[[Forbes]]'' described Bumble as "America's fastest-growing dating app," reporting that the company was on track to reach a billion-dollar valuation.<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Clare |date=2017-11-14 |title=Billion-Dollar Bumble: How Whitney Wolfe Herd Built America's Fastest-Growing Dating App |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2017/11/14/billion-dollar-bumble-how-whitney-wolfe-herd-built-americas-fastest-growing-dating-app/#1cb7bf24248b |work=Forbes |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The platform expanded beyond dating to include Bumble BFF, a feature for finding platonic friendships, and Bumble Bizz, a professional networking mode. Wolfe Herd positioned Bumble not merely as a dating app but as a broader social networking platform centered on respectful, women-first design principles.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2017-03-18 |title=Bumble: The Feminist Dating App |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/fashion/bumble-feminist-dating-app-whitney-wolfe.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
Under Wolfe Herd's leadership, Bumble expanded beyond romantic connections. The platform introduced Bumble BFF, a feature for finding platonic friendships, and Bumble Bizz, a networking tool designed to facilitate professional connections. These additions reflected Wolfe Herd's broader ambition to create a platform that addressed multiple dimensions of human connection, not solely dating.<ref name="npr">{{cite web |title=NPR Transcript: Whitney Wolfe Herd |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=557437086 |publisher=NPR |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


Wolfe Herd also pushed for legislative change related to online behavior. In Texas, she advocated for a law that would criminalize the sending of unsolicited sexually explicit images — commonly known as "cyberflashing." Bumble's lobbying efforts contributed to Texas becoming the first U.S. state to enact such a law.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Texas May Outlaw Unsolicited Sexual Images. Would That Be Enforceable, and Does It Even Matter? |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/texas-may-outlaw-unsolicited-sexual-images-would-that-be-enforceable-and-does-it-even-matter/ |work=Texas Monthly |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
Wolfe Herd also advocated for legislative changes aimed at curbing online harassment. She worked with legislators in Texas to support a bill that would outlaw unsolicited sexually explicit images, a common form of harassment on dating platforms. The effort reflected her stated commitment to using technology and policy to create safer digital spaces.<ref name="texasmonthly">{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Texas May Outlaw Unsolicited Sexual Images. Would That Be Enforceable, and Does It Even Matter? |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/texas-may-outlaw-unsolicited-sexual-images-would-that-be-enforceable-and-does-it-even-matter/ |work=Texas Monthly |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


=== Bumble IPO and Growth ===
By 2017, ''Forbes'' described Bumble as "America's fastest-growing dating app," noting its billion-dollar valuation and its emergence as a major force in the technology and social media industries.<ref name="forbes-billion" />


On February 11, 2021, Bumble Inc. went public on the [[Nasdaq]] stock exchange under the ticker symbol BMBL. The initial public offering was a significant milestone for the company and for Wolfe Herd personally. On its first day of trading, Bumble's stock surged, pushing the company's valuation to approximately $13 billion.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2021-02-11 |title=Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd on BMBL stock, shares, and the app's initial public offering |url=https://fortune.com/2021/02/11/bumble-ipo-ceo-whitney-wolfe-herd-bmbl-stock-shares-interview-app-initial-public-offering/ |work=Fortune |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> Wolfe Herd, who was 31 at the time, became one of the youngest women to take a company public in the United States. Reports described her as the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world at the time of the IPO.<ref>{{cite web |title=How Whitney Wolfe Herd became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire |url=https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/whitney-wolfe-herd-became-worlds-youngest-female-self-made-billionaire/women-in-business/article/1707471 |publisher=Management Today |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> She owns approximately 23 million shares of Bumble Inc.
=== Bumble IPO and Public Company Leadership ===


In an interview with ''Fortune'' at the time of the IPO, Wolfe Herd discussed her vision for the company's future and the importance of creating safe online spaces. The public offering also represented a moment of validation for Bumble's women-first business model, which had attracted both users and investors.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2021-02-11 |title=Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd on BMBL stock, shares, and the app's initial public offering |url=https://fortune.com/2021/02/11/bumble-ipo-ceo-whitney-wolfe-herd-bmbl-stock-shares-interview-app-initial-public-offering/ |work=Fortune |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
On February 11, 2021, Bumble, Inc. went public on the [[Nasdaq]] stock exchange under the ticker symbol BMBL. The initial public offering (IPO) was a landmark event that made Wolfe Herd, at age 31, one of the youngest women to take a company public in the United States.<ref name="fortune-ipo" /> The IPO was also notable because Wolfe Herd was the youngest woman to serve as CEO of a publicly traded company at the time.<ref name="mgmt-today">{{cite web |title=How Whitney Wolfe Herd became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire |url=https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/whitney-wolfe-herd-became-worlds-youngest-female-self-made-billionaire/women-in-business/article/1707471 |publisher=Management Today |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
 
On its first day of trading, Bumble's share price surged significantly, and the company's market capitalization reached approximately $13 billion. The strong debut made Wolfe Herd a billionaire, with ''Management Today'' reporting that she became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire.<ref name="mgmt-today" /> She owns approximately 23 million shares of Bumble, Inc.


=== Departure and Return as CEO ===
=== Departure and Return as CEO ===


After leading Bumble through its IPO and years of growth, Wolfe Herd stepped back from her day-to-day role as CEO. However, by 2025, she returned to lead the company amid challenges facing the broader dating app industry. A ''New York Times'' interview in May 2025 described the context of her return: Bumble was struggling, and Wolfe Herd said she had a plan for engaging [[Generation Z]] users who had grown skeptical of dating apps.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-05-10 |title='The Interview': Can Whitney Wolfe Herd Make Us Love Dating Apps Again? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/magazine/whitney-wolfe-herd-interview.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> In a ''New York Times'' piece, she reflected on how the general sentiment about technology had shifted since she co-founded Tinder, noting that when Tinder launched, "the overwhelming feeling about apps and screens and tech in general was optimism."<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-05-10 |title='The Interview': Can Whitney Wolfe Herd Make Us Love Dating Apps Again? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/magazine/whitney-wolfe-herd-interview.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
After leading Bumble through its IPO and early years as a public company, Wolfe Herd stepped back from the day-to-day CEO role. However, by 2025, she returned to active leadership of the company amid challenges facing the dating app industry more broadly. In a May 2025 interview with ''The New York Times'', she discussed her plans for reinvigorating Bumble and addressing a decline in dating app usage among [[Generation Z]].<ref name="nyt-interview-2025" />


Wolfe Herd's return coincided with new strategic directions for the company. In an August 2025 ''Wall Street Journal'' feature, she discussed new ideas for Bumble, including the integration of [[artificial intelligence]] to reshape how users form connections on the platform. She also expressed a broader interest in addressing what she called a societal loneliness crisis through technology.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-08-29 |title=Whitney Wolfe Herd Has a New Idea for Bumble—and All Our Relationships |url=https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble-ai-398779bb |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> In a ''Time'' interview, she framed her ambition as using technology to address loneliness, a theme consistent with her career-long focus on fostering human connection through digital platforms.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe Herd Wants Technology to Cure Loneliness |url=https://time.com/collections/person-of-the-week-podcast/6289603/whitney-wolfe-herd-interview-person-of-the-week/ |publisher=Time |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
In an August 2025 interview with ''The Wall Street Journal'', Wolfe Herd discussed new directions for Bumble, including the integration of [[artificial intelligence]] into the platform's matchmaking capabilities. She made the notable confession that she "would never have swiped right on her husband," suggesting that traditional swipe-based mechanics may be insufficient for creating meaningful connections and that AI could play a role in improving outcomes for users.<ref name="wsj-2025">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-08-29 |title=Exclusive: Whitney Wolfe Herd Has a New Idea for Bumble—and All Our Relationships |url=https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble-ai-398779bb |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


=== Cultural Impact and the ''Swiped'' Film ===
Wolfe Herd has stated that she views the challenge of modern loneliness as a central problem that technology can help address. In a ''Time'' interview, she discussed her belief that technology, when designed thoughtfully, can serve as a cure for loneliness rather than a contributor to it.<ref name="time-loneliness">{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe Herd Wants Technology to Cure Loneliness |url=https://time.com/collections/person-of-the-week-podcast/6289603/whitney-wolfe-herd-interview-person-of-the-week/ |publisher=Time |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


In September 2025, the Hulu film ''Swiped'' was released, dramatizing events surrounding Wolfe Herd's time at Tinder and the founding of Bumble.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-09-19 |title=The True Story Behind Swiped, Whitney Wolfe Herd, and the Birth of Bumble |url=https://time.com/7314564/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble/ |work=Time |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> ''Time'' magazine published an extensive article examining the true story behind the film, while ''Biography'' noted that Wolfe Herd had "helped launch the dating app revolution with Tinder" in 2012 before creating "its fiercest competitor" two years later.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Whitney Wolfe Helped Make Tinder a Success. Then She Created Its Fiercest Competitor. |url=https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/a66106070/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble |work=Biography |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> ''Fortune'' noted that the film focused primarily on Wolfe Herd's experiences at Tinder rather than on the building of Bumble itself.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-09-29 |title='Swiped' movie misses Bumble's story |url=https://fortune.com/2025/09/29/swiped-bumble-movie-tinder-whitney-wolfe-herd/ |work=Fortune |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The existence of a major film about her story underscored the degree to which Wolfe Herd's career had become intertwined with the broader narrative of the technology industry's cultural impact.
== Personal Life ==


== Personal Life ==
Whitney Wolfe Herd is based in [[Austin]], [[Texas]], where Bumble is headquartered.<ref name="atxwoman" /> She has two children. Wolfe Herd has been open about the challenges of balancing leadership of a major technology company with parenthood, a topic she has discussed in various media interviews.


Whitney Wolfe married Michael Herd, and the couple have two children together. She has been based in [[Austin, Texas]], where Bumble is headquartered.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe Herd |url=https://atxwoman.com/whitney-wolfe/ |publisher=ATX Woman |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> Wolfe Herd has spoken publicly about the challenges of balancing executive leadership with family life, and her experiences as a working mother have informed her approach to company culture at Bumble.
Details about Wolfe Herd's personal relationships have been addressed in media coverage primarily in the context of her professional narrative. In her 2025 interview with ''The Wall Street Journal'', she referenced her husband, noting that the couple's connection illustrated the limitations of algorithm-based matching and swiping mechanics.<ref name="wsj-2025" />


In media interviews, she has discussed her own experiences with online harassment and the impact they had on her mental health and career trajectory. These personal experiences were a motivating factor in designing Bumble's safety features and in her advocacy for anti-cyberflashing legislation.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-04-12 |title=Bumble, the dating app where women call the shots |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/12/bumble-dating-app-women-call-shots-whitney-wolfe |work=The Guardian |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
Much of Wolfe Herd's public profile has been shaped by her experience at Tinder and the subsequent lawsuit. Due to the terms of her 2014 settlement with Tinder, she has been restricted from publicly discussing many details of that period, a limitation she acknowledged in a 2015 interview with ''The Washington Post''.<ref name="wapo-2015" />


== Recognition ==
== Recognition ==


In 2018, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' named Wolfe Herd to its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe Herd: The 100 Most Influential People of 2018 |url=https://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5217594/whitney-wolfe-herd/ |publisher=Time |date=2018 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> In 2014, ''Business Insider'' included her on its list of the 30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Tech.<ref>{{cite web |title=30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Tech |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/30-most-important-women-under-30-in-tech-2014-2014-8 |publisher=Business Insider |date=2014-08 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
Wolfe Herd has received numerous honors and accolades throughout her career. In 2014, ''Business Insider'' named her one of the "30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Tech."<ref name="bi-30">{{cite web |title=30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Tech |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/30-most-important-women-under-30-in-tech-2014-2014-8 |publisher=Business Insider |date=2014-08 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


The Bumble IPO in 2021 generated widespread media coverage, and multiple outlets profiled Wolfe Herd's journey from Tinder co-founder to leading a publicly traded company. ''Management Today'' described her as the world's youngest female self-made billionaire at the time of the offering.<ref>{{cite web |title=How Whitney Wolfe Herd became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire |url=https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/whitney-wolfe-herd-became-worlds-youngest-female-self-made-billionaire/women-in-business/article/1707471 |publisher=Management Today |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
In 2018, ''Time'' magazine included Wolfe Herd on its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the world, recognizing her impact on the technology and dating industries.<ref name="time100" /> Her inclusion on the list acknowledged both the commercial success of Bumble and its cultural significance as a platform that shifted norms around gender dynamics in online dating.


She has been profiled by ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-08 |title=Bumble app: Whitney Wolfe |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/bumble-app-whitney-wolfe |work=Vanity Fair |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2017-03-18 |title=Bumble: The Feminist Dating App |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/fashion/bumble-feminist-dating-app-whitney-wolfe.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-10-23 |title=Meet Bumble Chief Executive Whitney Wolfe |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-live/wp/2015/10/23/meet-bumble-chief-executive-whitney-wolfe/ |work=The Washington Post |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> ''[[Forbes]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Clare |date=2017-11-14 |title=Billion-Dollar Bumble: How Whitney Wolfe Herd Built America's Fastest-Growing Dating App |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2017/11/14/billion-dollar-bumble-how-whitney-wolfe-herd-built-americas-fastest-growing-dating-app/#1cb7bf24248b |work=Forbes |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> and [[NPR]],<ref>{{cite web |title=NPR Transcript: Whitney Wolfe Herd |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=557437086 |publisher=NPR |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> among other outlets. ''Paper'' magazine and ''Grazia'' have also featured her in profiles examining the intersection of technology, dating culture, and feminism.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe Bumble |url=http://www.papermag.com/whitney-wolfe-bumble-it-girls-1647547057.html |publisher=Paper |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe: Tinder to Bumble |url=https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/whitney-wolfe-tinder-bumble/ |publisher=Grazia |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
Following the Bumble IPO in 2021, Wolfe Herd received widespread recognition as one of the youngest women to lead a company to a public offering and was described as the world's youngest female self-made billionaire by multiple publications.<ref name="mgmt-today" /><ref name="fortune-ipo" />
 
''Paper'' magazine, ''Grazia'', and numerous other publications have profiled Wolfe Herd extensively, with coverage focusing on her role in transforming the dating app industry and her advocacy for women's safety in digital spaces.<ref name="paper">{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe Bumble |url=http://www.papermag.com/whitney-wolfe-bumble-it-girls-1647547057.html |publisher=Paper |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref><ref name="grazia">{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe: Tinder to Bumble |url=https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/whitney-wolfe-tinder-bumble/ |publisher=Grazia |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
 
In 2025, Wolfe Herd's story was adapted into the Hulu film ''Swiped'', which dramatized her experiences at Tinder and the founding of Bumble. ''Time'' magazine and other outlets covered the film, noting its portrayal of the events that led to the creation of one of the world's most prominent dating platforms.<ref name="time-swiped">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-09-19 |title=The True Story Behind Swiped, Whitney Wolfe Herd, and the Birth of Bumble |url=https://time.com/7314564/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble/ |work=Time |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> ''Fortune'' reported on the film's focus, noting that ''Swiped'' concentrated primarily on Wolfe Herd's time at Tinder rather than her subsequent work building Bumble.<ref name="fortune-swiped">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-09-29 |title='Swiped' movie misses Bumble's story |url=https://fortune.com/2025/09/29/swiped-bumble-movie-tinder-whitney-wolfe-herd/ |work=Fortune |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==


Wolfe Herd's career has been defined by two of the most consequential products in modern dating culture. As a co-founder of Tinder, she helped popularize mobile-first, swipe-based dating, which fundamentally altered how millions of people initiate romantic connections. With Bumble, she introduced a model that placed women's agency at the center of the user experience, a design choice that influenced other dating platforms and broader conversations about gender dynamics in technology.
Whitney Wolfe Herd's career has been defined by two major contributions to the technology industry: her role in co-founding Tinder, which introduced swipe-based mobile dating to a mainstream audience, and her creation of Bumble, which introduced a women-first model to the dating app ecosystem.<ref name="biography" /><ref name="nyt-interview-2025" />


Her public departure from Tinder and subsequent lawsuit drew attention to issues of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the technology industry, contributing to an ongoing public reckoning with workplace culture in Silicon Valley and beyond. The 2025 Hulu film ''Swiped'' further brought these events into the mainstream cultural conversation.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-09-19 |title=The True Story Behind Swiped, Whitney Wolfe Herd, and the Birth of Bumble |url=https://time.com/7314564/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble/ |work=Time |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
Bumble's design principle — requiring women to initiate contact — represented a deliberate challenge to the norms of online dating, where women often reported being overwhelmed by unsolicited messages. The app's approach influenced the broader dating industry, with competitors subsequently introducing features aimed at giving users, particularly women, more control over their experience.<ref name="guardian" /><ref name="nyt-2017" />


Bumble's advocacy for anti-cyberflashing legislation in Texas represented one of the first instances of a major technology company using its platform and influence to push for laws specifically addressing digital sexual harassment.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Texas May Outlaw Unsolicited Sexual Images. Would That Be Enforceable, and Does It Even Matter? |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/texas-may-outlaw-unsolicited-sexual-images-would-that-be-enforceable-and-does-it-even-matter/ |work=Texas Monthly |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> This effort positioned Wolfe Herd and Bumble at the intersection of technology policy and women's safety advocacy.
Wolfe Herd's sexual harassment lawsuit against Tinder in 2014 also had a lasting impact on the technology industry's reckoning with workplace culture. Filed years before the [[Me Too movement]] brought widespread attention to sexual harassment and discrimination, the case was among the first high-profile lawsuits to publicly challenge the behavior of executives at a major Silicon Valley startup.<ref name="wapo-2015" /><ref name="heavy" />


As of 2025, Wolfe Herd continues to lead Bumble as it navigates an evolving market in which younger users have expressed growing ambivalence toward dating apps. Her stated focus on using artificial intelligence and addressing societal loneliness suggests a strategic direction that extends beyond Bumble's original dating-app model.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-08-29 |title=Whitney Wolfe Herd Has a New Idea for Bumble—and All Our Relationships |url=https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble-ai-398779bb |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>
Her legislative advocacy for laws against unsolicited sexually explicit images — often referred to as cyberflashing — contributed to broader discussions about digital harassment and the responsibilities of technology platforms in protecting users.<ref name="texasmonthly" />
 
As of 2025, Wolfe Herd continues to lead Bumble as the company navigates a rapidly changing landscape in which dating app fatigue, particularly among younger users, poses a significant challenge. Her stated focus on integrating artificial intelligence and addressing the broader societal issue of loneliness reflects an evolution in her thinking about the role of technology in human connection.<ref name="wsj-2025" /><ref name="time-loneliness" />


== References ==
== References ==
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Latest revision as of 01:48, 24 February 2026


Whitney Wolfe Herd
Wolfe Herd in 2018
Whitney Wolfe Herd
BornWhitney Wolfe
1 7, 1989
BirthplaceSalt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationEntrepreneur, business executive
Known forFounder of Bumble, co-founder of Tinder
EducationSouthern Methodist University (BA)
Children2
AwardsTime 100 Most Influential People (2018)

Whitney Wolfe Herd (née Wolfe; born July 1, 1989) is an American entrepreneur and business executive who founded the dating application Bumble and serves as its executive chair and CEO. Before launching Bumble, she was a co-founder and Vice President of Marketing at Tinder, where she played a central role in building one of the first mainstream mobile dating platforms. Wolfe Herd's departure from Tinder in 2014 was accompanied by a high-profile sexual harassment lawsuit that drew widespread attention to workplace culture in the technology industry. She subsequently founded Bumble, a dating app distinguished by its requirement that women initiate conversations in heterosexual matches — a design choice rooted in Wolfe Herd's stated goal of shifting power dynamics in online dating.[1] In February 2021, Wolfe Herd took Bumble public on the Nasdaq, becoming one of the youngest women to take a company public in the United States.[2] She was named to the Time 100 list of most influential people in 2018 and has been recognized as one of the most prominent figures in the technology and dating industries.[3]

Early Life

Whitney Wolfe was born on July 1, 1989, in Salt Lake City, Utah.[4] She grew up in Utah before relocating to Texas for her higher education. Details about her family background and upbringing prior to college remain limited in publicly available sources.

While still a student at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Wolfe demonstrated entrepreneurial interests. She launched a clothing line called Tender Heart, which was covered by the university's campus newspaper, The SMU Daily Campus.[5] The venture reflected Wolfe's early inclination toward building consumer-facing brands, a skill set she would later apply in the technology sector.

After completing her studies at SMU, Wolfe moved to Los Angeles, where she entered the technology startup world. It was in this environment that she became involved with a group of entrepreneurs who were developing what would become Tinder, one of the most consequential mobile applications in the history of online dating.[6]

Education

Wolfe Herd attended Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.[5] During her time at SMU, she was involved in entrepreneurial activities, including the launch of a clothing line. Her time at the university coincided with a period of growing interest in mobile technology and social networking platforms, and her post-graduation career trajectory led her directly into the technology startup ecosystem of Los Angeles.[6]

Career

Tinder (2012–2014)

In 2012, Whitney Wolfe joined a team of entrepreneurs working on a mobile dating application that would become Tinder.[4] She served as the company's Vice President of Marketing and is credited as a co-founder of the app. In her marketing role, Wolfe was instrumental in driving early user adoption of Tinder, particularly among college-aged users. She reportedly traveled to university campuses to promote the app, a grassroots marketing strategy that helped Tinder gain rapid traction among young adults.[7]

Tinder's introduction of the "swipe right" mechanic to indicate interest in a potential match fundamentally changed the landscape of online dating, transforming it from a desktop-centric activity into a mobile-first social experience.[8] The app grew to become one of the most downloaded applications worldwide, and Wolfe's marketing contributions were a significant factor in its early success.[4]

However, Wolfe's tenure at Tinder ended acrimoniously. In June 2014, she filed a lawsuit against Tinder and its parent company, alleging sexual harassment and discrimination by co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Justin Mateen, as well as other senior executives at the company.[9] The lawsuit alleged that Mateen had sent Wolfe threatening and derogatory text messages and that she had been stripped of her co-founder title because the company's leadership felt that having a young female co-founder "ichael make the company look like a joke."[9]

The case attracted significant media attention and became one of the earliest high-profile sexual harassment claims in Silicon Valley's technology industry, predating the broader Me Too movement by several years.[10] In November 2014, the lawsuit was settled for a reported sum of just over one million dollars. As part of the settlement, Wolfe was prohibited from publicly discussing many details of the case.[11][10] Mateen was suspended from Tinder following the public disclosure of the lawsuit.[9]

Founding of Bumble (2014)

Following her departure from Tinder, Wolfe Herd initially considered stepping away from the dating app industry entirely. However, she was approached by Andrey Andreev, the Russian-British entrepreneur and founder of the social networking platform Badoo, who proposed a partnership to build a new dating application.[12]

Wolfe Herd founded Bumble in 2014, headquartering the company in Austin, Texas.[13] The app's defining feature was its requirement that women make the first move in heterosexual matches — a design choice intended to address what Wolfe Herd described as the pervasive problem of unwanted messages and harassment that women experienced on other dating platforms.[1] In conversations with same-sex matches, either party could initiate contact.

Wolfe Herd has stated that her original vision for Bumble extended beyond dating. Speaking at South by Southwest (SXSW) in 2018, she said, "What I originally wanted to do with Bumble is rewrite the Internet," attributing the company's success to its fundamental belief that women should be able to make the "first move" in romantic connections.[14]

The app distinguished itself in a crowded dating app market through this women-first approach, as well as through features such as time-limited matches (conversations expired if not initiated within 24 hours) and photo verification. Bumble grew rapidly, attracting millions of users and establishing itself as the primary competitor to Tinder in the United States.[12][15]

Expanding Bumble Beyond Dating

Under Wolfe Herd's leadership, Bumble expanded beyond romantic connections. The platform introduced Bumble BFF, a feature for finding platonic friendships, and Bumble Bizz, a networking tool designed to facilitate professional connections. These additions reflected Wolfe Herd's broader ambition to create a platform that addressed multiple dimensions of human connection, not solely dating.[16]

Wolfe Herd also advocated for legislative changes aimed at curbing online harassment. She worked with legislators in Texas to support a bill that would outlaw unsolicited sexually explicit images, a common form of harassment on dating platforms. The effort reflected her stated commitment to using technology and policy to create safer digital spaces.[17]

By 2017, Forbes described Bumble as "America's fastest-growing dating app," noting its billion-dollar valuation and its emergence as a major force in the technology and social media industries.[12]

Bumble IPO and Public Company Leadership

On February 11, 2021, Bumble, Inc. went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol BMBL. The initial public offering (IPO) was a landmark event that made Wolfe Herd, at age 31, one of the youngest women to take a company public in the United States.[2] The IPO was also notable because Wolfe Herd was the youngest woman to serve as CEO of a publicly traded company at the time.[18]

On its first day of trading, Bumble's share price surged significantly, and the company's market capitalization reached approximately $13 billion. The strong debut made Wolfe Herd a billionaire, with Management Today reporting that she became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire.[18] She owns approximately 23 million shares of Bumble, Inc.

Departure and Return as CEO

After leading Bumble through its IPO and early years as a public company, Wolfe Herd stepped back from the day-to-day CEO role. However, by 2025, she returned to active leadership of the company amid challenges facing the dating app industry more broadly. In a May 2025 interview with The New York Times, she discussed her plans for reinvigorating Bumble and addressing a decline in dating app usage among Generation Z.[8]

In an August 2025 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Wolfe Herd discussed new directions for Bumble, including the integration of artificial intelligence into the platform's matchmaking capabilities. She made the notable confession that she "would never have swiped right on her husband," suggesting that traditional swipe-based mechanics may be insufficient for creating meaningful connections and that AI could play a role in improving outcomes for users.[19]

Wolfe Herd has stated that she views the challenge of modern loneliness as a central problem that technology can help address. In a Time interview, she discussed her belief that technology, when designed thoughtfully, can serve as a cure for loneliness rather than a contributor to it.[20]

Personal Life

Whitney Wolfe Herd is based in Austin, Texas, where Bumble is headquartered.[13] She has two children. Wolfe Herd has been open about the challenges of balancing leadership of a major technology company with parenthood, a topic she has discussed in various media interviews.

Details about Wolfe Herd's personal relationships have been addressed in media coverage primarily in the context of her professional narrative. In her 2025 interview with The Wall Street Journal, she referenced her husband, noting that the couple's connection illustrated the limitations of algorithm-based matching and swiping mechanics.[19]

Much of Wolfe Herd's public profile has been shaped by her experience at Tinder and the subsequent lawsuit. Due to the terms of her 2014 settlement with Tinder, she has been restricted from publicly discussing many details of that period, a limitation she acknowledged in a 2015 interview with The Washington Post.[10]

Recognition

Wolfe Herd has received numerous honors and accolades throughout her career. In 2014, Business Insider named her one of the "30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Tech."[21]

In 2018, Time magazine included Wolfe Herd on its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the world, recognizing her impact on the technology and dating industries.[3] Her inclusion on the list acknowledged both the commercial success of Bumble and its cultural significance as a platform that shifted norms around gender dynamics in online dating.

Following the Bumble IPO in 2021, Wolfe Herd received widespread recognition as one of the youngest women to lead a company to a public offering and was described as the world's youngest female self-made billionaire by multiple publications.[18][2]

Paper magazine, Grazia, and numerous other publications have profiled Wolfe Herd extensively, with coverage focusing on her role in transforming the dating app industry and her advocacy for women's safety in digital spaces.[22][23]

In 2025, Wolfe Herd's story was adapted into the Hulu film Swiped, which dramatized her experiences at Tinder and the founding of Bumble. Time magazine and other outlets covered the film, noting its portrayal of the events that led to the creation of one of the world's most prominent dating platforms.[24] Fortune reported on the film's focus, noting that Swiped concentrated primarily on Wolfe Herd's time at Tinder rather than her subsequent work building Bumble.[25]

Legacy

Whitney Wolfe Herd's career has been defined by two major contributions to the technology industry: her role in co-founding Tinder, which introduced swipe-based mobile dating to a mainstream audience, and her creation of Bumble, which introduced a women-first model to the dating app ecosystem.[4][8]

Bumble's design principle — requiring women to initiate contact — represented a deliberate challenge to the norms of online dating, where women often reported being overwhelmed by unsolicited messages. The app's approach influenced the broader dating industry, with competitors subsequently introducing features aimed at giving users, particularly women, more control over their experience.[1][7]

Wolfe Herd's sexual harassment lawsuit against Tinder in 2014 also had a lasting impact on the technology industry's reckoning with workplace culture. Filed years before the Me Too movement brought widespread attention to sexual harassment and discrimination, the case was among the first high-profile lawsuits to publicly challenge the behavior of executives at a major Silicon Valley startup.[10][9]

Her legislative advocacy for laws against unsolicited sexually explicit images — often referred to as cyberflashing — contributed to broader discussions about digital harassment and the responsibilities of technology platforms in protecting users.[17]

As of 2025, Wolfe Herd continues to lead Bumble as the company navigates a rapidly changing landscape in which dating app fatigue, particularly among younger users, poses a significant challenge. Her stated focus on integrating artificial intelligence and addressing the broader societal issue of loneliness reflects an evolution in her thinking about the role of technology in human connection.[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 GarberMeganMegan"Bumble: the dating app where women call the shots".The Guardian.2015-04-12.https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/12/bumble-dating-app-women-call-shots-whitney-wolfe.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd on BMBL stock, shares, and the app's initial public offering".Fortune.2021-02-11.https://fortune.com/2021/02/11/bumble-ipo-ceo-whitney-wolfe-herd-bmbl-stock-shares-interview-app-initial-public-offering/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Whitney Wolfe Herd: The 100 Most Influential People of 2018".Time.2018.https://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5217594/whitney-wolfe-herd/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Whitney Wolfe Helped Make Tinder a Success. Then She Created Its Fiercest Competitor.".Biography.2025-09-22.https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/a66106070/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "SMU Senior Whitney Wolfe Launches Second Business, Clothing Line Tender Heart".SMU Daily Campus.http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/smu-senior-whitney-wolfe-launches-second-business-clothing-line-tender-heart.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Tinder Co-Founder Whitney Wolfe and Bumble".Business Insider.2015-01.http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-co-founder-whitney-wolfe-and-bumble-2015-1.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Bumble, the Feminist Dating App, and Whitney Wolfe".The New York Times.2017-03-18.https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/fashion/bumble-feminist-dating-app-whitney-wolfe.html.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "'The Interview': Can Whitney Wolfe Herd Make Us Love Dating Apps Again?".The New York Times.2025-05-10.https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/magazine/whitney-wolfe-herd-interview.html.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Tinder Whitney Wolfe Sean Rad Justin Mateen Sexual Harassment Suit".Heavy.2014-07.http://heavy.com/tech/2014/07/tinder-whitney-wolfe-sean-rad-justin-mateen-sexual-harassment-suit/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "Whitney Wolfe, founder of dating app Bumble, has had quite the year. She just can't discuss parts of it.".The Washington Post.2015-12-02.https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/12/02/whitney-wolfe-founder-of-dating-app-bumble-has-had-quite-the-year-she-just-cant-discuss-parts-of-it/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  11. ↑ "Whitney Wolfe Settles Sexual Harassment Tinder Lawsuit for $1 Million".Business Insider.2014-11.https://www.businessinsider.com/whitney-wolfe-settles-sexual-harassment-tinder-lawsuit-1-million-2014-11.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 O'ConnorClareClare"Billion-Dollar Bumble: How Whitney Wolfe Herd Built America's Fastest-Growing Dating App".Forbes.2017-11-14.https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2017/11/14/billion-dollar-bumble-how-whitney-wolfe-herd-built-americas-fastest-growing-dating-app/#1cb7bf24248b.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Whitney Wolfe".ATX Woman.https://atxwoman.com/whitney-wolfe/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  14. ↑ ""What I originally wanted to do with Bumble is rewrite the Internet." - Whitney Wolfe Herd".SXSW.2018.https://sxsw.com/interactive/2018/sxsw-2018-featured-speaker-whitney-wolfe-herd-in-conversation-with-gayle-king-video/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  15. ↑ "Bumble App: Whitney Wolfe".Vanity Fair.2015-08.http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/bumble-app-whitney-wolfe.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  16. ↑ "NPR Transcript: Whitney Wolfe Herd".NPR.https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=557437086.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Texas May Outlaw Unsolicited Sexual Images. Would That Be Enforceable, and Does It Even Matter?".Texas Monthly.https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/texas-may-outlaw-unsolicited-sexual-images-would-that-be-enforceable-and-does-it-even-matter/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "How Whitney Wolfe Herd became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire".Management Today.https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/whitney-wolfe-herd-became-worlds-youngest-female-self-made-billionaire/women-in-business/article/1707471.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "Exclusive: Whitney Wolfe Herd Has a New Idea for Bumble—and All Our Relationships".The Wall Street Journal.2025-08-29.https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble-ai-398779bb.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Whitney Wolfe Herd Wants Technology to Cure Loneliness".Time.https://time.com/collections/person-of-the-week-podcast/6289603/whitney-wolfe-herd-interview-person-of-the-week/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  21. ↑ "30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Tech".Business Insider.2014-08.https://www.businessinsider.com/30-most-important-women-under-30-in-tech-2014-2014-8.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  22. ↑ "Whitney Wolfe Bumble".Paper.http://www.papermag.com/whitney-wolfe-bumble-it-girls-1647547057.html.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  23. ↑ "Whitney Wolfe: Tinder to Bumble".Grazia.https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/whitney-wolfe-tinder-bumble/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  24. ↑ "The True Story Behind Swiped, Whitney Wolfe Herd, and the Birth of Bumble".Time.2025-09-19.https://time.com/7314564/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  25. ↑ "'Swiped' movie misses Bumble's story".Fortune.2025-09-29.https://fortune.com/2025/09/29/swiped-bumble-movie-tinder-whitney-wolfe-herd/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.

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