Whitney Wolfe Herd: Difference between revisions

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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}}
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1989|7|1}}
| birth_place  = [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], U.S.
| 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 chief executive officer. Before creating Bumble, Wolfe Herd was a co-founder of the dating app [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]], where she served as vice president of marketing and is credited with helping drive the platform's early growth, particularly among college-age users.<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> After a contentious departure from Tinder that included a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit, Wolfe Herd launched Bumble in 2014 with a central design principle: women must initiate conversation in heterosexual matches.<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 grew rapidly, and Wolfe Herd took the company public in February 2021, becoming one of the youngest women to take a company to an initial public offering on a major U.S. stock exchange.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2021-02-11 |title=Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd |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 the most influential people in the world in 2018.<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>


== 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>{{cite news |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> She grew up in Salt Lake City before attending college in [[Texas]]. During her undergraduate years at [[Southern Methodist University]] (SMU) in [[Dallas]], Wolfe demonstrated early entrepreneurial interests. While still a student at SMU, she launched a clothing line called Tender Heart, which sold bamboo tote bags with proceeds directed toward areas affected by the [[2010 Haiti earthquake]] and the [[Deepwater Horizon oil spill|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 venture attracted the attention of celebrity supporters and demonstrated Wolfe's ability to blend commerce with social causes, an approach that would later characterize her work at Bumble.


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.
After graduating from Southern Methodist University with a bachelor's degree, Wolfe moved into the technology sector. Her early career trajectory brought her into contact with the founding team behind what would become Tinder, one of the most consequential mobile applications of the 2010s.<ref>{{cite news |date=2015-01-01 |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]] 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> While at SMU, she was involved in entrepreneurial projects, including the Tender Heart clothing line, which combined a social-impact mission with a consumer product. Her time at SMU also provided her entry into the Los Angeles technology scene, where she would join the incubation of Tinder at [[Hatch Labs]], a startup incubator backed by [[IAC (company)|IAC]].<ref>{{cite news |date=2015-01-01 |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>


== Career ==
== Career ==
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=== Tinder ===
=== Tinder ===


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>
Wolfe Herd was one of the earliest members of the team that developed [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]], the location-based dating application that popularized the "swipe" mechanic for online dating. She held the title of vice president of marketing at the company.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2014-07 |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/ |work=Heavy.com |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> In that role, she is credited with helping to popularize the app among college students, a demographic that proved essential to Tinder's exponential early growth. According to a 2015 report in ''The Guardian'', Wolfe traveled to college campuses promoting the app and building its user base among young people.<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>


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.
Wolfe Herd's co-founder title at Tinder later became a matter of dispute. Her role in the founding team and the nature of her contributions were debated publicly in the context of subsequent legal proceedings.<ref>{{cite news |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> A 2012 co-founding of the dating app revolution was later documented by ''Biography.com'', which noted that Wolfe Herd "helped launched the dating app revolution with Tinder" before going on to build a competitor.<ref>{{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.com |date=2025-09-22 |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


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.
=== Departure from Tinder and Lawsuit ===


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.
In 2014, Wolfe Herd departed Tinder under acrimonious circumstances. She filed a lawsuit against Tinder and its parent company alleging sexual harassment and discrimination, naming co-founder and chief marketing officer Justin Mateen among the defendants. The lawsuit alleged that Mateen had sent her harassing text messages and that her co-founder title had been stripped because her role as a young female co-founder made the company "look like a joke," according to reporting by Heavy.com and other outlets.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2014-07 |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/ |work=Heavy.com |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> The case drew significant media attention and brought questions of workplace gender dynamics in the technology industry into public discourse.
 
The lawsuit was settled in September 2014 for a reported sum of just over $1 million, with neither party admitting wrongdoing.<ref>{{cite news |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> As ''The Washington Post'' reported in 2015, the terms of the settlement limited Wolfe Herd's ability to discuss certain aspects of her time at Tinder publicly.<ref>{{cite news |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> Despite the constraints imposed by the settlement, the experience at Tinder informed much of Wolfe Herd's subsequent philosophy around Bumble and the idea of creating safer, more equitable digital spaces for women.


=== Founding of Bumble ===
=== Founding of Bumble ===


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>
Following her departure from Tinder, Wolfe Herd initially considered stepping away from the dating app industry entirely. However, she was approached by Andrey Andreev (now known as Andrey Andreev), the Russian-British entrepreneur behind the social networking platform Badoo, who proposed a collaboration. With Andreev's backing and technology infrastructure, Wolfe Herd launched Bumble in December 2014.<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 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.
The central innovation of Bumble was a structural one: in heterosexual matches, only the woman could send the first message, a design choice that Wolfe Herd described as intended to reduce the volume of unwanted or harassing messages that women commonly received on other dating platforms. As Wolfe Herd stated at [[SXSW]] in 2018, "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>{{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 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>
The app attracted users rapidly. ''Forbes'' reported in 2017 that Bumble had become "America's fastest-growing dating app," with the platform expanding its reach well beyond the dating vertical.<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> Bumble subsequently launched Bumble BFF, a feature for platonic friendships, and Bumble Bizz, a professional networking tool, positioning the platform as more than a dating service. ''Vanity Fair'' profiled Wolfe Herd and the app in August 2015, exploring how the women-first messaging model represented a shift in the dynamics of online dating.<ref>{{cite news |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>


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>
=== Bumble IPO and Growth ===


=== Bumble IPO and Growth ===
On February 11, 2021, Bumble Inc. went public on the [[Nasdaq]] stock exchange. The IPO was a landmark event: Wolfe Herd, at age 31, became one of the youngest women to take a company public in the United States. Shares opened significantly above their initial pricing, and the market debut valued Bumble at several billion dollars.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2021-02-11 |title=Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd |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> ''Management Today'' reported that the IPO made Wolfe Herd the world's youngest female self-made billionaire at the time.<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>


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.
Wolfe Herd owns approximately 23 million shares of Bumble Inc. Her stake in the company has represented a significant portion of her personal wealth, though the value has fluctuated with the company's share price in the years following the IPO.


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>
=== Stepping Down and Return as CEO ===


=== Departure and Return as CEO ===
After leading Bumble through its IPO and early period as a public company, Wolfe Herd transitioned from the CEO role to the position of executive chair. However, by 2025, she returned to the chief executive position. ''The New York Times'' reported in May 2025 that "The Bumble CEO has returned to run the struggling company she founded, and says she has a plan for getting Gen Z back."<ref>{{cite news |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 the same interview, Wolfe Herd reflected on how the technology landscape had shifted since she co-founded Tinder, noting that the original era was marked by widespread optimism about apps and screens that had since given way to more ambivalent public attitudes.


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>
Her return to the CEO role coincided with a broader strategic rethinking of the Bumble product. In an August 2025 interview with ''The Wall Street Journal'', Wolfe Herd outlined new ideas for the platform, including the integration of artificial intelligence into the matchmaking process. She made the personal disclosure that she "would never have swiped right on her husband," an anecdote she used to illustrate the limitations of the swipe-based model and the potential for AI-driven alternatives.<ref>{{cite news |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>


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 a ''Time'' interview, Wolfe Herd discussed her broader vision for technology as a means to address social isolation, stating that she wants "technology to cure loneliness."<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>


=== Cultural Impact and the ''Swiped'' Film ===
=== Legislative Advocacy ===


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.
Beyond her work at Bumble, Wolfe Herd has been involved in legislative efforts related to online harassment. She was part of advocacy efforts in Texas to criminalize the sending of unsolicited sexually explicit images, commonly referred to as "cyberflashing." ''Texas Monthly'' covered these efforts, exploring whether outlawing unsolicited sexual images would be enforceable and examining the broader implications of such legislation.<ref>{{cite web |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/ |publisher=Texas Monthly |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> Texas did pass such a law, making it one of the first states to specifically address the issue, and Wolfe Herd's advocacy was cited as a contributing factor in bringing the legislation to fruition.


== Personal Life ==
== Personal Life ==


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.
Whitney Wolfe Herd is based in [[Austin, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe |url=https://atxwoman.com/whitney-wolfe/ |publisher=ATX Woman |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref> She has two children.<ref>{{cite news |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 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>
In ''The Wall Street Journal'' interview in August 2025, Wolfe Herd referenced her husband in discussing the limitations of swipe-based dating, noting that traditional matching algorithms may not have connected them.<ref>{{cite news |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>
 
Wolfe Herd has spoken publicly about the personal toll of her experience at Tinder, including the lawsuit and the intense media scrutiny that followed. ''The Washington Post'' noted in 2015 that despite having had "quite the year," she was unable to discuss significant portions of it due to the terms of her legal settlement.<ref>{{cite news |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>


== 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>
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> The honor placed her alongside world leaders, artists, and scientists as one of the year's most consequential figures, and it recognized both her business accomplishments with Bumble and her broader cultural impact in reshaping how people interact online.
 
''Business Insider'' included Wolfe Herd in its 2014 list of the "30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Tech," recognizing her contributions at Tinder and her emerging role as a technology entrepreneur in her own right.<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>
 
''Forbes'' profiled Wolfe Herd in a 2017 feature titled "Billion-Dollar Bumble," documenting how she built what the magazine described as "America's fastest-growing dating app."<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>
 
NPR's ''How I Built This'' podcast featured Wolfe Herd in an extended interview about her entrepreneurial journey, including the founding of both Tinder and Bumble.<ref>{{cite web |title=How I Built This: Bumble |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=557437086 |publisher=NPR |date= |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>
''Paper Magazine'' profiled Wolfe Herd as part of its coverage of figures shaping digital culture, and ''Grazia'' explored her transition from Tinder to Bumble and the philosophy underpinning her approach to technology and dating.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitney Wolfe: Bumble |url=http://www.papermag.com/whitney-wolfe-bumble-it-girls-1647547057.html |publisher=Paper Magazine |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>


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>
In September 2025, a Hulu film titled ''Swiped'' dramatized portions of Wolfe Herd's career, particularly her time at Tinder. ''Time'' magazine examined the true story behind the film, while ''Fortune'' noted that the movie focused primarily on Wolfe Herd's experiences at Tinder rather than her subsequent founding of Bumble.<ref>{{cite news |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><ref>{{cite news |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>


== 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 impact on the technology and dating industries can be observed in several areas. The "women message first" design of Bumble introduced a structural mechanic that shifted the power dynamics of online dating interactions and influenced how subsequent platforms approached the problem of unwanted messages and harassment. Bumble's model demonstrated that placing constraints on user behavior could be commercially viable while also addressing gendered patterns of online interaction.<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>


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>
Her career trajectory — from co-founding Tinder, to filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against the company, to building a competitor that emphasized women's agency — became a prominent narrative in discussions about gender and Silicon Valley culture. ''The Washington Post'' in 2015 noted the unusual nature of her story in the tech industry: a woman who had publicly challenged a former employer over workplace harassment and then built an alternative platform grounded in different values.<ref>{{cite news |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>


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 legislative advocacy, particularly around laws targeting unsolicited sexually explicit images, represented an extension of her platform work into the public policy arena. The passage of Texas legislation addressing cyberflashing was among the first such laws in the United States and contributed to a broader national conversation about regulating online harassment.<ref>{{cite web |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/ |publisher=Texas Monthly |date= |access-date=2026-02-23}}</ref>


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>
The Bumble IPO in 2021 also held symbolic significance: Wolfe Herd became one of the youngest women to take a company public in the United States, an event that received extensive media coverage and was noted as a milestone for women in the technology sector.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2021-02-11 |title=Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd |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>


== References ==
== References ==
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[[Category:1989 births]]
[[Category:1989 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Salt Lake City, Utah]]
[[Category:People from Salt Lake City]]
[[Category:People from Austin, Texas]]
[[Category:Southern Methodist University alumni]]
[[Category:Southern Methodist University alumni]]
[[Category:American women in business]]
[[Category:American women in business]]
[[Category:American technology company founders]]
[[Category:American technology company founders]]
[[Category:American women chief executives]]
[[Category:Dating application founders]]


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Revision as of 00:45, 24 February 2026


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 chief executive officer. Before creating Bumble, Wolfe Herd was a co-founder of the dating app Tinder, where she served as vice president of marketing and is credited with helping drive the platform's early growth, particularly among college-age users.[1] After a contentious departure from Tinder that included a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit, Wolfe Herd launched Bumble in 2014 with a central design principle: women must initiate conversation in heterosexual matches.[2] The app grew rapidly, and Wolfe Herd took the company public in February 2021, becoming one of the youngest women to take a company to an initial public offering on a major U.S. stock exchange.[3] She was named to the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world in 2018.[4]

Early Life

Whitney Wolfe was born on July 1, 1989, in Salt Lake City, Utah.[5] She grew up in Salt Lake City before attending college in Texas. During her undergraduate years at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Wolfe demonstrated early entrepreneurial interests. While still a student at SMU, she launched a clothing line called Tender Heart, which sold bamboo tote bags with proceeds directed toward areas affected by the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.[6] The venture attracted the attention of celebrity supporters and demonstrated Wolfe's ability to blend commerce with social causes, an approach that would later characterize her work at Bumble.

After graduating from Southern Methodist University with a bachelor's degree, Wolfe moved into the technology sector. Her early career trajectory brought her into contact with the founding team behind what would become Tinder, one of the most consequential mobile applications of the 2010s.[7]

Education

Wolfe Herd attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.[8] While at SMU, she was involved in entrepreneurial projects, including the Tender Heart clothing line, which combined a social-impact mission with a consumer product. Her time at SMU also provided her entry into the Los Angeles technology scene, where she would join the incubation of Tinder at Hatch Labs, a startup incubator backed by IAC.[9]

Career

Tinder

Wolfe Herd was one of the earliest members of the team that developed Tinder, the location-based dating application that popularized the "swipe" mechanic for online dating. She held the title of vice president of marketing at the company.[10] In that role, she is credited with helping to popularize the app among college students, a demographic that proved essential to Tinder's exponential early growth. According to a 2015 report in The Guardian, Wolfe traveled to college campuses promoting the app and building its user base among young people.[11]

Wolfe Herd's co-founder title at Tinder later became a matter of dispute. Her role in the founding team and the nature of her contributions were debated publicly in the context of subsequent legal proceedings.[12] A 2012 co-founding of the dating app revolution was later documented by Biography.com, which noted that Wolfe Herd "helped launched the dating app revolution with Tinder" before going on to build a competitor.[13]

Departure from Tinder and Lawsuit

In 2014, Wolfe Herd departed Tinder under acrimonious circumstances. She filed a lawsuit against Tinder and its parent company alleging sexual harassment and discrimination, naming co-founder and chief marketing officer Justin Mateen among the defendants. The lawsuit alleged that Mateen had sent her harassing text messages and that her co-founder title had been stripped because her role as a young female co-founder made the company "look like a joke," according to reporting by Heavy.com and other outlets.[14] The case drew significant media attention and brought questions of workplace gender dynamics in the technology industry into public discourse.

The lawsuit was settled in September 2014 for a reported sum of just over $1 million, with neither party admitting wrongdoing.[15] As The Washington Post reported in 2015, the terms of the settlement limited Wolfe Herd's ability to discuss certain aspects of her time at Tinder publicly.[16] Despite the constraints imposed by the settlement, the experience at Tinder informed much of Wolfe Herd's subsequent philosophy around Bumble and the idea of creating safer, more equitable digital spaces for women.

Founding of Bumble

Following her departure from Tinder, Wolfe Herd initially considered stepping away from the dating app industry entirely. However, she was approached by Andrey Andreev (now known as Andrey Andreev), the Russian-British entrepreneur behind the social networking platform Badoo, who proposed a collaboration. With Andreev's backing and technology infrastructure, Wolfe Herd launched Bumble in December 2014.[17]

The central innovation of Bumble was a structural one: in heterosexual matches, only the woman could send the first message, a design choice that Wolfe Herd described as intended to reduce the volume of unwanted or harassing messages that women commonly received on other dating platforms. As Wolfe Herd stated at SXSW in 2018, "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.[18]

The app attracted users rapidly. Forbes reported in 2017 that Bumble had become "America's fastest-growing dating app," with the platform expanding its reach well beyond the dating vertical.[19] Bumble subsequently launched Bumble BFF, a feature for platonic friendships, and Bumble Bizz, a professional networking tool, positioning the platform as more than a dating service. Vanity Fair profiled Wolfe Herd and the app in August 2015, exploring how the women-first messaging model represented a shift in the dynamics of online dating.[20]

Bumble IPO and Growth

On February 11, 2021, Bumble Inc. went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The IPO was a landmark event: Wolfe Herd, at age 31, became one of the youngest women to take a company public in the United States. Shares opened significantly above their initial pricing, and the market debut valued Bumble at several billion dollars.[21] Management Today reported that the IPO made Wolfe Herd the world's youngest female self-made billionaire at the time.[22]

Wolfe Herd owns approximately 23 million shares of Bumble Inc. Her stake in the company has represented a significant portion of her personal wealth, though the value has fluctuated with the company's share price in the years following the IPO.

Stepping Down and Return as CEO

After leading Bumble through its IPO and early period as a public company, Wolfe Herd transitioned from the CEO role to the position of executive chair. However, by 2025, she returned to the chief executive position. The New York Times reported in May 2025 that "The Bumble CEO has returned to run the struggling company she founded, and says she has a plan for getting Gen Z back."[23] In the same interview, Wolfe Herd reflected on how the technology landscape had shifted since she co-founded Tinder, noting that the original era was marked by widespread optimism about apps and screens that had since given way to more ambivalent public attitudes.

Her return to the CEO role coincided with a broader strategic rethinking of the Bumble product. In an August 2025 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Wolfe Herd outlined new ideas for the platform, including the integration of artificial intelligence into the matchmaking process. She made the personal disclosure that she "would never have swiped right on her husband," an anecdote she used to illustrate the limitations of the swipe-based model and the potential for AI-driven alternatives.[24]

In a Time interview, Wolfe Herd discussed her broader vision for technology as a means to address social isolation, stating that she wants "technology to cure loneliness."[25]

Legislative Advocacy

Beyond her work at Bumble, Wolfe Herd has been involved in legislative efforts related to online harassment. She was part of advocacy efforts in Texas to criminalize the sending of unsolicited sexually explicit images, commonly referred to as "cyberflashing." Texas Monthly covered these efforts, exploring whether outlawing unsolicited sexual images would be enforceable and examining the broader implications of such legislation.[26] Texas did pass such a law, making it one of the first states to specifically address the issue, and Wolfe Herd's advocacy was cited as a contributing factor in bringing the legislation to fruition.

Personal Life

Whitney Wolfe Herd is based in Austin, Texas.[27] She has two children.[28]

In The Wall Street Journal interview in August 2025, Wolfe Herd referenced her husband in discussing the limitations of swipe-based dating, noting that traditional matching algorithms may not have connected them.[29]

Wolfe Herd has spoken publicly about the personal toll of her experience at Tinder, including the lawsuit and the intense media scrutiny that followed. The Washington Post noted in 2015 that despite having had "quite the year," she was unable to discuss significant portions of it due to the terms of her legal settlement.[30]

Recognition

In 2018, Time named Wolfe Herd to its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[31] The honor placed her alongside world leaders, artists, and scientists as one of the year's most consequential figures, and it recognized both her business accomplishments with Bumble and her broader cultural impact in reshaping how people interact online.

Business Insider included Wolfe Herd in its 2014 list of the "30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Tech," recognizing her contributions at Tinder and her emerging role as a technology entrepreneur in her own right.[32]

Forbes profiled Wolfe Herd in a 2017 feature titled "Billion-Dollar Bumble," documenting how she built what the magazine described as "America's fastest-growing dating app."[33]

NPR's How I Built This podcast featured Wolfe Herd in an extended interview about her entrepreneurial journey, including the founding of both Tinder and Bumble.[34]

Paper Magazine profiled Wolfe Herd as part of its coverage of figures shaping digital culture, and Grazia explored her transition from Tinder to Bumble and the philosophy underpinning her approach to technology and dating.[35][36]

In September 2025, a Hulu film titled Swiped dramatized portions of Wolfe Herd's career, particularly her time at Tinder. Time magazine examined the true story behind the film, while Fortune noted that the movie focused primarily on Wolfe Herd's experiences at Tinder rather than her subsequent founding of Bumble.[37][38]

Legacy

Whitney Wolfe Herd's impact on the technology and dating industries can be observed in several areas. The "women message first" design of Bumble introduced a structural mechanic that shifted the power dynamics of online dating interactions and influenced how subsequent platforms approached the problem of unwanted messages and harassment. Bumble's model demonstrated that placing constraints on user behavior could be commercially viable while also addressing gendered patterns of online interaction.[39]

Her career trajectory — from co-founding Tinder, to filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against the company, to building a competitor that emphasized women's agency — became a prominent narrative in discussions about gender and Silicon Valley culture. The Washington Post in 2015 noted the unusual nature of her story in the tech industry: a woman who had publicly challenged a former employer over workplace harassment and then built an alternative platform grounded in different values.[40]

Wolfe Herd's legislative advocacy, particularly around laws targeting unsolicited sexually explicit images, represented an extension of her platform work into the public policy arena. The passage of Texas legislation addressing cyberflashing was among the first such laws in the United States and contributed to a broader national conversation about regulating online harassment.[41]

The Bumble IPO in 2021 also held symbolic significance: Wolfe Herd became one of the youngest women to take a company public in the United States, an event that received extensive media coverage and was noted as a milestone for women in the technology sector.[42]

References

  1. ↑ "Whitney Wolfe Says Goodbye to Tinder, Hello to Bumble".Los Angeles Business Journal.2015-01-29.http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2015/jan/29/whitney-wolfe-says-goodbye-tinder-hello-bumble/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ "Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd".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.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "Bumble, the Feminist Dating App".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.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "Tinder Co-Founder Whitney Wolfe and Bumble".Business Insider.2015-01-01.http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-co-founder-whitney-wolfe-and-bumble-2015-1.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "Tinder Co-Founder Whitney Wolfe and Bumble".Business Insider.2015-01-01.http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-co-founder-whitney-wolfe-and-bumble-2015-1.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  10. ↑ "Tinder: Whitney Wolfe, Sean Rad, Justin Mateen Sexual Harassment Suit".Heavy.com.2014-07.http://heavy.com/tech/2014/07/tinder-whitney-wolfe-sean-rad-justin-mateen-sexual-harassment-suit/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "The True Story Behind Swiped, Whitney Wolfe Herd, and the Birth of Bumble".Time.2022-09-19.https://time.com/7314564/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  13. ↑ "Whitney Wolfe Helped Make Tinder a Success. Then She Created Its Fiercest Competitor.".Biography.com.2025-09-22.https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/a66106070/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  14. ↑ "Tinder: Whitney Wolfe, Sean Rad, Justin Mateen Sexual Harassment Suit".Heavy.com.2014-07.http://heavy.com/tech/2014/07/tinder-whitney-wolfe-sean-rad-justin-mateen-sexual-harassment-suit/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  15. ↑ "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.
  16. ↑ "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.
  17. ↑ "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.
  18. ↑ "SXSW 2018 Featured Speaker: Whitney Wolfe Herd in Conversation with Gayle King".SXSW.2018.https://sxsw.com/interactive/2018/sxsw-2018-featured-speaker-whitney-wolfe-herd-in-conversation-with-gayle-king-video/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  19. ↑ 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.
  20. ↑ "Bumble App: Whitney Wolfe".Vanity Fair.2015-08.http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/bumble-app-whitney-wolfe.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  21. ↑ "Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd".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.
  22. ↑ "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.
  23. ↑ "'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.
  24. ↑ "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.
  25. ↑ "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.
  26. ↑ "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.
  27. ↑ "Whitney Wolfe".ATX Woman.https://atxwoman.com/whitney-wolfe/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  28. ↑ "'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.
  29. ↑ "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.
  30. ↑ "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.
  31. ↑ "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.
  32. ↑ "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.
  33. ↑ 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.
  34. ↑ "How I Built This: Bumble".NPR.https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=557437086.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  35. ↑ "Whitney Wolfe: Bumble".Paper Magazine.http://www.papermag.com/whitney-wolfe-bumble-it-girls-1647547057.html.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  36. ↑ "Whitney Wolfe: Tinder to Bumble".Grazia.https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/whitney-wolfe-tinder-bumble/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  37. ↑ "'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.
  38. ↑ "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.
  39. ↑ "Bumble, the Feminist Dating App".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.
  40. ↑ "Meet Bumble Chief Executive Whitney Wolfe".The Washington Post.2015-10-23.https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-live/wp/2015/10/23/meet-bumble-chief-executive-whitney-wolfe/.Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  41. ↑ "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.
  42. ↑ "Bumble IPO: CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd".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.

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