Whitney Wolf Herd, founder, and CEO of the online dating app Bumble has become the youngest woman in the world to become a billionaire on her own. She has launched his company’s IPO on 11 February 2021 Thursday. Woolf achieved this feat at the age of 31. As soon as it was listed on the US stock market on Thursday, Bumble shares rose by 67 percent and it reached the US $ 72 on seeing this. Now the company has reached number two among the American listed dating companies. In this biography, we gonna talk about Whitney Wolfe Herd. When she was born, her wedding, Career, Complications, Net worth, etc.

Who is Whitney Wolfe Herd?

Whitney Wolfe Herd is an American entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of the Bumble dating App. Known as the world’s self-made youngest billionaire with a 19 percent stake. She is also, the first youngest woman, who takes a company public at age of 31. According to Forbes, She has a 1.6 billion net worth. Talking about Bumble is the 2nd biggest online dating app in the world. It is a women-centric dating app, that has a different kind of feature to empower women.

When its stock opened on wall street, its trade value was already at high with 70.31$ per share. As its initial IPO Per share price was 43$, but on its first-day share value jumped by 67%. That helps in increasing the wealth of the Whitney wolf herd.

Note – She is also the youngest entrepreneur who has listed her company on the stock exchange.

Born, Study, Career 

Whitney Wolf Herd was born in July 1989, salt lake city the US .from her childhood Whitney was interested in business and had tried many other businesses, those are Bamboo bag, Help Us Project NGO, Clothing business (Tender Hearts), etc, much more initiatives she has taken during her college days. After graduation from Southern Methodist University, she joined a health incubator and there, she started working with a Cerdify startup but the startup got failed.

Then she again started working with another app development which was happening in the same incubator, a (dating app) known as Tinder. As a co-founder and vice president of marketing, she had an important role in giving the name of the app and for product development in Tinder.

Sexual Harassment

Everything was ok but sudden, Whitney Wolf Herd blamed Tinder CEO, and the company for sexual harassment. Later on, Tinder’s parent company Match Group settled this matter with $1million and with some share. In the meantime after filing the petition of sexual harassment, Whitney started getting many rape and death threats on the social platform. And that incident forced her to delete social media accounts, Twitter, etc.

Bumble App And Success

One day she got an email from a Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev but she didn’t respond to his email. But that Russian entrepreneur again tried to contact her lawyer and then both talked. He asked her for the meeting but Whitney was not ready because the meeting was gonna held in London. Luckily she had made a plan to go to Paris to meet her sister, during this she stayed in London and met with Andrey.

In the start, Andrey already met with Whitney, when she was working in Tinder and he was making the dating app named Badoo(it’s very popular in Europe). And he offered her as a CMO of his company, Whitney rejected that offer by telling him that wanted to start a company on the social media platform as a CEO. Specifically for women and empowerment but Andrey suggested her to be in the same field which she was working on (Dating App).

Andrey also suggested her lots of idea regarding dating app, later on, Whitney agreed with his one plan. And Andrey invested 17 crores and opened Bumble and take 79% stakes of the company left out was of Whitney. In December 2019 they launched companies app named Bumble, under in 1 month they got 1 lakh downloads. After this success, Whitney uses the same marketing technique, which she had used in Tinder, to target college students.

Read next biography of Hedy Lamarr

Lawsuit Against Bumble

From 2014 to 2018 Bumble’s growth was very phenomenal, so Tinder approached them to buy. They approached them with different valuations. Then in 2018, they approached them to buy at $450 million but Bumble rejected all the approaches. Soon Tinder and Bumble filed a case against each other. Tinder mentioned that Bumble has taken corporate infringement, where bumble mentioned Tinder has stolen some of our trade secrets as well as fraud.

Afterward, they both dropped their lawsuits, and then Bumble wrote an open letter to tinder that we swipe left on Tinder’s attempts which we had to buy, we also swipe left of Tinder’s attempts to copy us.

Acquisition Of Bumble

In the year 2019 bumbles parent company Magiclab acquired by The Blacks group and both companies  Bumble and Badoo went under him. During this, Andrey sold his all stake at 3 billion valuations, and in this new structure, Whitney got a 19% stake in the Company.

After 2019 Bumble growth was going on, and then recently in February 2021 bumble launched its IPO for $37 to $39.Due to strong response companies share listed at $43 price per share. Afterward, the share price value increased to $72, which helps rising in company valuation and  Whitney to become a billionaire, at the age of 31.

Investors

  • In 2020 Priyanka Chopra and Celena Williams had invested in this company and they also get good returns due to the success of its IPO.

Conclusion

At last, as a woman, Whitney faced many issues in her life even death threats, but she did not give up and come back with her new business. So it is an example of doing things right and stays positive during your bad time.

Comment down what is your opinion for the youngest women’s billionaire Whitney Wolfe Herd?