World’s first self-made female billionaire launched successful app after public scandal

The world’s first and youngest self-made female took her company public in 2021 with her 18-month old son on her hip – and she hasn’t looked back since. Bumble’s ‘Boss lady’ Whitney Wolfe Herd put herself on the roadmap of unprecedented success at just 31, becoming one of the world’s most celebrated women entrepreneurs in February 2021.

Whitney co-founded the mega popular female-focused dating app, in December 2014, along with Russian billionaire and Andrey Andreev, the founder of dating app Badoo. Bumble is different from the plethora of other dating apps in that it empowers women to make the first move, be it in love, business, or friendship. Whitney launched Bumble in Texas in 2014 and was inspired to create the social platform due to archaic dating norms and “rules.”

Having herself been involved in a turbulent public relationship fallout, the female entrepreneur wrote in a letter to her investors: “I have experienced firsthand how unequal relationships negatively impact all areas of life. I wanted to change this.”

Whitney was referring to her relationship with her Tinder co-founder and ex-boyfriend, Justin Mateen.

In a 2021 interview with , Whitney spoke about how her life has “been pretty dark” in the past – crediting her ambition to the “abusive relationships” she was in, referring to a teenage boyfriend (who has since denied all the claims).

In 2014, as Tinder grew into becoming a multi-billion dollar company, Whitney swiftly made her exit. Before doing so, she filed a lawsuit against the company alleging “atrocious sexual harassment and sex discrimination”.

In her lawsuit, Whitney described 18 months of harassment starting in 2012 and claimed that her title as co-founder was stripped because of her gender. She also accused Justin Mateen, chief marketing officer, of publicly insulting her and calling her a “whore” at a company party.

Whitney also alleged that Tinder’s Chief Executive Officer, Sean Rad, ignored her complaints. The lawsuit claimed a pattern of “threatening and abusive” behaviour from Justin.

Tinder denied any wrongdoing, and the parent company, Match Group, paid around $1m to settle the dispute out of court.

Whitney appeared on the and revealed that she didn’t leave the house for three weeks and was “drinking too much”, sharing: “I was super depressed, I was paranoid.”

The entrepreneur managed to pull through with the support of her now-husband, Texas oil heir, Michael Herd, as well as her Bumble co-founder, Andrey.

Andrey reportedly convinced Whitney to go ahead with Bumble. They flew to Mykonos in the summer of 2014 along with some ex-Tinder employees and hashed out the idea of the now-mammoth dating app.

Talking about the idea behind launching Bumble, White wrote in a 2020 blog post about the app’s conception: “The gender dynamics of dating and romance still seemed so outdated. I thought, what if I could flip that on its head?”

On February 11, 2021, Whitney rang the Nasdaq bell with her 18-month-old son on her hip. In her celebratory speech, the serial entrepreneur said she wanted to make the internet “a kinder, more accountable place”.

The day the businesswoman took her company public, she shared in an post: “To anyone going through a setback, low point, or rough patch. To anyone who feels disempowered in their relationships – or who’s had the courage to make the first move into healthier ones. Today is for you.

“This is the outcome of starting over again when it feels like the end. It’s a testament to new beginnings, new paradigms, and new norms. Today has shown that barriers can be broken when we believe in a better way. is the outcome of a fiercely dedicated team who’ve worked tremendously hard to show that women can, should, and will make the first move.

“When relationships are better for women, they’re better for everyone. To all the first movers, whether on our platforms, in business, or in life: you’re what today is about. Never take no for an answer, believe in yourselves, and turn your pain into purpose. Most importantly, treat people with kindness and dream big.”

In its early days, the majority of Bumble’s staff were women – a rare sight in the tech world. That year, Whitney became one of 328 women who made Forbes’ 2021 list of the world’s billionaires. She also became the youngest woman to take an organisation public in the US.

Whitney still holds a sizable stake in Bumble and continues to be on the path of empowering women in business.