It takes a seriously badass woman to take on an industry full of tech bros and become one of the youngest, most successful CEOs in the world - and at the same time, totally upend and reclaim the outdated, patriarchal expectations of dating for women everywhere.

But that’s exactly what entrepreneur, self-made billionaire and CEO of Bumble,  Whitney Wolfe Herd has done. Oh, and she's a mum. And only 31.

Changing the world

In founding Bumble, the first and biggest female dating app, in 2014, Wolfe Herd has changed the world of dating as we know it - and did a service to women across the world has changed relationships forever.

Wolfe Herd describes Bumble as a "feminist dating app” (as we think all apps should be).

In case you haven’t used it before (and who hasn’t?!), the idea is simple: women are in control. Requiring female users to make the first move, the app has skyrocketed to success: as of January 2021, with more than 42 million monthly users, Bumble is the second-most popular dating app in the U.S. after Tinder.

 

Making waves

The success of Bumble, and her pivotal role in launching Tinder before that (legend goes that she came up with the name of the iconic app), has seen Wolfe Herd named in the renowned Times 100 List, and twice on Forbes 30 Under 30 lists, amongst many other prestigious awards. But this hasn't come easy. After co-founding Tinder, she then sued them for sexual harassment after being fired in 2014. Although she can't legally go into more details than this, it demonstrates that sadly sexual harassment in the workplace goes all the way to the top.  Wolfe Herd has shown that challenging it so there are consequences for those involved is possible, and doesn't need to limit your own horizons or aspirations. 

This year, Wolfe Herd officially became the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire. In the same year, she’s also become the youngest ever woman to take a company public. Her innovations and business acumen have seen her make a ton of cold, hard cash. Now she's moving Bumble into the beauty sector. 

Get it, girl.

Making a difference

But Whitney Wolfe Herd’s influence goes beyond inspiring us to be total bosses in our professional lives, and even further than changing the game when it comes to our personal dating lives, too.

Wolfe Herd is committed to making the world a better place for women everywhere.

In fact, in 2019, Wolfe Herd used her platform to speak out about the huge problem of unsolicited explicit photos which are sent to women on dating apps at the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence committee. She's said previously that her personal goal is to end misogyny - and she's starting by campaigning to make unwanted dick pics illegal, so there are consequences for the sender involved. 

Her outspoken and passionate personality and her penchant for pushing through change has led to some pretty scary situations. After a school shooting in the US, Bumble banned guns in profile pics, leading to direct threats to her life and female employees at Bumble being harassed and threatened to the point where the FBI were involved. No one said this path was easy, and Wolfe Herd uses it to motivate her further. 

With a status as one of the world’s most influential tech industry titans, having been named as one of TechCrunch’s leading women in tech for 2017, and named one of Elle’s Women In Tech, Wolfe Herd is leading the way for women to follow in her footsteps in dominating both business and STEM.

Heck, when you look up “women supporting women” in the dictionary, you should see a photo of Whitney Wolfe Herd.

Badass women like Wolfe Herd are the ones shifting the balance needle of equality, in both our work lives and in our relationships, and we can’t wait to see what she does for her sisters next. At just 31, this is only the beginning. 

 
Want more inspiration from totally badass women?  Check out why activist and author Gina Martin is literally who we want to be when we grow up…