Whitney Wolfe Herd
Born 1989 · Age 36
American entrepreneur; co‑founder of Tinder and founder, executive chair, and CEO of Bumble. Known for building a women-first dating platform and taking Bumble public in 2021.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah
Whitney Wolfe (later Wolfe Herd) born to Kelly and Michael Wolfe in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Graduated high school (approx.)
Attended Judge Memorial Catholic High School; approximate high-school graduation year ~2007 (based on birth year).
Launched 'Help Us Project' (college)
At ~age 20, partnered with stylist Patrick Aufdenkamp to launch Help Us Project selling bamboo tote bags to benefit areas affected by the BP oil spill; received national press.
Launched 'Tender Heart' clothing line
Co‑founded Tender Heart clothing line to raise awareness around human trafficking and fair trade (follow‑up business after Help Us Project).
Graduated Southern Methodist University (approx.)
Completed a BA in International Studies at Southern Methodist University; timeline from sources indicates graduation around 2011.
Traveled to Southeast Asia to work with orphanages
Traveled post‑graduation in Southeast Asia; worked in orphanages and pursued photography and travel experience.
Credit: fuelled Tinder's popularity on college campuses
Credited with helping grow Tinder's user base on college campuses through marketing and brand positioning.
Joined Hatch Labs / Cardify
Joined the startup Cardify inside the Hatch Labs incubator run by Sean Rad; Cardify project later abandoned.
Became part of Tinder development team
Moved from Cardify to work on the dating app (then Matchbox) that became Tinder; served as vice president of marketing.
Credited with naming 'Tinder'
Reportedly responsible for the name 'Tinder', inspired by the flame logo and the concept of tinder starting a fire.
Role: Vice President of Marketing at Tinder
Held the title of Vice President of Marketing while at Tinder, significantly shaping the product's campus adoption and branding.
Met Michael Herd
Met oil-and-gas heir Michael Herd on an Aspen skiing trip (December 2013).
Sketching a female‑only social network (Merci/Moxie)
After leaving Tinder Wolfe Herd began sketching a female‑centric social network (initially called Merci, later planned name Moxie but name taken) which evolved into Bumble.
Guerrilla marketing & PR growth
Early Bumble growth driven by guerrilla marketing tactics (college events, ambassadors) and earned press around her Tinder departure — major early product‑market traction milestone.
Named Business Insider's 30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Tech
Recognized by Business Insider for influence in tech in 2014.
Resigned from Tinder
Resigned from Tinder amid growing tensions with company executives.
Filed sexual harassment lawsuit against Tinder
Filed suit against Tinder alleging sexual harassment and discrimination.
Settled lawsuit with Tinder
Case settled in September 2014; Business Insider reported settlement for 'just over $1 million'.
Founded Bumble and moved to Austin, Texas
Founded Bumble, a women‑focused dating app (initial idea evolved from Merci/Moxie concepts) and relocated to Austin.
Reached 1M users in first year (early growth)
Early growth: reports indicate 1 million users in the first year and ~8M shortly afterwards.
Bumble usage milestone: conversations and matches
By Dec 2015 Bumble had >15 million conversations and ~80 million matches.
Bumble revenue milestone (reported)
Reported revenue milestone: ~$10M in revenue in 2016 (public reporting/third‑party sources).
Named one of Elle's Women in Tech
Recognized by Elle magazine as part of its Women in Tech list.
Launched Bumble BFF
Expanded product beyond dating to include Bumble BFF for finding platonic friends.
Recognized in Business Insider's Women Under 30 in Tech
Included among Business Insider's 30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Tech (recognition cited in multiple bios).
Featured in TechCrunch roundup of successful women in tech
Included in TechCrunch feature listing 42 women succeeding in tech (Dec 2017).
Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 (2017)
Named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list (Consumer Technology / entrepreneurship recognition).
Launched Bumble Bizz
Introduced Bumble Bizz to expand into professional networking.
Reported offer from Match Group (~$450M)
Reports indicate Match Group attempted to buy Bumble in 2017 for about $450M (offer did not close).
Bumble revenue milestone (reported)
Reported revenue milestone: ~$100M in 2017 (third‑party source reports).
Bumble users milestone (reported)
By 2017 some sources reported ~22 million registered users on Bumble.
Bumble revenue milestone (reported)
Reported revenue milestone: ~$190M in 2018 (third‑party source reporting).
Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 (2018) and Time 100
Received continued recognition including Forbes 30 Under 30 (again) and inclusion in Time 100 list (Time recognition listed in sources).
Named to Time 100 and Bloomberg 50 lists
Included on Time 100 list and listed by Bloomberg among 50 Most Influential (years cited in sources).
Received an ownership stake in MagicLab (~19%)
As part of the 2019 Blackstone deal, Wolfe Herd received an ownership stake of approx. 19% in the newly owned entity that included Bumble and Badoo.
Personal: first son born (2019)
First child (son) born in 2019; he was reported as approximately 18 months old at her Feb 2021 Nasdaq bell appearance.
Started investing in startups (reported)
Reported angel/venture investments include Supergoop (angel), Asteya (Series A), Sunroom (pre‑seed), Nude Barre (seed) — dates and amounts reported by third‑party profiles.
Testified before Texas House committee on unsolicited explicit images
Testified to the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee in March 2019 on the prevalence of unsolicited explicit photos sent to women on dating apps.
Announced pregnancy / introduced expanded parental benefits
In 2019 Wolfe Herd announced parental benefits at Bumble after revealing she was pregnant (pregnancy was publicized that year).
Published first print issue of Bumble Mag
Released the first print issue of Bumble Mag in partnership with Hearst (April 2019).
Andrey Andreev sells stake; Blackstone acquires MagicLab
In Nov 2019 MagicLab (parent to Bumble and Badoo) was sold to The Blackstone Group; company valued at ~$3 billion. Andreev relinquished his stake; Whitney became CEO of the acquired business and received ~19% ownership stake.
MagicLab rebranded; Bumble parent company
In 2020 Bumble replaced MagicLab as parent company name; Bumble reported over 100 million users worldwide in 2020.
Became world's youngest self‑made female billionaire
By taking Bumble public in Feb 2021, Wolfe Herd became the world's youngest self‑made female billionaire and the youngest woman to take a company public in the U.S.
Bumble IPO on Nasdaq; valuation topped $13B
Bumble went public in February 2021 and topped about $13 billion in market valuation on debut; Whitney Wolfe Herd rang the Nasdaq bell with her 18‑month‑old son on her hip.
Second child born
Whitney Wolfe Herd and Michael Herd had their second son in 2022 (family lives in Austin, Texas).
Ranked on Forbes list of America's richest self‑made women
Forbes listed Wolfe Herd at #33 among America's richest self‑made women in 2022 (up from #39 in 2020).
Forbes net worth estimate ~ $510M
As of May 2023 Forbes estimated Whitney Wolfe Herd's net worth at approximately $510 million (post-IPO valuation fluctuations and stock sales/dilution impacted value).
Announced stepping down as Bumble CEO; to become Executive Chair
In November 2023 announced she would step down as CEO and transition to Executive Chair effective January 2024, with Lidiane Jones named incoming CEO.
Reported paying-user milestone (Dec 2023)
Third‑party reporting (Clay/Dossier) indicated Bumble had ~4 million paying users as of December 2023.
Bumble paying users and downloads (conflicting reports)
Public and third‑party reports in 2023–2024 show Bumble with multi‑million paying users (2.8M–4M reported) and high download ranks; numbers vary by source and month.
Spoke at Bloomberg Tech Summit on AI dating concierges
Suggested single people might use AI dating concierges as stand‑ins to contact potential partners (May 2024 Bloomberg Tech Summit comment).
Net worth estimate (May 2024)
Some outlets estimated Whitney Wolfe Herd's net worth at ~$400 million as of May 2024 (post‑IPO stock price decline/dilution affected estimate).
Bumble most downloaded dating app in U.S. (June 2024 stat)
As of June 2024 Bumble was reported as the most downloaded dating app in the U.S. with ~735,000 downloads in a recent measurement window.
Subject of biopic 'Swiped' (announced / in production)
A 2025 film, 'Swiped', inspired loosely by her life was announced/produced starring Lily James; film based on her entrepreneurial story.
Announced return as Bumble CEO
In January 2025 Bumble announced Wolfe Herd would return as CEO in mid‑March 2025, replacing Lidiane Jones who was stepping down for personal reasons.
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