# Whitney Wolfe Herd

> Whitney Wolfe Herd co-founded Tinder, sued it for sexual harassment, and turned that lawsuit into Bumble - the dating app where women make the first move. By 31, she became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire and the youngest woman to take a self-founded company public in U.S. history. After stepping down as CEO in 2023 and experiencing what she calls an 'ego death,' she returned to lead Bumble in 2025 with a new vision: rebuilding it as 'The Love Company.'

- **Role:** CEO at Bumble Inc.
- **Organizations:** Bumble Inc., Tinder (former), MagicLab (former), Imagine Entertainment (board)
- **From:** Salt Lake City, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** High School Diploma, Judge Memorial Catholic High School, B.A., International Studies, Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dedman College
- **Known for:** Co-founded Tinder and named the app (2012), Won $1M+ settlement from Tinder for sexual harassment - landmark Silicon Valley workplace case (2014), Founded Bumble (2014) - built from zero to multi-billion-dollar public company in under 7 years

## Career timeline

- **2009** — Co-launched 'Help Us Project' nonprofit bamboo tote bags for BP oil spill victims with stylist Patrick Aufdenkamp; endorsed by Rachel Zoe and Nicole Richie
- **2010** — Co-founded 'Tender Heart' fair-trade clothing line
- **2011** — Graduated SMU with B.A. in International Studies; volunteered at orphanages in Southeast Asia
- **2012** — Joined Cardify startup at Hatch Labs; became VP of Marketing at Tinder (then MatchBox), named the app 'Tinder', pioneered college campus marketing strategy
- **2014** — Filed sexual harassment and gender discrimination lawsuit against Tinder and IAC; settled for $1M+ and stock
- **2014** — Founded Bumble in December with Andrey Andreev; launched as app where women make the first move
- **2016** — Launched Bumble BFF for platonic friend-finding
- **2017** — Launched Bumble Bizz for professional networking
- **2018** — Named to TIME 100 Most Influential People
- **2019** — Blackstone Group acquired MagicLab; Wolfe Herd named formal CEO; Bumble valued at $3B with 75M users; successfully lobbied for Texas House Bill 4 criminalizing cyberflashing
- **2021** — Bumble IPO on Nasdaq at $43/share, surging to $78.89; became world's youngest female self-made billionaire; youngest woman to take a self-founded company public in U.S. history
- **2023** — Stepped down as CEO; became Executive Chair; Lidiane Jones named CEO
- **2025** — Returned as Bumble CEO in March; announced 'The Love Company' vision; laid off ~30% of workforce; cut performance marketing 80%
- **2025** — Announced expecting third child (May 2025); Hulu film 'Swiped' (starring Lily James) premiered at TIFF
- **2026** — Bumble 2025 annual earnings: revenue $966M (down 10%), stock surged 35% on turnaround optimism; AI-powered 'Dates' feature launched

## Achievements

- Co-founded Tinder and named the app (2012)
- Won $1M+ settlement from Tinder for sexual harassment - landmark Silicon Valley workplace case (2014)
- Founded Bumble (2014) - built from zero to multi-billion-dollar public company in under 7 years
- Youngest woman to take a self-founded company public in U.S. history (age 31, 2021)
- World's youngest female self-made billionaire at time of Bumble IPO (2021)
- Women have made first moves on Bumble over 1 billion times since launch
- Lobbied and helped pass Texas House Bill 4 (2019) - first U.S. law criminalizing cyberflashing
- TIME 100 Most Influential People (2018)
- Forbes 30 Under 30 (2017, 2018)
- SMU Distinguished Alumni Award (2019)
- Bloomberg 50 Most Influential (2021)

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Speaking at Milken Institute Global Conference 2026
- **2026-03** — Bumble 2025 annual earnings: revenue $966M (down 10%), stock surged 35% on turnaround optimism; AI 'Dates' feature launched
- **2025-09** — Hulu film 'Swiped' (starring Lily James as Wolfe Herd) released September 19, premiered at TIFF
- **2025-05** — Announced expecting third child; TechCrunch profile on burnout and comeback published
- **2025-03** — Officially returned as Bumble CEO; detailed 'The Love Company' vision in Fortune interview
- **2025-01** — Bumble announced Wolfe Herd returning as CEO after Lidiane Jones departure
- **2023-11** — Stepped down as CEO; became Executive Chair with Lidiane Jones as new CEO

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneywolfeherd
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/whitwolfeherd
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitney/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/whitney-wolfe-herd
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-28