- Bumble publicly filed to go public on Friday after confidentially filing IPO paperwork in 2020.
- Whitney Wolfe Herd, who cofounded rival dating app Tinder, launched Bumble in 2014.
- In a letter accompanying Bumble’s S-1 paperwork, Herd celebrated the dating app company’s women-first approach as well as “1.7 billion first moves made by women.”
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Dating app company Bumble filed to go public on Friday morning.
Whitney Wolfe Herd founded the company in 2014. Herd previously was a cofounder of rival dating app Tinder, but left after two years and filed a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against the company. The case was later settled.
Read more: Meet Whitney Wolfe Herd, the 31-year-old CEO of the female-led dating app Bumble
The Bumble app works differently than many dating platforms in the market – on Bumble, the women make the first move when matching with men. In a letter that accompanied Bumble’s S-1 paperwork filed Friday, Herd celebrated the unique approach that has carried the firm since its founding. She also said that Bumble has seen “1.7 billion first moves made by women” to date.
You can read Herd’s full letter below.
Healthy relationships are the foundation of a happy life. Without them, we can’t reach our full potential. I founded Bumble to empower women to build healthier and more equitable connections in an effort to improve relationships for everyone.
I have experienced firsthand how unequal relationships can negatively impact all areas of Me. I wanted to change this to help others struggling with the same problem. So, I - with a passionate team - started a women-first dating app. In order to build a company that helps create healthy relationships across the board, we started where we saw the greatest need: in dating. The problem was that archaic gender dynamics and old-fashioned traditions still ruled the dating world. In heterosexual relationships, women were to wait, and men were to approach. This led to all sorts of unhealthy dynamics that ultimately disempowered women and created unnecessary pressure for men. This didn't benefit anyone, but the world kept accepting what always was. This antiquated way of forming relationships remained entrenched as connections moved online, with no guardrails to protect women and other marginalized communities.
This outdated and harmful dynamic needed to be flipped on its head I was tired of waiting for this change to happen, or for permission to make the first move. I decided to take action. I set out to build what I wished had existed: a way for women to make the first move without judgment or fear, and a technology platform that would encourage good behavior, treat all genders as equal. and create better relationships for all I saw the solution as a drastic, years-overdue change in how we connect. It would become the foundation of our long-term mission, business, brand, and community. To me, the answer was clear: on Bumble, women would make the first move.
The importance of a woman making the first move is not exclusive to the world of dating, romance, or love. It is a powerful shift, giving women confidence and control. It ignites healthier connections, which lead to relationships rooted in kindness, accountability, and equality. We remain committed to the major opportunity ahead of us to make dating healthier and more equitable around the world, not only for woman, but for people all across the gender spectrum. We will continue to build into platonic, professional, and other areas of connection, which has always been core to our mission.
When starting Bumble, in order to achieve the most impact and reach possible, I partnered with Badoo, one of the pioneers of web and mobile dating products. We were able to leverage their global scale, 8 years of experience, and robust resources. We are now under one umbrella brand with a passionate and dedicated worldwide team, building for the long term. Together, as Bumble Inc., we are creating an inclusive platform for everyone, catering to the diverse communities we serve around the globe. Throughout the journey of building Bumble, we were told that it was impossible to create a successful women-first brand and platform That women don't, won't, and shouldn't speak first. That it would never work. Those objections have only fueled us. Six years and countless Bumble weddings, babies, friendships, business partners, and meaningful relationships later, we have a diverse and fast-growing community spread across six continents. We've celebrated I.7 billion first moves made by women.
These first movers have come from all walks of life, from age 18 to over 80, in every conceivable circumstance: those who have newly experienced love, single parents who've found true partnership, survivors of toxic relationships who've bravely started over, and those who've navigated life after divorce. We've seen people find their community in new cities, grow friendships from scratch, and start companies together. Success on Bumble doesn't look the same for everyone, it comes in many forms and can be as simple as a confidence-boosting date or a life-affirming conversation. Our communities finding happiness is our driving force.
We believe Bumble Inc. has the potential to become a preeminent global women's brand that will continue to support our communities on their relationship journeys on and off our platforms. We excel at helping people discover new healthy relationships - in love, friendship, and career. We will continue to make this a primary focus. Over time we will help our community not only build, but strengthen and nurture their relationships: through breakups, engagements and weddings, fertility and parenthood, first job, career promotions and retirement, menopause, empty nesting, grief, and new beginnings. Our long-term vision is to be the platform to meet new people, no matter who you might be looking for, whichever life stage or situation you're in. We will do this with ow innovative technology - and by advocating for equality, both through legislation and with the power of our trusted brand.
So many other areas of our lives - health and wellness, travel and leisure, consumer, and finance decisions - are fueled by our relationships. We believe we have permission to grow into these categories with our communities over time. We will continue to create an inclusive place to foster and build community around shared struggles and common joys. We serve generations on our platforms - daughters, their mothers, and their grandmothers can all be found on Bumble - and we believe that by supporting them and evolving with them, we will continue to earn the ability to build for, and around, all aspects of their relationships.
While we have many opportunities, we know we have to execute with precision every single day. We will strive to continue to drive growth and deliver value to our communities, our employees, and our investors by being incredibly focused and by putting our members' immediate needs first, while building towards our long-term vision in parallel.
Our mission and communities will remain our north star. I spent the early years of Bumble reading nearly every customer feedback email, App Store review, and other communication streams of community interaction. Today, we remain equally passionate about listening to and learning from our customers. Some of our most successful product features, including our friendship discovery platform Bumble BFF, were born out of feedback from our community. This community-first approach remains our team's driving force and will give us tangible insights as we pursue the wide array of opportunities ahead. We remain incredibly dedicated to helping advance gender equality through building better relationships for people around the world. Until there is equality in all relationships, our job will not be done.
We wouldn't be here without the trust of our diverse, global 'hive' of customers. Our vast community of first movers and honest daters on Bumble and Badoo: you've made this all possible. You're our guiding light, and we'll always put you first. You're our inspiration and motivation. Every one of our team members who have joined us on this journey at Bumble Inc. from around the world, no matter how long or short their tenure, has fueled our success and built us into the company we are today. Team Bumble Inc., your hard work, dedication, and commitment is inspiring and has kept us going over the years. We wouldn't have made it to this day without you. Our team members, ambassadors, supporters, business partners, and current and former shareholders who have worked tirelessly to get us to this point are what makes Bumble Inc. so special. To everyone who wore Bumble gear, told their friends to try our apps, or cheered us on, your invaluable contribution is not lost on us. You are the spirit of Bumble.
We owe it all to our hive. I want to sincerely thank every one of you. While we are proud of how far we have come, having grown from a community of just a few people to an IPO, today is just day one. This marks the start of a very bright future for Bumble Inc., one that we believe will change lives and drive great value for shareholders. Our mission, values, commitment to improving relationships globally, and dedication to our communities will continue to fuel us for the long run. We invite you to join us on our journey. Welcome to Bumble Inc.!
Best,
Whitney Wolfe Herd Founder of Bumble, CEO of Bumble Inc.