Bumble Inc., the fast-rising online dating app where only women make the first move, has just produced the youngest self-made female billionaire.
According to Bumble’s prospectus, the 31-year-old CEO and founder of Bumble, Wolfe Herd, owns 21.54 million shares, equal to 11.6% of the multi-billion dollar company. In addition, she is presently the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire, and also the youngest female leader ever to take a company public in the world’s largest economy.
On Thursday, shares of the feminist dating app opened at $76, much higher than its initial IPO price of $43 per share, as investors rushed to have a stake in the newly minted growth stock.
Bumble’s market capitalization is currently at $14.9 billion.
The young female billionaire presently worth about $1.75 Billion created the company as a service by women, for women, presenting it as a place where women can be empowered and harassment was rigorously policed.
What you must know
Wolfe Herd founded the fast-rising dating app in 2014 shortly after she sued her previous employer, Tinder, for sexual misconduct.
- She allegedly accused her boyfriend and former boss, Justin Mateen, of sending derogatory texts and threats, then relieving her of her cofounder title at Tinder.
- Tinder however denied those charges, and the case was immediately settled.
- On leaving Tinder, Herd partnered with Andrey Andreev, a Russian billionaire who had track records in building dating apps, in starting Bumble.
- The Bumble app got launched about seven years ago.
As of today, Bumble operates two apps, Bumble and Badoo, where over 40 million users come on a monthly basis to discover new people and connect with each other in a safe, secure, and empowering environment.
Bumble and Badoo are two of the highest-grossing online dating mobile applications globally, as of August 2020, according to Sensor Tower, with Bumble and Badoo ranking among the top five grossing iOS lifestyle apps in 30 and 89 countries, respectively.
The company generated $376.6 million and $40.0 million as revenue from January 29, 2020, to September 30, 2020, and from January 1, 2020, to January 28, 2020, respectively.
A leading private equity firm, the Blackstone Group Inc., bought a majority stake into the American based online dating company in 2019, in a transaction estimated to be worth $3 billion. Other investors include venture capital firms Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel and Greycroft.
Great read.
I’m hoping more women come up with more disruptive innovations. Generally, it pays to dare to be different.
Great read.
I’m hoping more women will come up with more disruptive innovations. Generally, it pays to dare to be different.