Save up to 50% on new deals from 40 Boxes!

Open menu

  • Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • GMA3: WYNTK
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2023 ABC News
  • News

Bumble CEO becomes female billionaire, takes company public with son on her hip

VIDEO: Actress Sharon Stone joins Bumble dating app
2:36
Actress Sharon Stone joins Bumble dating app
ABCNews.com
ByKatie Kindelan
February 12, 2021, 9:50 am

Whitney Wolfe Herd, the CEO of female-focused dating app Bumble, made history Thursday and she did it with her young son at her side.

Wolfe Herd, 31, became the youngest female CEO to take a company public in the United States.

With shares of Bumble soaring nearly 70% in its trading debut, Wolfe Herd also became the world's youngest self-made female billionaire, according to Forbes.

Editor’s Picks

These apps aim to make networking easier for women

  • May 03, 2019

Swipe right for a job dating and traveling the world on Bumble's dime

  • May 31, 2019

Actress Sharon Stone joins Bumble dating app

  • Dec 30, 2019

When Wolfe Herd pressed the button to take the company she founded public on Nasdaq, she did so while holding her 1-year-old son, Bobby Lee "Bo" Herd II.

Bumble shared a photo of the moment on Instagram alongside the caption, "This is what leadership looks like."

Wolfe Herd founded Bumble in 2014 after an acrimonious split from Tinder, a dating app she also co-founded.

Alongside a female-driven management team, Wolfe Herd has focused the Austin-based company on a female empowerment message since its inception. The dating app stands out for letting women "make the first move," one of the company's slogans.

PHOTO: A monitor displays Whitney Wolfe Herd, chief executive officer of Bumble Inc., ringing the opening bell during Bumble Inc.'s initial public offering (IPO) in front of the Nasdaq Market Site in New York, Feb. 11, 2021.
A monitor displays Whitney Wolfe Herd, chief executive officer of Bumble Inc., ringing the opening bell during Bumble Inc.'s initial public offering (IPO) in front of the Nasdaq Market Site in New York, Feb. 11, 2021. Bumble Inc., the dating app where women make the first move, is targeting to raise as much as $1.8 billion from its U.S. initial public offering after boosting the size of the deal.
Bloomberg via Getty Images

On the app, women have to initiate conversation after matching with a prospective partner.

MORE: Serena Williams, Bumble put the ball in women's court with new ad

Wolfe Herd tweeted a message of thanks to women on the app as the company went public.

"This is only possible thanks to the more than 1.7 billion first moves made by brave women on our app — and the pioneering women who paved the way for us in the business world," she wrote. "Thank you."

Bumble's IPO success has launched Wolfe Herd into a very small club of female billionaire founders.

Self-made women account for less than 5% of the world's 500 biggest fortunes, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

In addition to Bumble, just two of the more than 500 companies that have gone public in the U.S. in the past year were founded by women, according to Bloomberg.

Bumble's board comprises 73% women and its management team comprises 54% women, according to the company's SEC filings.

MORE: These apps aim to make networking easier for women

"Hopefully this will not be a rare headline," Wolfe Herd told Bloomberg Television Thursday about Bumble's female-led management team. "Hopefully this will be the norm. It's the right thing to do, it's a priority for us and it should be a priority for everyone else."

Editor’s Picks

These apps aim to make networking easier for women

  • May 03, 2019

Swipe right for a job dating and traveling the world on Bumble's dime

  • May 31, 2019

Actress Sharon Stone joins Bumble dating app

  • Dec 30, 2019
Up Next in News—

Jimmy Carter turns 99: What to know about his kids, grandkids

October 1, 2023

Experts warn of new child care crisis: What to know

September 29, 2023

Comedians say threats are not jokes in new Sandy Hook Promise gun violence PSA

September 27, 2023

'Just in shock': Dock worker assaulted in Montgomery brawl speaks out in 'GMA' exclusive

September 25, 2023

Up Next in News—

Jimmy Carter turns 99: What to know about his kids, grandkids

October 1, 2023

Experts warn of new child care crisis: What to know

September 29, 2023

Comedians say threats are not jokes in new Sandy Hook Promise gun violence PSA

September 27, 2023

'Just in shock': Dock worker assaulted in Montgomery brawl speaks out in 'GMA' exclusive

September 25, 2023

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2023 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2023 ABC News