Everyone in the dating business wants to know what women want ,” she said . “ It ’ s the billion-dollar question . But it ’ s simple : put one in charge , and you find out .”

And Whitney Herd has never failed to pursue what she wanted . After graduating from Southern Methodist University , she joined a small startup named Cardify . Later , she helped bring to life a little dating app named Tinder . Yet in April of 2014 , she resigned from the company and filed a lawsuit for sexual harassment . Anonymous messages filled with abuse flooded her Twitter , forcing her to delete her account . Herd refused to let it stop her . “ Bullies will attack your confidence ,” she said . “[ B ] ut you cannot let them kill your ambition .”

In fact , she redefined the face of online dating . With Tinder , women received far too many unwanted

Bumble valuation

( US $)

Herd ' s net worth ( US $) advances : men always made the first move . “ So many of the smart , wonderful women in my life were still waiting around for men to ask them out ... to start up the conversation ,” Whitney Herd said . “ For all the advances [ we ’ d ] been making in workplaces and the corridors of power , the gender dynamics of dating and romance still seemed so outdated .”

So instead of waiting for the world to change , she took action . In 2014 , she founded Bumble , a dating app where women made the first move . The app ’ s structure empowered women to take control over their dating lives , shifting “ antiquated power dynamics ” in favour of equality .

To no one ’ s surprise , Forbes selected her for their 2017 and 2018 “ 30 Under 30 ” lists and Times listed her in their prestigious Time 100 , a list of the most influential people in the world .

In February 2021 , Bumble surpassed $ 13bn in valuation and Forbes estimated Herd ’ s net worth at approximately $ 1.5bn . No small feat : according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index , self-made billionaires like Wolfe Herd make up less than 5 % of the top 500 global fortunes . But it ’ s not the financial success that drives Herd .

“[ Bumble ] is a company ,” she said , “ that was built to empower women and empower men to respect women ... Every woman in this world should be allowed to define themselves how they want .”

“ Everyone in the dating business wants to know what women want . It ’ s the billion-dollar question . But it ’ s simple : put one in charge , and you find out .” technologymagazine . com 23