Contributed by: kellyseal on Wednesday, April 06 2022 @ 10:36 am
Last modified on Wednesday, April 06 2022 @ 10:36 am
Bumble dating app has partnered with Gucci to help support female entrepreneurs, furthering its mission to empower women not only in their personal lives but professional careers. The move was announced at a kick-off party for this year’s SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, where Bumble has its headquarters.
The two companies held a joint event at a downtown Italian restaurant to highlight female innovators across fashion, technology, film, and music, according to Vogue[*1] . The event specifically supported the work of DivInc, “a Texas-based non-profit that works to achieve greater social and economic equality” through supporting those who are starting their own businesses. The non-profit is set to start its new Tech Accelerator Program to benefit women who are just starting out. Bumble and Gucci partnered for the event through their joint campaign called Chime for Change, which promotes gender equality.
Gucci was also celebrating the launch of its new store in downtown, Austin.
“We’re two companies that have the same values, and are excited to be in Austin, and are just excited about—can I say ‘badass women’?” Selby Drummond, Bumble’s Chief Brand Officer, told Vogue.
The event attracted some star-studded talent, including actress Elle Fanning and communications strategist and political commentator Symone Sanders, along with illustrator Angelica Hicks and blogger Vanessa Hong. The band Sir Woman also performed at the event.
The female-forward dating app and powerhouse fashion brand wanted to highlight their cause during women’s history month, and to kick it off on SXSW’s first official night.
According to founder and CEO Preston James II, DivInc’s new Accelerator project is a 6-8 week program that will debut this fall to help founders at the idea stage learn the first steps they need to take to build a business. It will also help them assess whether an idea will make a successful business venture before they look for investors. The non-profit also plans to provide individual coaching from experts who will act as mentors to program attendees, as well as funding to help them move forward.
Bumble was busy again the same night co-hosting another party with Ray’s Bar, which opened a SXSW pop-up. Ray’s is co-run by actor Justin Theroux and is a popular dive bar based in New York (and based on the pop-up is looking to expand to Austin). Bumble and Ray’s offered free food, alcohol, live music, and even tattoos to the VIP guests which included “Game of Thrones” star Lena Headey.