Bumble’s Growth Into a Billion-Dollar Business

Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of female-friendly dating app Bumble, was just named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, and is featured on its December 2017 cover. This is no small feat – her dating app has amassed a large following with 70% year-on-year growth, according to the article, and has 22 million registered users. In comparison Tinder has 46 million registered users and last year saw growth at 10%.

The company is also being eyed by Match Group, owner of dating app rival Tinder, and is said to be in talks for over a billion dollars as an asking price. Herd turned down the company’s original offer of $450 million, according to recent reports.

Herd’s history with Tinder is an interesting one, considering how far she’s come since her departure from the game-changing app company which she co-founded with Sean Rad and former boyfriend Justin Mateen. In 2014 she sued Tinder for sexual harassment (and being unfairly targeted by Mateen). She also alleged that Tinder stripped her of her cofounder title. Tinder denied wrongdoing, but Mateen was suspended and then resigned. The case was settled without going to court, with about one million going to Herd, according to reports.

Bumble however, is Herd's new success story – perhaps more so than Tinder at this point, considering Herd entered a crowded market space where over 90% of new dating apps fail. She found her sweet spot focusing on the female user experience, prioritizing their safety and giving women a little more control by putting them in charge of communicating first with their matches.

And Bumble isn't only making waves in the dating market. It launched a new service called Bumble Bizz in October, aimed at competing with LinkedIn to help its users make professional connections. The competitive advantage Bumble offers is once again its female-friendly focus. Herd argues that sexism exists in professional networking opportunities too, so it helps women to have control over the process a bit more by allowing them to do the reaching out and messaging first, as with its dating app.

Bumble has also opened up its first physical location, or hive, where Bumble users can get together in person to meet, socialize and network. It is too soon to tell how users will respond any of these new ventures, but Bumble is betting on their success.

Bumble began monetizing its app just over a year ago, and will cross one million in sales this year. Bumble charges $9.99 for a monthly subscription which offers users VIP perks over the free service. About 10% of Bumble users pay for this, compared to only 5% of Tinder users paying for its premium service, according to Forbes.

Bumble is also introducing hyperlocal advertising, which is projected to double its revenue in 2018. We’ll see what else next year brings for Herd and her company. For more on this service you can read our review of the Bumble dating app.