"If people are telling you that they don't believe what you're doing, that means you're doing something out of their comfort zone. And generally, people don't want to be taken out of their comfort zone because it's outside of the status quo."
Whitney Wolfe Herd
I wonder about confrontation and how it can be resolved when all parties are positive that their's is the RIGHT way. What if both parties could step back and try to understand from the other person's perspective what and why they are doing what they are doing and the impact what each has on the other with respect that there is no absolute right and wrong and the stronger we defend the 'status quo' the more we put ourselves and our society in a box and defend what we don't like as well as what we do like.
I think we need to think very deeply about how the 'status quo' and our assumptions are keeping us in a mental cage.
Happy Thursday:-)
Jeanne
"I'd rather be overly ambitious than completely complacent," said Wolfe Herd this fall. "I think that we all have a choice with how we spend the hours of our day."
This is an interesting article about an inspirational person, check out the whole story at:
Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd is used to bucking traditions.
When she launched the female-focused dating app in 2014, which requires women searching for heterosexual matches to make the first move, some were skeptical it would take off. But Wolfe Herd's vision — that the app actually would empower women to make their own choices, rather than burden them with it — caught on. Bumble has become a household name and has grown to include services beyond dating, including professional networking and finding new friends.
Last year, Wolfe Herd made a strategic decision to push Bumble into India, a risky move given that casual dating is a relatively new and urban phenomenon and that India has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world. Still, Wolfe Herd didn't shy away.
Whitney Wolfe Herd founded Bumble, a dating app where women make the first move in 2014. Now, she's CEO of the parent company MagicLab, which is valued at $3 billion and includes four apps: Bumble, Badoo, Chappy and Lumen. (Dina Litovsky for CNN)
"We need to go where we're needed the most," Wolfe Herd said in an interview with CNN Business in September. "The most traditional, the most misogynistic mindsets globally — those markets for us are completely wide-open prairies," she said, referring to the decision to launch in India. "Just because something is not as progressive as another place in the world doesn't mean there's not a desire for that."
Now, Wolfe Herd is preparing for one of her biggest challenges yet: Taking over the CEO seat of Bumble's parent company MagicLab four months after former owner Andrey Andreev was accused of racism and sexism, allegations that he has denied. Investment firm Blackstone bought the company from the Russian billionaire last month, in a deal that valued it at $3 billion.
At just 30, Wolfe Herd sits at the helm of a dating empire that claims it has more than 500 million global users across its four apps: Bumble, Badoo, Chappy and Lumen. When she returns from maternity leave in the spring after having her first baby, she will continue forging ahead with Bumble's international expansion. On a broader scale, she plans to use her platform to advocate for legislation outlawing digital sexual harassment both domestically and internationally. On top of this, she'll also have to address the findings of a still-ongoing investigation into the culture at Badoo.
An ongoing investigation
Andreev and Wolfe Herd had been business partners since Bumble launched in 2014 in Austin, Texas. Wolfe Herd, who started her career at Tinder, initially wanted to create a women-focused social network; Andreev suggested creating a dating app with a similar vision. His company, Badoo, helped provide the infrastructure, and he became her primary backer.
The most traditional, the most misogynistic mindsets globally — those markets for us are completely wide-open prairies."WHITNEY WOLFE HERD, CEO OF MAGICLAB
In July, Forbes reported on allegations of a sexist and toxic culture at Badoo headquarters in London, citing interviews with 13 former employees. The report included claims — some of which date back to 2011 and 2012 — that Andreev made racist and sexist comments to staffers, as well as broader claims of a toxic work environment.
The company initially slammed the report, but two days later, Andreev issued a statement at the time saying he was "shocked and saddened by the allegations," though he maintained that "many of the accusations are inaccurate."
The allegations immediately put Wolfe Herd in a difficult spot. Andreev had been a longtime mentor and friend, but the allegations against him were serious and went against everything Bumble stood for. Would she stand by him? In the initial Forbes article, she did: She was described as standing "firmly behind" Andreev, who she said was "my family and one of my best friends."
Wolfe Herd issued a statement after the article came out, saying she was "mortified by the allegations," and that she "learned of the majority of these allegations at the same time as the public." She added that although she had "never seen or heard" any of the behavior in question, "I would never challenge someone's feelings or experiences."
Wolfe Herd is taking over the CEO seat of Bumble's parent company MagicLab after former owner Andrey Andreev (left) was accused of racism and sexism. An internal investigation is ongoing. (MagicLab Press Kit)
Badoo hired a firm to conduct an outside investigation into the allegations in the Forbes article and committed to making those findings public and implementing the recommendations. The investigation is ongoing, but Andreev sold his majority stake in the company as part of the Blackstone deal in November.
Taking leaps of faith in India
Just a few months before Bumble launched in India last year, the Thomson Reuters Foundation surveyed more than 500 experts on women's issues, and concluded that India was the most dangerous country in the world for women due to factors like sexual violence against women and cultural traditions impacting women's safety. Wolfe Herd, however, saw an opportunity to empower women in the country. If successful, it would be a huge business win.
While other US-based dating apps already existed in the region, including Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid, there was arguably more at stake for Bumble. The company's differentiating factor lies in empowering women to initiate contact. Would Bumble be putting its female users at risk?
Bumble took new, local safety precautions, like the ability for women to only display a first initial, rather than a full name, in addition to global features such as photo verification.
Wolfe Herd said the first initial feature is only available for women on the platform. "We need to hold people accountable. The less anonymity given to the other side of the table is actually a great way to reduce friction, harassment and abuse," she said.
The Indian version of the app is available in both Hindi and Hinglish — a hybrid between Hindi and English that's popular — on iOS and Android.
Bumble leaned on support from actress Priyanka Chopra, who was named an adviser and investor in the startup last October, and Chopra's manager, Anjula Acharia, also a Bumble investor and adviser, who has a history of helping artists like Lady Gaga launch in the country.
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