Traditionally in dating men make the first move, but in both relationships and business, dating site Bumble sees things a different way. Bumble’s differentiating factor is that its app is designed to enable women to make the first move in online courtship. This is appropriate given that Bumble’s Founder and CEO is a woman.

31-year-old Whitney Wolfe Herd became the youngest female CEO and founder to take a US company public, following dating company Bumble’s successful launch on the US stock market in February 2020. The company began trading well above its initial public offering (IPO), surging to a value of over $13bn, appropriately just before Valentine’s day.

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Bumble – a company built by women, for women

A company built by women, for women, unsurprisingly has ‘women at the centre’, as the IPO filing states. This women-centric model is good for business, a fact already known to Wolfe Herd:

“I think the global investment community can really get behind the potential of building a global women’s brand that has an impact on the way we connect and how we treat each other both on and offline.”

There is a clear message in that statement, and it relates to Wolfe Herd’s previous venture position at Bumble’s rival Tinder. Even given the success of dating sites, not all relationships last or are successful, including working relationships, as Wolfe Herd has found.

Unfriendly Competition

Wolfe Herd was a co-founder of rival app, Tinder, but left in 2014 and sued Tinder’s co-founders for sexual harassment. The relationship deteriorated further as Tinder’s parent company, Match, sued Wolfe Herd’s new creation, Bumble, in 2018, alleging patent and trademark infringement. Additional lawsuits followed before both parties agreed to settle. The lawsuits highlight the vibrancy and competition in the growing online dating market.

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Match Group owns and operates the largest global portfolio of online dating services, including Tinder, Match.com, OKCupid and Hinge. In February 2020 Match also announced plans to buy the Korean video chat company Hyperconnect for $1.7bn in order to expand its presence in Asia.

Facebook casts its shadow

Though Facebook Dating has only launched in the US and does not yet have the geographical or business reach of established matchmakers such as Bumble and Match, the size of the potential user Facebook base means that it has reasonable chance of dating success.

However, its ever-expanding ecosystem is facing regulatory scrutiny and data privacy concerns may arise which will impact Facebook’s dating profile. Ultimately, data and dating may not be a match made in heaven.