By
Tolu Ajiboye
February 23rd, 2023
After the successful IPO, Bumble secured $2.2 billion from investors, pushing Wolfe Herd to become one the youngest billionaires at 31.
The CEO of American social and online dating app Bumble Inc (NASDAQ: BMBL), Whitney Wolfe Herd, advised that “you can build anything” while speaking to CNBC Make It. The CEO made the statement in 2019 before Bumble’s debut on Nasdaq Global Select Market.
In a recent report, CNBC Make It revealed the details of Wolfe Herd’s interview in 2019. Wolfe Herd stated that people need to understand their passion. She added that when people are “really good” at what they are passionate about, it is “some way to turn it into a business.” Speaking further, the CEO explained:
“Maybe you’re an incredible cook – start a cooking blog, then start charging for recipes. It depends on what your talents are, whatever that might be.”
Reiterating that anyone can monetize passion, she added:
“I think anybody can make money at something they’re good at.”
Bumble CEO: Her Way
Wolfe Herd founded Bumble in 2014 after she left dating platform Tinder, where she served as the vice president of marketing. After she departed from Tinder, Wolf Herd wanted to create a social media platform that focuses on teen girls. The platform would allow the teenagers to communicate through compliments. However, she founded Bumble instead with her prior knowledge in the dating sector.
Dating app Bumble strays from the general dating norms and let women make the first move.
Bumble started monetizing its dating app in 2016 when it began to offer options for in-app purchases. The platform has grown over the years and now offers more features, which are available from $5.99 to about $199.99.
Bumble Goes Public
Since Wolfe Herd started Bumble in 2014, the dating platform just launched its initial public offering (IPO). After the successful IPO, Bumble secured $2.2 billion from investors, pushing Wolfe Herd to become one the youngest billionaires at 31.
Before its first trading day, Bumble had filed its IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 15th of January, 2021. The dating site applied to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol “BMBL.”
In the IPO filing, Bumble noted that it raised $376,6 million in revenue over the first nine months of 2020. The dating platform also mentioned an $84.1 million net loss over the same period. Bumble recorded an increased number of active daily users at the peak of the pandemic beginning in March last year.
Bumble closed its first day of trading at $70.31, a 63.51% increase over its opening trading price of $43 per share. On its first trading day, Bumble soared as high as $84.80 and has reached $14 billion in valuation due to the IPO.
Bumble was trading at $75.00 after hours on Friday, with a 0.61% loss over its previous close of $75.46.
