My biggest struggle being a woman in the workforce has not only been with my mother, my grandmother, and a lot of my girlfriends. When I'm working late hours, I'm almost punished for it by them. It's almost absurd that I would prioritize work over catching up with my girlfriends. If I were a man, that would just come second nature.
— Whitney Wolfe Herd
Look at what is broken in society, figure out how to make it better, and then, around that, formulate a business.
Always know your merit and how special you are, and don't let someone else's qualifications make you feel small. If you stick to this, you will always deserve their respect.
If you truly want to find a meaningful relationship, you've got to find yourself first and learn to be confident in your own skin. Don't sacrifice anything about who you are to be with someone. That's setting yourself up for failure.
I guarantee that if you threw 100 people into a room, the first three questions they would ask each other are: 'Where did you grow up?,' 'Where did you go to school?' and 'What do you do for a living?' Most people on Bumble are looking for a life partner, and those things have a huge impact on compatibility.
I worked all day, every day. I thought about Tinder in the shower and dreamed about it at night. It wasn't just my job - it was my life.
It's an epidemic. Instead of socialising and having proper conversations, we're staring at pictures of models in bikinis and wondering how they look like that. It's like self-loathing.
I'm a pretty private person. I live in Texas, and I like my small network.
I truly believe that what we're seeing with online dating is very similar to what happened with the Myspace-Facebook era, where Myspace was once this place for online connecting for a very select group of young people. And then Facebook kind of hit at this moment where it was acceptable for everybody to do it.
I'm going to be honest. Up until I started work on Bumble, the 'f-word' scared me. People would ask me if I was a feminist, and I didn't know how to respond. The word seemed to put guys off, but now I realise, who cares?
What I have found is that the best way to unwind is cooking. You only have two hands. If you are chopping veggies, you are forcing yourself to put the phone down or step away from the computer. It's extremely relaxing.
I am a firm believer that the only person who can make you feel inferior is yourself.
Life is about perspective and how you look at something... ultimately, you have to zoom out.
When you accept that failure is a good thing, it can actually be a huge propeller toward success.
Be genuine. Put out what you want to receive; that's the same for real life and Tinder.
If you're in a job that you hate, don't be scared of seeking out something that might be riskier. Anything can turn into something with passion and hard work.
Anyone can replicate a product. There are lots of brilliant minds out there that know how to code, but there's unique DNA to a brand. You cannot have a brand without people. That is the most important asset you will ever have.
I think that a big shame of how women are approached in business is they're oftentimes looked to for perspective and not implementation.
When you're setting up your dating profile, choose the photos according to who you are today. A variety of recent shots that are a true representation of your character.
There is no better way to create a confident and meaningful connection with someone than to be self-assured and true to yourself. Remember, you want someone to truly appreciate you for you, not for your best side. There is only one you. Be proud of that and own it.
One of the biggest things I tell women is not to lose themselves in a relationship. If you're willing to alter yourself to find somebody, it'll never work.
In our digital age, the Golden Rule is not enforced online.
After graduating in International Relations in 2011, I turned down safe, corporate job offers and instead accepted a position at an 'incubator' in L.A. - a tech word for a team of people who are funded by investors to create apps. I knew the future was digital and that I had to take a risk.
Safety is something you should never have to pay for. If you're abusive or, say, not who you say you are on Bumble, you're gone. We have a zero tolerance policy.
When I left Tinder, I had no intention of getting back into the dating industry. What I ultimately wanted to do was start this contagious complimentary social network, where kindness was at the helm.
When I first got started in this whole world of online connecting, we were combating this antiquated stereotype of who used online dating, and we really set out to make it popular with millennials. What I find to be so fascinating now is, I'm seeing an inverse in that trend.
I was always extremely creative. I was very artistic and never strong with numbers or science. I wanted to be an artist or a fashion designer. I wanted to be something that allowed for a lot of imagination.
I sleep with the drapes open to rise with the sun. I think that's a healthy thing to do because even if you don't like to wake up early, your body does adjust.
I just hope that more women realize that if your gut tells you you're doing a good job, you're doing a good job.
Failure's a marker of success in its own right because you went out and tried something... If you really don't want to fail, go find a comfortable chair and stay there. Just don't go out and do anything.
In real life, we are all on our devices. We might go to a place where we fit the crowd and could meet someone. But, because we are all on our phones, you might not notice the cute boy behind you in line for coffee, and he's not going to notice the gorgeous girl sitting outside. So, we might as well notice them on our phones, on Tinder.
Online, I would never friend a random cute guy on Facebook or start liking his pictures on Instagram - even if I had a crush on him. But with Tinder, it's like following or friending each other at the same time. The risk of revealing your feelings is removed.
Being able to put your blinders on, ignore negative opinions, and follow your strong intuition is what's validating to me. It's a great feeling to know you can trust your gut.
You have to accept people for who they are. You can guide. You can give people chances. But you cannot hold on to people in fear that you are bad because you can't keep everyone you've hired.
I realized that there's a big world, and really, the only way you can make a critical impact on something greater than your own little world is through technology.
We have all been there: we see that gorgeous person across the room, and we want to go and speak to them so badly. However, the 'rules' of society mean we usually don't end up doing it, despite our friends' best efforts to convince us to. Time for a change. Be empowered and say hi! It's proven that people really like it when you take initiative.
There's nothing wrong with taking yourself out of the dating pool. You don't need to be in a relationship because that's what society expects of you or because your grandmother thinks you need to be married by a certain date. Those days are over. Instead, take a step back and say, 'I'm OK alone.'
Who asks who out on the date? Who's supposed to pay for dinner? Who chooses where you go? Both partners should be involved in these discussions. If we want to be treated as equals, don't put yourself in a position where you set yourself up to not be equal.
I have so many girlfriends who are powerhouses: They have big careers, are fearless in traveling in third-world countries or a launching non-profit. But they won't text a guy for fear of being perceived as desperate. That is broken.
We are becoming so fickle and self involved. Always looking for the next best thing - especially when it comes to people. We spend hours buried in our phones trying to keep up with the social lives of people we may not even know. Envy and the fear of missing out have taken over. Yet we are all still longing for human connection.
I cannot compare and contrast Tinder and Bumble directly, but I will say that we have a very impressive, forward-thinking user base.
The beauty of Bumble and this world of online connecting is it gives you access. Going down to the bar, what is your access? What is the access you're gaining there? Really, only a few people.
Everyone in the dating business wants to know what women want - it's the billion-dollar question. But it's simple: put one in charge, and you find out.
I really try to ask myself the question of nine. Will this matter in nine minutes, nine hours, nine days, nine weeks, nine months or nine years? If it will truly matter for all of those, pay attention to it.
I remember, when we were starting Tinder, we were like, 'We're going to be the next Instagram!' I remember sending my parents emails being like, 'We got 300 members!'
My goal is not to overtake Tinder or compete with Tinder. To be fully honest with you, I think Tinder is a great product. It's still my baby at the end of the day. So I wish it continued success. I still have equity in Tinder.
When you can look at failure and say, 'What is the worst case scenario,' it's not as bad as it seems.
My best advice for a new Tinder user is don't just start swiping left or right. Take a moment and really evaluate everyone's photos before you say 'yes' or 'no.' Sometimes people don't know what they are doing when choosing photos.
Have a dream, chase it down, jump over every single hurdle, and run through fire and ice to get there.
Feminism is not about girl power. It is about equal power.
