Bumble

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The dating app , Bumble, went public, making C.E.O. Whitney Wolfe Herd, the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. She is also the youngest female C.E.O. to take a major U.S. company public. Herd debuted the dating app in 2014. After being ousted by Tinder and stripped of her co-founder title there, she built the Bumble brand all on her own. RELATED: North Hollywood Senior Drops $10K On Newspaper Ad To Complain About Internet Speed Her golden idea: a platform that gives women the power to make the first move instead of waiting for men, caught on and made it one of the most popular dating apps. She has empowered women in her boardroom as well — 70 percent of her board is female. RELATED: Paul Flores, Person Of Interest In Disappearance Of Kristin Smart, Arrested On Weapons Charge “It is really important to walk the walk so we’ve also prioritized gender diversity in our business,” said Herd. Economists are calling Herd an example for … [Read more...] about Dating App ‘Bumble’ Goes Public, Makes CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd Youngest Self-Made Female Billionaire

(CNN Business) Whitney Wolfe Herd isn't based in Silicon Valley. She doesn't have a STEM degree and she didn't raise billions in venture capital. But Wolfe Herd's company, Bumble, is set to have one of the most high-profile technology IPOs of the year so far, in what will be a milestone moment not just for her business but for female founders generally. Bumble, best known for its female-centered dating app, is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq Thursday under the stock ticker "BMBL." Bumble priced its stock at $43 Wednesday evening, up from its original proposed price range of between $28 and $30, signaling strong investor demand in what's proven to be a lofty market for newly public tech companies. The company was founded in 2014 by Wolfe Herd, who started her career at another dating service, Tinder. She initially set out to create a women-focused social network before landing on the concept of a female-focused dating app. Bumble requires women searching for … [Read more...] about Bumble to make Wall Street debut in a milestone moment for female founders

(CNN Business) Dating app Bumble has been known for setting its own standards for how people should behave on the internet -- from banning shirtless and underwear mirror selfies to photos of guns . Now, the company is making clear that there is no place for body shaming of any kind on its platform. "Find something else about their profile to talk about. Or, if you're not interested in someone, you can swipe left," the company said in a blog post this week. "If you're not sure if a message will come across as body shaming, a good rule of thumb is simply not to comment on another user's body or health at all." Bumble updated its terms and conditions this week to explicitly list "physical appearance" among other discriminatory language it does not tolerate. The list also includes "race, colour, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity." Bumble files for IPO The updated policy … [Read more...] about Bumble bans body shaming: ‘Find something else to talk about’

The Bumble dating app on Thursday debuted on Wall Street, catapulting its CEO to billionaire status and making her one of the few self-made female billionaires. Bumble, the dating app that requires women in heterosexual matches to make the first move, priced its shares at $43 ahead of trading on Thursday — higher than the original $28 to $30 forecast, CNN Business reported . It started trading on Nasdaq under the ticker “BMBL.” The increase was enough to value CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd’s stake at more than $900 million, boosting her overall wealth to more than $1 billion, according to Bloomberg News . ADVERTISEMENT Wolfe Herd joins the small group of self-made female billionaires, who mostly reside in Asia and make up less than 5 percent of the world’s 500 largest fortunes, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The world’s 500 richest people in 2020 gained $1.8 trillion, with 91 percent of that going to men. She founded the Austin, Texas-based Bumble … [Read more...] about Bumble dating app makes Wall Street debut, CEO becomes one of few female billionaires

A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business' Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here . London (CNN Business) New variants of Covid-19 sweeping the world aren't just throwing a wrench in government vaccination plans and efforts to stay ahead of the pandemic. They're also complicating the economic recovery , as leaders acknowledge they can't commit to easing restrictions later this year without a clearer picture of where infections are headed. What's happening: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that the country's lockdown would be extended to Mar. 7, noting that "three aggressive mutations" have changed the calculus. Merkel said the country needs to "prepare for new variants to become dominant," and warned that "mutations could destroy the vaccine's success." Concerns about variants are global. In the United Kingdom, which is trying to combat a more transmissible coronavirus strain with an aggressive vaccination … [Read more...] about New coronavirus variants are threatening the world’s economic recovery