OPW – July 16 – Ten years ago I tried an experiment doing video news updates from locations like Prague and Venice. They were a lot of work, and and way too long really. I think 2-3 minutes is about all the time you have, so here’s a new experiment. Two Minute Tuesday News Updates. Please let me know your thoughts.
Category: Bumble
Celebs Are Using Dating Apps for Promotions and It’s Confusing Users
LA MAGAZINE – July 12 – Erin Gallagher was swiping on Bumble when a picture of her longtime crush, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, popped up. It seemed too good to be true but she noticed the blue check verification next to his name, so it had to be him. Erin swiped right and, to her surprise, it was a match. Erin had fallen for an expertly executed promotion. So is it ethical of a celeb to dangle a dating carrot in front of women on Bumble Date without the intention of actually dating? Tinder has taken heat in the past for promotions using celebrities.
Bumble Owner Launches Independent Investigation Into Its Workplace Culture
BUSINESS INSIDER – July 10 – Badoo founder, Andrey Andreev, is launching an independent investigation into his workplace culture after an explosive report by Forbes. Forbes spoke to 13 former employees who described naked cocaine-fueled parties, software updates named after porn stars, and inappropriate remarks made by Andreev. Andreev said he has was "shocked and saddened" by the allegations and has brought in HR firm Peninsula Group to conduct an investigation.
by Isobel Asher Hamilton
See full article at Business Insider
Bumble CEO Responds to Reports of Misconduct at Parent Company
TECH CRUNCH – July 10 – Following an extensive report in Forbes about Bumble's parent company and its billionaire founder Andrey Andreev, the female-first dating app's founder Whitney Wolfe Herd has issued a statement. She says she was "mortified by the allegations" and "saddened and sickened to hear that anyone, of any gender, would ever be made to feel marginalized or mistreated in any capacity at their workplace." The allegations went beyond portraying a sexist work environment and detailed racist attitudes of the Badoo founder.
Forbes Investigation Into Badoo’s Corporate Culture
FORBES – July 7 – Andrey Andreev's biggest asset is Badoo, a European- and Latin American-focused dating app that, with 60M users, stands as one of the world's largest. His buzziest, however, is Bumble, the dating app focused on empowering women. Andrey launched his first dating company – Mamba – in 2004. It was a bare-bones desktop dating site for Russian users. Finam Holdings invested $20M in Mamba for a 90% stake; Andreev sold the rest to Finam in 2006 for an undisclosed amount. Building off the success of Mamba, Andreev launched Badoo in 2006. In 2010, Badoo launched its iPhone mobile app. The company went from 20M user sign-ups to 100M in four months, mostly in Europe and Latin America, and notched $200M in revenue. (Forbes estimates that last year Badoo had a bit over $300M in revenue.) Simultaneous with this growth, Badoo began earning a reputation for wild parties. More concerning, several former employees say office behavior was hostile and discriminatory toward women. Andreev maintains that he is a collaborator and unifier, not racist or sexist as others allege. Wolfe Herd, who spent Bumble's formative period walking around London with Andreev for days, says she has never witnessed toxic behavior in the Badoo headquarters. And she stands firmly behind Andreev. "What I've seen firsthand from Andrey is creative and motivating behavior. Andrey has never been anything but kind and respectful to me."
by Angel Au-Yeung
See full article at Forbes
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Bumble Now Lets Users Call Their Matches Without Exchanging Numbers
Dating App Once Tells Users How Hot They Are
by Hannah Frishberg
See full article at NY Post
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Bumble Unveils Second Campaign for ‘Find Them on Bumble Bizz’ Series
This Pride Month, Tinder, Bumble, and OkCupid Are Swiping Right on Inclusion
by Sutrishna Ghosh
See full article at Your Story
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Pregnancy Is Making Bumble CEO Rethink Parental Work Policies
FAST COMPANY – June 14 – Whitney Wolfe Herd has recently announced her pregnancy. She now wants to think about work-life balance for parents beyond just maternity or paternity leave. "I've always wanted parents to prioritize their children's well-being alongside their job. So I never wanted them to feel like they have to choose one or the other. I don't think that's a fair position to be in," she said. Her employees are encouraged to work as flexibly as they need to. Employees expecting children are given a four-month, paid leave, and new parents receive a $1K bonus to offset childcare costs. Bumble also provides reimbursements for breast milk home delivery service for breastfeeding mothers who are traveling, and covers any costs incurred by Maven, an app that provides video calls, counseling, nutrition services, and other services for parents and parents-to-be. Bumble's headquarters also has a mothers' room stocked with snacks and tea. She is planning on building a childcare space where employees can reserve to have a caretaker watch their child while they work.