Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder and CEO of Bumble, just posted some pretty big news on Instagram. She is pregnant with her third child! Despite Bumble’s hard-charging efforts, this is a challenging moment for the company. That is despite their recently announced earnings showing a 7.7% drop in first-quarter earnings from a year ago. Herd deftly balances her pregnancy with addressing the issues facing her company. Her personal and professional life collide as she looks to balance both worlds.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Wolfe Herd opened up about her return to Bumble in March after a brief hiatus. This was why she recognized her own experiences of burnout in Lidiane Jones, the former president of the company. Lidiane had actually resigned soon after contacting Herd, confessing she was in over her head.
Wolfe Herd stated, “Bumble needs me back. It’s an extension of me to some degree, and watching it fall from its peak has been very hard.” This feeling is emblematic of her profound ownership of the dating app she founded and took public.
During her time at the Vox Media’s 2023 Code Conference, Wolfe Herd addressed speculation regarding tensions between herself and Jones. She was quick to brush aside any idea of a competitive rivalry, accentuating the collaborative spirit that their pairing has already exuded. I mean, I think the world expects women – especially when it’s a woman to a woman – they want there to be some sort of squid. There’s no riff,” she stated.
The challenges faced at Bumble have been just as personal as financial for Wolfe Herd. She particularly took responsibility for overworking and frequent flyer miles, which led to her own burnout. These experiences have helped her empathize with, and therefore recognize, her former self in Jones’s position.
Lidiane Jones, one of the women in question, had called on Wolfe Herd, admitting to her the intense burdens she was under. This artistic link emphasizes the parallel challenges that women in power frequently face. Her candidness, including discussing how she almost didn’t make it through this year’s IPO process, is an indication of the inherent challenges women face in mating call environments like these.
Even as Wolfe Herd plans for her expanding family — she’s now pregnant with her third child — her attention is clearly on navigating Bumble through dark waters today. She exhibits immense passion for the business. She’s aware of her own limits, taking the roles of her profession and industry in stride as she prioritizes her own health and wellness.
