GIRLFRIEND - Dec 10 - Bumble has recently launched in India, and celebrated with a big party. However, Instagram posts and stories have captured worldwide attention, with the company being accused of an abusive ad campaign with elephants being painted and ridden throughout the night. The CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd is facing backlash as it is considered animal abuse to ride elephants.
209 posts categorized "Bumble"
Bumble Faces Huge Backlash Because of an Abusive Ad Campaign
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Bumble Will Never Break Values to Make Money, Says Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd
CNBCTV18 - Dec 10 - "We have turned down so many opportunities over the years that could have been great revenue markers but negative ones for our mission," said Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of Bumble.
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Bumble Opened a BumbleSpot in Denver
303 MAGAZINE - Dec 10 - The spot is a social hangout spot sponsored by Bumble, that allows app users to play games, score drink deals and more while they mingle. Bumble has received thousands of requests from restaurants, bars and other hangouts to become an approved BumbleSpot, but they only select those they feel understand the app's values of respect. They also train hotel staff to help buffer awkwardness and place signs in bathrooms with tips on how to leave or handle an uncomfortable situation.
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Bumble's Debut in India
ECONOMIC TIMES - Dec 6 - India is the first country in Asia to get Bumble, which was founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd. "It was Priyanka Chopra's idea to get Bumble to India," said Herd. US is the largest market for Bumble, but its high-growth markets include Australia, Canada, UK, Germany and Netherlands. For the Indian market, language and cultural localisation has been done. Available in Hindi and 'Hinglish' on iOS and Android, Bumble has incorporated a religion filter, apart from letting users mention astrological signs, whether the person drinks or smokes, has pets or not, and the option for women to only mention the initial of their first names. Bumble started in India in October 2018, and it's doing well so far. The actress will be the brand's face in the country, but her "celebrity status is only the icing," Herd said. "What's special about Priyanka is that she is not just the face of the brand here, but also very invested in this. She cares about it."
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Facebook Also Let Dating Apps Have Further Access to Graph API Back in 2015
ARS TECHNICA - Dec 6 - UK MP releases 250 pages of materials obtained as part of Six4Three debacle. The documents from Facebook show that the company allowed even more companies including dating apps Badoo, HotorNot and Bumble to access the v1.0 Graph API back in 2015. The documents, known as the "Six4Three files," were published by Damian Collins, a member of the UK Parliament. Collins is the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) Committee in Parliament, which has been overseeing inquiries into Facebook's practices. "The files show evidence of Facebook taking aggressive positions against apps, with the consequence that denying them access to data led to the failure of that business," Collins concluded. Six4Three is a long-forgotten company that has for years pursued a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that it was shut out from being allowed to access the Graph API, as it was too small. Six4Three made a short-lived app called "Pikinis," which sought bikini photos on Facebook. It was only downloaded ~5,000 times. Lawyers for Six4Three have long argued what Collins concluded: once small apps were shut off, they were driven out of busines.
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Priyanka Chopra On Her Investment in Bumble
NDTV - Dec 6 - In her first interview since her wedding with American singer Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra spoke about her investment in dating app Bumble. Calling herself a "tech fan" and someone who loves doing things "out of the box", Priyanka said that she thought that the app would be an "incredible platform" for women.
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Is Bumble's $1.1B Valuation for Real?
PROFIT CONFIDENTIAL - Nov 29 - The Bumble IPO is set to land sometime before 2019 and will be one of the first pure-play dating apps to enter the market. While no firm date has been set, the company has stated that it is seeking to have the IPO sometime next month. It could, of course, be delayed. The valuation is one delay factor. The company is currently seeking a $1.5B IPO. Some analysts, however, have placed the company as low as $1.1B. The valuation is subject to change, however, as the company is exploring new ways to monetize, namely through advertising. Bumble has jumped to 40M users in 4 years, up from 12.5M in February of 2017. "We are at our annual run rate of $200M for 2018, and we're only in year three. We've been a profitable business since year two," Bumble co-founder Whitney Herd said.
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Bumble and Moxy Hotels Launch 'BumbleSpot #attheMoxy'
OUR COMMUNITY NOW - Nov 28 - Bumble is partnering with Moxy Hotels, Marriott International's experimental brand, to host fun and interactive spaces where users can meet their online matches in real life. BumbleSpots are places that have been verified by Bumble as inclusive environments for users to meet, whether it be dating, friendships, or professional networking. Moxy Hotels is Bumble's first nationwide partner to be designated as a BumbleSpot, and more BumbleSpot locations are set to launch across the US and Canada over the next year.
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Whitney Wolfe Herd on Bumble New Snooze Feature
VOGUE - Nov 20 - On a recent trip to China, Whitney Wolfe Herd found herself inadvertently off social media. "I had a full panic for the first 48 hours and I was almost going through a withdrawal, which is terrifying in itself," she says, appalled, but laughing. "But after 48 hours, I didn't want it anymore. I was so present, it was like my senses were re-activated." Months later, Wolfe Herd launched a new feature on Bumble: Snooze. Snooze allows users to go offline very politely. "A lot of big companies have stayed away from this, because they don't want to cannibalize their business. It's a very courageous move as a company, but we truly believe that it's needed and necessary," she says firmly.
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In the Elevator With Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd
WSJ - Nov 16 - WSJ's Joanna Stern "bumps into" Bumble's CEO in the elevator and finds out what profile images work best, when to swipe right and how be a successful woman in tech.
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Bumble Is Open to a Future IPO
WALL STREET JOURNAL - Nov 14 - Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's WSJ Tech D.Live conference on Wednesday, Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said an IPO could give her company more momentum to expand further internationally. Wolfe Herd founded the dating app in 2014 as a site where women must make the first move. The company now has ~45M users and is profitable, she said. Still, an IPO is more of an option than a necessity for Bumble right now. Wolfe Herd said her company's next phase of growth isn't contingent on raising this money this way and noted the offering is far from certain. "We're exploring a lot of different options right now," Wolfe Herd said.
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Bumble's Mental Health Notification Missed the Mark
THE MIGHTY - Nov 15 - On Tuesday, Canadian users of Bumble received a push notification that said, "Did you know 1 in 10 men will experience depression in their lives? Match today to support men's mental health." The purpose of the notification was to raise money for Movember Canada, the leading international charity addressing men's mental health, but some social media users took issue with the way it was worded, believing it encouraged women to take on the emotional burdens of men. Bumble quickly replied to Twitter users expressing discomfort with the wording of the push notification. While Bumble's intentions were good, the notification touched a nerve for many social media users because women are often expected to carry emotional weight of others.
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How Bumble Plans to Get Buy-In From Women in India
WALL STREET JOURNAL - Nov 15 - Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd discussed the dating app's strategy for getting women in India to buy in and the company's move to producing primetime video content. "In India, we recruit hyper, hyper local influencers - people who have a voice in a college, people the young women look up to and respect," she said. "No social platform has really been able to create major traction because they have not had the buy in from women in India. Women don't feel safe. Women are not even creating profiles for themselves because of the safety issues", she continued. "We are launching all sorts of safety features. You have to verify yourself as a user, we are letting women register without their first name, just the first initial."
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Bumble Launches BumbleSpot, Verified Locations Where Users Can Meet Matches in Real Life
BUSTLE - Nov 8 - The first BumbleSpot partnership is with Moxy Hotels, Marriott International's experiential brand, where official Spots will be at eight of their locations: two in New York (Times Square and the Financial District), and one apiece in Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, Seattle, Tempe, and Minneapolis. Bumble will be rolling out more Spots throughout the year at various restaurants, bars, and coffee shops across the U.S. and Canada, and in some international locations in 2019. Some of the BumbleSpot locations will have Bumble benefits and promotions, too. For instance, with the Moxy partnership, Bumble users will receive complimentary access to Moxy's workspace for entrepreneurs on the go, food discounts, two-for-one cocktail specials.
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LA Clippers Push Women's Empowerment With Bumble Deal
CNN - Nov 7 - In the era of #MeToo dating app Bumble has teamed up with a high-profile sports team to "shake up" a predominantly male-driven industry. The Los Angeles Clippers signed a reported three-year $20M sponsorship deal with Bumble. The partnership launched with a #strongerwithher campaign at a Clippers game - encouraging fans to honor women who impact their lives. The deal places the dating app's logo as a patch on the Clippers' uniform.
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IPO Could Value Bumble At $1.1 Billion
BLOOMBERG - Nov 5 - An IPO in Bumble could value the app at as low as $1.1B, below the $1.5 billion figure it was reportedly seeking in January, according to calculations by Synovus Trust senior portfolio manager Dan Morgan. Andrey Andreev, majority holder of Bumble's parent company, is talking to banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. about a possible Nasdaq listing. Morgan applied the average multiple to an estimated 2019 revenue of $283M to get a $1.1B IPO valuation, though said it could increase on Bumble's plan to launch advertising next year.
by Shelly Hagan
See full article at Bloomberg
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
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Bumble To Promote Bumble Bizz At Melbourne Cup Carnival
THE AGE - Nov 5 - Bumble is using this year's Melbourne Cup Carnival to promote its Bumble Bizz feature which launched earlier this year and is aimed at putting an end to harassment on recruitment platforms for women. On Bumble Bizz, like on the dating app, it is women who must make the initial contact. Bumble's focus on women has paid off with 1.7M registrations in Australia on Bumble and 42M registrations globally. The platform has seen 50% growth in Melbourne over the last six months and has been valued at $1B putting it in the category of a unicorn startup. Bumble wouldn't reveal how much the Melbourne Cup campaign is costing the startup but an industry insider said corporate marquees start at $500k for the cost of the build, hospitality and partnership fee.
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Bumble Is Slowly Backing Off On Its $400M Lawsuit Against Match Group
THE VERGE - Nov 2 - Bumble is looking to drop its $400M countersuit against Match Group. Yesterday, Match filed a notice of non-opposition, essentially saying that it's okay with Bumble dropping its claims so long as the court issues declaratory judgments absolving Match from allegedly stealing Bumble's trade secrets. Match is also hoping the court will issue declaratory judgments validating its patents and Bumble's alleged infringement of them, which are involved in its original lawsuit from March. Both companies seem okay backing away from this case for now, but Match seems to want to get some absolution out of it, especially if it'll benefit the company's lawsuit against Bumble. Match sees Bumble's countersuit as serving only as a publicity stunt to bolster its reputation.
by Makena Kelly & Ashley Carman
See full article at The Verge
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Bumble Launches In India With Hindi Language Option
INDIANWEB2 - Nov 2 - Bumble launched in India last week by its founder Whitney Wolfe Herd and celebrity actor Priyanka Chopra, who is Bumble India's investor as well as brand ambassador of Bumble's India campaign. The app has Hindi language option too. The launch was done with a private dinner party at Gramercy Park Hotel in New York, hosted by Whitney Wolfe and Priyanka together. In India, Bumble will compete with local dating apps such as Woo and TrulyMadly besides Tinder of course. Bumble had a reported 22M users as of Nov 2017, and 27M downloads as of Feb 2018.
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Why Dating Apps Are Trying To Stop Users Blanking Each Other
THE GUARDIAN - Nov 1 - Bumble and Badoo have announced plans to crack down on ghosting. Bumble has recruited an in-house 'ghosting' expert, Kate Leaver, and Badoo has introduced a series of suggested responses, such as: "Hey, I think you're great, but I don't see us as a match. Take care!" Leaver's role, building on the expertise she developed writing her book The Friendship Cure, is focused on pushing for "a revival of kindness and respect," she says. "People are ghosting everyone all over the place. I think they are too lazy, or too cowardly to have the difficult conversations," Leaver adds. "There has been some extreme psychological damage for people who are living without any explanation as to why they've been ghosted." Google, for instance, recently updated Gmail to introduce a feature called "nudges". The service prompts users to reply to emails that they "might have forgotten to respond to" and to "follow up" on emails they sent that never received a reply. While it can occasionally be useful, the feature is attempting to fight a symptom of information overload by adding more information to the pile. It's not enough to ignore an email. We now have to ignore it twice. Could nudging ghosters in the dating world simply add to the overload of the modern era? After all, as the psychologist Maya Borgueta has written in HuffPost, "ghosting is avoidance and often stems from fear of conflict. Which means that ghosting is about wanting to avoid confrontation, difficult conversations and avoid hurting someone's feelings." If that is the case, Badoo's pushy attempts to restart conversations could have the opposite effect: if you ghost because of a fear of confrontation, then it's not much help when your dating app begins confronting you.
by Alex Hern
See full article at The Guardian
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