Good morning, Broadsheet readers! An appeals court ruled Texas can ban life-saving abortions, Cherelle Parker was sworn in as Philadelphia’s first female mayor, and Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe Herd shares her best business advice as she transitions from CEO to chair. Have a great Thursday!
– Building like Bumble. This week, Whitney Wolfe Herd officially stepped down as the CEO of Bumble Inc. She founded Bumble, the company’s flagship dating app, almost 10 years ago. On Jan. 2, Wolfe Herd became the company’s executive chair and former Slack chief Lidiane Jones took her place as CEO.
The closely-watched leadership transition is a time of reflection for Wolfe Herd, who wrote on Instagram that she “never want[s] to stop growing” as she steps into the board role.
Her reflection started before this week; late last year, I spoke with Wolfe Herd as she debuted a class on the educational platform MasterClass. A decade into her journey as a startup founder and CEO, she wanted to share her business lessons with those who have followed her career.
“I, on paper, shouldn’t really be where I am today,” she told me. “I want to show that anything’s possible for anyone if you allow yourself to think differently and trust yourself.”
Wolfe Herd’s MasterClass covers her path to founding Bumble after being forced out from competitor dating app Tinder and suing her former employer over sexual harassment. (The case was settled.) She describes the steps she took to figure out what to do next.
Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd shares her best business advice in a new MasterClass program. Courtesy of Masterclass The first move was to identify a “big problem.” For Wolfe Herd, that was toxicity online and in interpersonal relationships. Next, she clarified the white space her startup could address within that issue, coming up with Bumble’s signature feature in which women “make the first move.” She worked to pinpoint underserved audiences—in this case, women in the dating market—and figure out what they wanted and didn’t want in their romantic lives. Wolfe Herd tells MasterClass viewers that their idea “doesn’t have to be complex” to be successful. It should be authentic and carry their DNA.
Yet as she moves on from the CEO role, Wolfe Herd doesn’t take sole credit for the business she built. “I don’t think anything is all me,” she told me. “It’s an imprint of everyone that came in and touched it in their own unique way. Even if it was someone who dropped off a package and had a quick line they said—that can change the directory of a company. I’ve left my mark on it, but it’s a collective.”
Since that Bumble origin story, the company has been through many iterations. The biggest changes came in 2019, when Blackstone bought a majority stake in the business and elevated Wolfe Herd to CEO of Bumble’s parent company, and in 2021, when Wolfe Herd became the youngest woman to take a company public. Since then, Bumble’s stock has fallen by about 80% in a challenging market for the online dating industry.
Wolfe Herd urges aspiring founders to ask big questions constantly—as she did as she figured out how to navigate each stage of her business. “If something’s not changing, if something’s not growing, it’s dying,” she says. “You never want to be in a place of stagnancy.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Alicia Adamczyk. Subscribe here.
|
|
|
Subscribe to the new CEO Weekly Europe newsletter |
Get the CEO perspective on the biggest business stories in the region. Every week, learn how the CEOs of Europe's largest companies are navigating the trends and news impacting business in the region. Sign up |
|
|
- Epstein's orbit. The first of a new set of documents related to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were unsealed yesterday. So far, the documents revealed mostly names already associated with Epstein, including Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, but more are expected in the coming weeks. Fortune
- Ban upheld. Texas hospitals and doctors are not required to perform life-saving abortions, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled Tuesday. In the wake of Texas’s near-total abortion ban after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration said hospitals had an obligation to provide medically-necessary abortions under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. But the court ruled it was an overstep of Biden’s authority, and said Texas can indeed ban the life-saving procedure. Texas Tribune
- Good jeans. Abercrombie shares grew 285% last year, besting the top performers in the S&P 500, including Nvidia and Meta. The company, led by CEO Fran Horowitz, was one of the few retailers that raised fiscal year guidance in the fourth quarter of 2023. The results stem from a multi-year effort to revive the brand, which was popular in the early 2000s. Barron’s
- Director’s cut. Barbie might have been the highest-grossing film of 2023, but its success isn’t indicative of broader equality within Hollywood. USC Annenberg’s annual “Inclusion in the Director’s Chair” survey found that of the top 100 films of 2023, just 12.1% were directed by women. Women of color fare worse: Just four directed one of last year’s top 100 films. In the 17 years that USC has conducted the survey, only 19 women of color directed a top 100 movie. The Hollywood Reporter
- City of Sisterly love. Cherelle Parker was sworn in as Philadelphia’s 100th mayor on Tuesday, the first Black woman—and first woman—to hold the position. She quickly got to work, signing three executive orders related to public safety and economic development that are part of her action plan to make Philly “the safest, cleanest, and greenest big city in the nation with economic opportunity for everyone." NBC Philadelphia
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Rockefeller Capital Management has hired Alexandra Lebenthal as managing director and senior banker.
|
|
|
The word that undid Claudine Gay New York Times
Meet L'Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the first woman ever to hit a $100 billion fortune Business Insider
Maestro very nearly does Felicia Montealegre justice Elle
|
|
|
Thanks for reading. If you liked this email, pay it forward. Share it with someone you know: |
|
|
Did someone share this with you? Sign up here. For previous editions, click here.
To view all of Fortune's newsletters on the latest in business, go here.
|
|
|
|
