NEW YORK, NY - JULY 22:  Whitney Wolfe speaks onstage during OZY FEST 2017 Presented By OZY.com at Rumsey Playfield on July 22, 2017 in New York City.  (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Ozy Fusion Fest 2017)
Cover NEW YORK, NY - JULY 22: Whitney Wolfe speaks onstage during OZY FEST 2017 Presented By OZY.com at Rumsey Playfield on July 22, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Ozy Fusion Fest 2017)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 22:  Whitney Wolfe speaks onstage during OZY FEST 2017 Presented By OZY.com at Rumsey Playfield on July 22, 2017 in New York City.  (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Ozy Fusion Fest 2017)

交友軟體Tinder近日因為紀錄片《Tinder大騙徒》登上版面,而你知道Tinder的創辦人是誰嗎?跟另一個交友軟體Bumble又有什麼故事?惠特尼·沃爾夫·赫德(Whitney Wolfe Herd)爲什麼曾成為2021年,最年輕的白手起家億萬女富翁?

1. 曾為2021年最年輕白手起家億萬女富翁

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DETROIT, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 11: Whitney Wolfe Herd speaks during the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit at Detroit Opera House on October 11, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
Above DETROIT, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 11: Whitney Wolfe Herd speaks during the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit at Detroit Opera House on October 11, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 11: Whitney Wolfe Herd speaks during the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit at Detroit Opera House on October 11, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

現年32歲、惠特尼·沃爾夫·赫德(Whitney Wolfe Herd)這位年輕的女億萬富翁是誰?她曾多次名列在《富比士》(Forbes)的榜單上,包含2021億萬富翁排行榜、2021美國白手起家的女性第21名、2022傑出青年 「30位名人堂」之一,更曾是2021年最年輕的白手起家億萬女富翁

2. 是Tinder創辦人,也是Bumble創辦人之一

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA - OCTOBER 03:  Founder and CEO of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd attends Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit 2018 at Ritz Carlton Hotel on October 3, 2018 in Laguna Niguel, California.  (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Fortune)
Above LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA - OCTOBER 03: Founder and CEO of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd attends Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit 2018 at Ritz Carlton Hotel on October 3, 2018 in Laguna Niguel, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Fortune)
LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA - OCTOBER 03:  Founder and CEO of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd attends Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit 2018 at Ritz Carlton Hotel on October 3, 2018 in Laguna Niguel, California.  (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Fortune)

根據《富比士》報導,她目前身價約9.4億美元,而她更是時下最流行的Dating App 之一:Bumble的創辦人兼CEO。不過Wolfe Herd竟然也是Tinder的創辦人之一?她成功創業的故事,更被人稱為前女友復仇的逆襲女力。這戲劇化的故事是什麼?

3. 22歲,就和前男友共同打造Tinder

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Above ILLUSTRATION - 28 April 2021, Berlin: The logo of the dating app Bumble (l) is seen on the screen of a smartphone. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa (Photo by Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images)

「往右滑是喜歡;往左滑是拒絕;往上滑,給他一個Superlike!」

這網路交友模式對千禧世代、Z世代的你我再熟悉也不過。2012年,Wolfe Herd創立了現在當今全球最紅的交友軟體App:Tinder,Wolfe Herd出生於美國猶他州鹽湖城,從小就具備商業頭腦的Wolfe Herd,在2012年她年僅22歲時,就和賈斯汀.馬廷(Justin Mateen)聯合創辦了Tinder,擔任行銷副總裁職務,而Mateen是她的上司兼前男友。

4. 從浪漫變成敵對

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ILLUSTRATION - 28 April 2021, Berlin: The logo of the dating app Bumble (l) is seen on the screen of a smartphone. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa (Photo by Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Above ILLUSTRATION - 28 April 2021, Berlin: The logo of the dating app Bumble (l) is seen on the screen of a smartphone. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa (Photo by Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images)
ILLUSTRATION - 28 April 2021, Berlin: The logo of the dating app Bumble (l) is seen on the screen of a smartphone. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa (Photo by Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images)

原以為是情侶創業的佳話,兩人卻在2014年感情生變,先是Wolfe Herd控告Mateen,稱兩人分手她遭受性騷擾與性別歧視、辱罵她並且威脅她,更貶損她的聲譽稱Wolfe Herd是「掏金女」,更揚言拿掉她共同創辦人的身分,因爲「因為擁有一位年輕的女性聯合創始人讓公司看起來像個笑話。」

5. 全新約會軟體,爲女性量身打造!

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AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 09:  Founder and CEO of Bumble Whitney Wolfe attends Bumble Presents: Empowering Connections at Fair Market on March 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas.  (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Bumble)
Above AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 09: Founder and CEO of Bumble Whitney Wolfe attends Bumble Presents: Empowering Connections at Fair Market on March 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Bumble)
AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 09:  Founder and CEO of Bumble Whitney Wolfe attends Bumble Presents: Empowering Connections at Fair Market on March 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas.  (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Bumble)

之後Wolfe Herd則轉身離開,不只揮別愛情更揮別Tinder事業,離開Tinder爲Wolfe Herd招來極大網路爭議,許多人指她作秀、只是為了爭奪Tinder的掌控權,不過Tinder最後仍私下支付100萬美元的高額和解金給Wolfe Herd,並帶著一票前Tinder員工創辦了Bumble。

Bumble承諾要量身為女性打造,提供更安全約會體驗,並得到俄羅斯富豪、歐洲交友網站Badoo創辦人Andrey Andeev的欣賞,給予千萬美元投資。

6. Bumble就是要做蜂群中的皇后!

鮮黃、亮色蜜蜂Logo,交友軟體「Bumble」取名原因由於在蜂群當中,蜂后才是受族群尊敬的主導者。Bumble最重要的設定是「只有女性可以主動出擊」,如此避免女性用戶被不感興趣的男性騷擾,同時迎合女性積極獨立、追求主導的心理,讓產品推出第一個月就有10萬多次下載量,並以不到4年時間,成為美國成長最快的社交軟體。

7. 爭鬥永不停歇

其後,2017年夏天,Tinder所屬的InterActiveCorp 旗下的 Match Group,先是看好Bumble用戶人數的快速成長,曾提出要以4.5億收購Bumble的計畫,但Bumble可沒有要被收購的打算。

2018年,Match Group更對Bumble提起訴訟,稱 Bumble 從一開始就抄襲了 Tinder的功能、包含商標或功能等雷同。Bumble當然反擊,它公開於《紐約時報》反表一篇公開信:「Bumble這間由女性創立、女性領導的公司——並不害怕激進的企業文化。」「我們不喜歡你多次試圖收購、抄襲、恐嚇我們的行為,我們永遠不會被你收購,無論價格如何,你們永遠不會損害我們的價值。

8. 交友軟體市場蓬勃發展

Tatler Asia
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 25:  Founder of Bumble Whitney Wolfe Herd (L) and Cindi Leive speak onstage for Pioneers With Purpose: Entrepreneurship and Empowerment With the Founders of Bumble and DVF during day 3 of Fast Company Innovation Festival at 92nd Street Y on October 25, 2018 in New York City.  (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Fast Company)
Above NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 25: Founder of Bumble Whitney Wolfe Herd (L) and Cindi Leive speak onstage for Pioneers With Purpose: Entrepreneurship and Empowerment With the Founders of Bumble and DVF during day 3 of Fast Company Innovation Festival at 92nd Street Y on October 25, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Fast Company)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 25:  Founder of Bumble Whitney Wolfe Herd (L) and Cindi Leive speak onstage for Pioneers With Purpose: Entrepreneurship and Empowerment With the Founders of Bumble and DVF during day 3 of Fast Company Innovation Festival at 92nd Street Y on October 25, 2018 in New York City.  (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Fast Company)

在2021年Bumble成功在首次IPO(首次公開募股)後,隨著股價不斷飆漲,曾讓當時公司價值推到130億美元(約新台幣3640億元)。而據統計,對比下載量Bumble 2021年達到約2160萬次,比2020年增長了19%、Tinder的全球安裝量則是在2021年統計約為7620萬次,2021年交友軟體的年下載量為2.6億。

9. Wolfe Herd持續為女性權益奮鬥

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NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 23:  Whitney Wolfe Herd attends the 2019 Time 100 Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2019 in New York City.  (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)
Above NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 23: Whitney Wolfe Herd attends the 2019 Time 100 Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 23:  Whitney Wolfe Herd attends the 2019 Time 100 Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2019 in New York City.  (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)

雖然想打敗Tinder仍有一段距離,不過隨著交友軟體市場的競爭,用戶慣用習慣與喜好不同,每個App各有擁護者。

而Bumble的發展也非一帆風順,《富比士》也報導了Bumble股價下跌的危機。縱然和Tinder有著千絲萬縷般複雜的「交友軟體大車拼」戲碼,Wolfe Herd仍持續為了女性權益,創立嶄新事業與提升女性用戶體驗而努力著。

 

 

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Ollie Lin
Associate Director, Digital and Beauty Managing Editor, Tatler Taiwan
Tatler Asia

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Tatler Taiwan 的數位副總監(Associate Director, Digital and Beauty Managing Editor)將躍於紙上故事以數位、影音媒介呈現,希望生活中一些觸動心底的感動也能傳遞給讀者。

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Tatler Taiwan 數位社群內容策略,擅於美妝保養專題、汽車、藝文、電影、人物報導與影音製作。

聯繫方式:Ollie.lin@tatlerasia.com/IG:ollielnnn