The video showcases an engaging conversation between two renowned female entrepreneurs, Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of Bumble, and Katrina Lake, founder and CEO of Stitch Fix. Held as part of a fireside chat at an event, the dialogue highlights their journeys in building successful companies and the unique challenges they faced, especially as women in the entrepreneurial and tech spaces. The discussion also emphasizes resilience, leadership, and the role of innovation in overcoming hurdles.

This fireside chat stands out as an inspiring session where both women discuss the essence of staying true to their mission and how that helps navigate the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Whitney shares the impact of creating Bumble as a platform that empowers women, while Katrina reflects on the importance of having a support system, both personally and professionally. They touch on their motivations and experiences in leading their companies, including taking them public and the implications.

Key takeaways from the discussion include:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. antiquated [ˈæntɪkweɪtɪd] - (adjective) - Old-fashioned or outdated. - Synonyms: (outmoded, obsolete, archaic)

In 2014, Wolf Heard launched Bumble to challenge the antiquated rules of dating and create a space where people can find healthy and equitable relationships.

2. adjacencies [əˈʤeɪsənsiz] - (noun) - The quality or state of being adjacent; things that are next to each other. - Synonyms: (proximity, nearness, closeness)

There's such an opportunity. I mean, I get tagged in bumble weddings. I love repost those. And it's like, you know, the wedding planners are integrating bumble into all their weddings. And so there's just a lot of different adjacencies.

3. empower [ɪmˈpaʊər] - (verb) - To give someone the authority or power to do something. - Synonyms: (authorize, enable, permit)

It's like I said, ooh, women in dating. Like, we matter, too. And that was, like, a shocking discovery. Like, we had, like, discovered some rare earth mineralization.

4. resilience [rɪˈzɪliəns] - (noun) - The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. - Synonyms: (fortitude, endurance, perseverance)

I think, like, you know, both of us have had a lot of challenging moments, and I think resilience is, you know, one of the attributes that helps entrepreneurs to get to where we are.

5. iteration [ˌɪtəˈreɪʃən] - (noun) - The repetition of a process or utterance. - Synonyms: (repetition, version, renewal)

I think 2023 is about what's the next iteration of that, beyond this kind of binary women go first product offering and furthering our efforts around legislation.

6. equitable [ˈɛkwɪtəbəl] - (adjective) - Fair and impartial. - Synonyms: (just, unbiased, fair-minded)

In 2014, Wolf Heard launched Bumble to challenge the antiquated rules of dating and create a space where people can find healthy and equitable relationships.

7. viability [ˌvaɪəˈbɪlɪti] - (noun) - The ability to work successfully. - Synonyms: (feasibility, practicability, sustainability)

I think this will be the beginning of kind of a broader decision making process that we run, which is, if it's not kind connections, just don't do it.

8. macro [ˈmækroʊ] - (adjective) - Large-scale; overall. - Synonyms: (general, large, comprehensive)

So almost like using the tragic moments macro or granular kind of as it pertains just to our business as moments for innovation and for doing things better and progressing.

9. mentorship [ˈmentɔːrˌʃɪp] - (noun) - The guidance provided by a mentor, especially an experienced person in a company or educational institution. - Synonyms: (coaching, guidance, counseling)

And with Wim and Samina, who's going to be coming out in a second, I mean, there was a lot that went in behind the scenes, but most of all, I want to thank Whitney and Katrina for taking time out of their schedule to be with us today.

10. accountability [əˌkaʊntəˈbɪlɪti] - (noun) - The fact or condition of being responsible; answerability. - Synonyms: (responsibility, liability, obligation)

So I think if you can imagine the innovation around those two opportunities, I think that's the next level of everything. So pro social behavior, a lot of more accountability, safety kind of women first approach, but in a way that feels more personal than just a photo.

Whitney Wolfe, Founder and CEO of Bumble and Co-Founder of Tinder

It's great to see everybody come out. This is an amazing event. We have Whitney, Wolf heard and Katrina Lake. We're gonna do a fireside chat and then we'll do about 20 minutes or so of Q and A. Just a couple people I wanna thank. I wanna thank the bumble team, Caroline, Sam and Laura, for all the work you all put into making this event happen. And then this is a co sponsored event with the entrepreneurship club. And Rama spent so much time on this, so thank you. And with Wim and Samina, who's going to be coming out in a second, I mean, there was a lot that went in behind the scenes, but most of all, I want to thank Whitney and Katrina for taking time out of their schedule to be with us today. Every time I hear either one of them speak, I get so inspired. And Whitney was in class today and it was amazing. So really looking forward to today. And with that, I'll introduce Samina, who's going to give the bios of our guests. Hi, everyone. Whitney Wolf heard is a founder and CEO of Bumble, the parent company that operates Badu fruits and Bumble, three of the world's fastest growing dating apps worldwide. In 2014, Wolf Heard launched Bumble to challenge the antiquated rules of dating and create a space where people can find healthy and equitable relationships.

Bumble is the only dating app where women make the first move. The company launched Bumble BFF in 2016 for friendship finding and launched Bumble Biz for professional networking 2017. In January 2020, Wolf Heard welcomed Blackstone as Bumble's new majority owner with a shared vision of growth for Baidu and Bumble. In 2021, Wolf heard led Bumble's IPO as youngest woman ever to take a company public. Wolf Heard has previously been named to Time magazine's 100 most influential people, Forbes 30 under 30, the Bloomberg 50, and installs 50 women who are changing the world. She's been featured on the COVID of Fast Company, Forbes and Wire, and in 2021, Bumble was named as one of Apple's apps of the year. She's currently on the board of directors of Imagine entertainment and on the executive order for alma mater Smu. Please join me in welcoming Whitney Wolford. Moderating this fireside chat, we have Katrina Lake, a dear friend of Whitney, Stanford and Wim. Many of you may recognize Katrina, who is a keynote speaker at Wim's banquet last year. We are so happy to have her back. Katrina is a successful entrepreneur, best known as the founder and CEO of Stitch Fix, an online personal styling service revolutionizing the way people shop.

Lake founded Stitch Fix in 2011 and took the company public in 2017 at age 34. It's not often we have two successful entrepreneurs on the stage at once, let alone two trailblazing women who also happen to both be friends, partners, and mothers. Please join me in welcoming Katrina. All right. Hi, everybody. It's great to be back, and it's great to welcome Whitney. We were just talking about Stanford. She was asking me what years I was here, and I feel like this is, like, my happiest place on earth. So I'm very happy to be here and very happy to be here with Whitney. Whitney and I are good friends. We were just talking about how we need to have some cocktails and talk about our kids in the public markets and all that good stuff. And it's really. It's meant so much to me. A lot of this job as an entrepreneur, as public company CEO is. It's really hard. And to be able to have somebody like Whitney, to be able to call and cry to and, like, text late at night and complain to has, like, meant the world to me. So I feel really just appreciative to have you in my life, Whitney. Thank you. Well, I feel the same way about you. So, Katrina, when we were going public, was so incredibly supportive, so helpful, so inspiring.

You know, she kind of passed the baton to me, and you were just so warm and welcoming. And I think a lot of people don't fully appreciate how these bonds behind these companies really keep us afloat. Right. And so everything you said, thank you. I echo that and very excited to be here. I did not and would never have gotten into Stanford, so this is a very important day for me, unlike Katrina, who was very much a student here. But thank you for having us many, many years ago. All right, I have this list of questions. Whitney just said I can ask her anything, so get after it. So I'll try to stick to the script, and we will have time for Q and a later. Definitely kind of noodle on questions that you might have. I mean, maybe at a high level. I think, like, you know, both of us have had a lot of challenging moments, and I think resilience is, you know, one of the attributes that helps entrepreneurs to get to where we are. And so maybe it would be helpful to kind of share a couple of those moments of what were some of the hard ones and what was kind of the resilience that got you through it.

Yeah. No, I think, you know better than anybody what goes into getting a company to where we've gotten our businesses to today, and there are more, more lows than highs, candidly, as you know. But what really keeps us going, I think, is our mission and our customers and our teams. You know, when you and I spoke, when I was going public, you had so much good insight and so much, you know, kind of great advice. And you just said, keep that game time spirit. Like, keep your team happy. Just make sure your team feels supported. And I think that has been fuel for me, too. When there's days I'm like, I'm out of here. What am I doing? I can't. Then I just think about everybody else and the people we're serving, and you just take a deep breath. Right. You have three little boys. I don't know how you do that. I have two little boys, and I'm confused how I'm doing that. Also, our boys are friends. Yeah. It's really all about Bobby this week. It's very cute. We still have one of Bobby's trucks, actually. Oh, you do? When you return it, yeah. Oh, wow. That's very good parenting, by the way. Holding them accountable. I like it.

No, but I think, how have you done it? I mean, it's like we just kind of go day by day, right? I mean, it's the only way you can do it 1ft in front of the next. I mean, maybe that's not on the list, but, I mean, I'd love to hear just what you're being a CEO is such a lonely job. And to your point, there are so many times when you have to get the team. You want the team to be focused, the team to be optimistic, and the team to be in one place while your head can be in another. How do you navigate that element of the job that can be so lonely? Yeah. Well, I don't know if you would agree with this, but I actually do equate it to parenting. It's very similar. There's days when you're parenting and you don't have the answers. You, too want to go take a nap and you're very stressed, but you have to kind of put a brave face on and think about how you're showing up for, in that instance, children. But in our teams, for everybody else, and so there have been so many days where I didn't know if we were going to make it through. You know, some crazy thing comes out of left field. And candidly, I'm terrified in that moment or I don't know the right answer, but I think kind of just taking a deep breath and reminding ourselves, like, you know, what can go well from here? Like, how do we just find our way out of this? And, you know, you and I were just talking about this.

It's like, there's always a way out. There's always a path through. And so I think just focusing on, you know, what are the solutions? Like, what's the choice a and choice b to get out of here? Yeah, maybe. One question around, just, like, both of us were raising money at a time that, unfortunately is still true, where I think it was much more difficult for women to raise money than men. And the dynamics, unfortunately, haven't shifted a lot. I think even last year, the data I have here is that women were still only 1.9% of overall funding last year, which is, you know, the year 2022. So, you know, in what ways? You know, in what ways do you feel like the dynamic is? I don't know. What is my question here? Like, it's super disappointing, obviously. Like, what are some of the things that you feel like are disappointing about it? And maybe on the flip side, like, what are some of the things that, like, give you optimism, give you hope? Like, you know, kind of help us to, I don't know, see the bigger picture and be able to not be so sad about that? Well, it is scary when you look at the statistics.

Another scary statistic is that you were the youngest woman to ever take a company public. You waited several years, and then I became the youngest woman to ever take a company public. And I'm still waiting to do what you did, which was kind of pass the torch. And it makes me sad that I'm still waiting. I'm like, where is that next woman that I can say? Maybe right here in this room, probably most likely. And so, like, hurry up. Come on, guys. I do think that's just a testament to where we're at. Like, things are moving slower than we would like, I do think that there is a shifting narrative around the woman customer, and that means money is going to change. I think for the first time in my career, I've seen people start to kind of raise the flag on women's health matters. And fertility is a really challenging journey for so many women in the menopause market. So there's all these markets that people are, like, discovering, but they've all been here in front of our face. And so I think this is kind of what happened to me with bumble. It's like I said, ooh, women in dating. Like, we matter, too. And that was, like, a shocking discovery. Like, we had, like, discovered some rare earth mineralization.

I think that the more that this starts to shift, the more money should start to change hands. So I'm hopeful that with the emergence of femtech and kind of all of the needs around the woman customer will hopefully diversify money going to those products. And candidly, it's businesses like yours and like mine that set the stage for investors, too. Oh, wow. There was money. You know, I can't tell you how many investors texted me the day we were going public saying, hey, like, how do I get in on your DSP? Or, like, you know, be able to get in before the thing happens. I said, believe in me three and a half years ago when I told you about this idea, and you didn't think it was good, that's how. So, you know, I think we just have to have more positive examples as well. Yeah. And that's a good segue to, like, I used to have journalists who, like, told me, I was like, is this a compliment? They would be like, oh. I would ask people, which company did you totally miss on? And the one that I heard most often was stitch fix. I was like, okay, cool. The company most passed on out there. Oh, no. But it's interesting.

But in some ways, it's interesting because you say also that you are underestimated. People didn't see it, and so many people in this room may end up becoming investors. What advice do you have for them? Think different. Right. We have to challenge the way we see something in order to actually be willing to see it. If that made any sense, that was, like, a weird riddle. That was not supposed to happen that way. But the point is, if we just look at everything that came before, there's no way to see anything beyond that. And so I think Bumble was an example of that because there were so many dating apps out there, and everyone was like, this market's too saturated. There's no way. How could it? But we were looking at the woman's view, the woman's lens. And so I think the more we kind of chase the feminine, just from a tech standpoint. Right. It's been such a. It's just been such a. I don't even mean male dominated, just in terms of workforce or in terms of capital. I think the products, the consumer brands themselves, have been so oriented, just without even thinking about a broader lens or inclusivity or diversity. And I think the more we can kind of bridge that gap, I think the environment will change. Yeah, totally. And I would extend that. Yeah, I think. And you just said it, too, around, like, it's. I think there's so many groups that are underrepresented in terms of decision makers, and I think any place that, like, there's an advantage in being able to have a better pulse on what people want and have a better pulse on the true demographics of who consumers are. And so hopefully we'll see more of that come to life.

I do think, though, leaning into being underestimated can actually be so, so, so beneficial. It gives you the opportunity to kind of, like, fly under the radar. Competitors don't put spend into, you know, stifling your growth, and people aren't watching you. And when you're not being watched and you're not being, you know, kind of analyzed, then you get to just run. And I think that that was something that probably happened to you as well. But with us, people kind of just laughed at us for so long that I don't think they saw us as a real threat. And by the time we were a visible threat, it was, the horse had left the barn. It was just too late. And so I think there is something about being underestimated, and I like it. I actually think it's great. And it gives you something. I don't want to say, operate to prove people wrong. That's not the point. It does drive me on a personal level. When people tell me no, I'm like, oh, really? And so it's motivating. You know, it's exciting to go and do it differently. Speaking of visible, maybe, like, going public, like, how did you arrive at the decision to go public? How has that journey been? What? How have things changed since being public? I could ask you the same thing. I think you and I probably arrived at the decision to go public in similar ways. I would assume. I think when you scale a company to a certain point of revenue and to a certain growth rate, you know, you've got very few choices. Right. As you and I were discussing, it's like, do you raise more money? Do you sell some of the company, or do you bring the public along in your journey? And for me, on a personal level, I was just saying this in Graham's class before this, that I think it's exciting to be able to invite the customer along with your company, right? Not just to, like, be a member of Bumble, which, by the way, I'm gonna pull this room. I hope everybody here either is on Bumble or will be in the next hour.

So that's an expectation I have here. But I think it's exciting to bring the public along on your journey. I mean, if people, this is so funny. The year we went public, we went public on the 11th. So just shy of Valentine's Day, we saw all of these tweets of people saying, like, I don't want chocolates this year for Valentine's Day. I want bumble stock. And it was like, for the people that they had met on Bumble. And so I just thought that was cute, that, you know, anybody can be involved and be a part of the entrepreneurial journey to some degree. I thought that was exciting. Yeah. I don't know if I feel the same way two years later. Right. So what are some of the downsides? What are hard? I mean, we could talk about this for the whole hour. So you don't need to list all the things I think you know very well. You know, ramping up for earnings calls every 90 days is, it's just a week of your life that you don't get to focus on the company and meetings that you really wanted to have about new product or new marketing initiatives or whatever you've got going on, those have to get pushed and you have to just, like, get so focused and so in the zone. So there's something exciting about that. And I kind of love it. But then on the flip side, it is, you know, it's just this beat that, like, kind of controls your cadence a bit. How do you feel? Yeah, I think it's, and I mean, I also think that, like, what you said earlier around, like, you know, when you're under the radar and you can just, like, run, I miss that a little bit, too, because I think it's harder to, there are a lot of ways in which it's harder to take risks when you're public.

It's not impossible, but it's just harder. You can bring your investors along and you can do all those things, but some of it is regulatory, and some of it is actually just like, you're making commitments every single quarter on what you're going to do. And innovation doesn't move at a super predictable quarterly pace, so for sure. And there's not a lot of room for anything to go wrong, like wars breaking out or all of these circumstances that pandemics. You know, there's so many macro, you know, factors that I think that's another thing for us to worry about at night. And that becomes probably more stressful in a public company than in a private one. Yeah. And how have you found just kind of leading a company in this year, wherever in the last. I mean, what, four years, right, where suddenly in the workplace, we're talking about racial justice. We're talking about. I mean, we're talking about women's rights. We're talking about war. We're talking about, you know, people's health and safety with COVID Like, what. How has this leadership journey been over the last four years? I would say that every year has its own crazy curveball, right? But I think, for me, I am trying to see all of these circumstances as opportunities for growth. Right. You can either be stressed out by it all and underwater, or you can be like, oh, it's another big wave. Like, let's just figure out how to ride it and make it work and keep everyone safe and happy.

So that's the only perspective shift I I can really think of that will make this exciting and invigorating and a growth opportunity versus just getting hit by something new every single day. And so I really think I've tried to just train myself on perspective, because whether it's Covid or the Ukraine war or if it's, you know, even on a more granular level with our business, the very unfortunate reality of being in a business that connects people is for every amazing success story we have, you read something that makes you sick. And that could quite literally bring me to my knees every day. Or I can say, okay, here's a learning. Here's a new product feature we can engineer to prevent this particular situation from happening again. So almost like using the tragic moments macro or granular kind of as it pertains just to our business as moments for innovation and for doing things better and progressing. Yep. That's all you can do. Love it. And maybe in terms of just like, bumble, one of the things that I've loved about Bumble is I feel like it's like, it's not just an app. I feel like it's a brand, and it means something, and I love that. It also, I feel like, beyond just, you know, kind of connections and dating, that it's also, like, stood for female friendship.

And I feel like, in some ways, it's kind of like I see it as an extension of your personality. But, like, I mean, can you talk a little bit about just, you know, how. Yeah. Like, how you think about Bumble as a brand, how you think about how you can bring it to life in terms of a mission and something that people wake up for every day that's not just about the tactical one thing in the app. Right. Well, and I feel about stitch fix with you it's interesting. I think there really is DNA from founders, founding teams, the people that are so intimately involved in birthing these products. You kind of can see, you know, it's almost like, you know, they say dogs start to look like they're owners. It's like these products start to kind of morph into whoever is leading them. And so I try to, when we're, you know, doing our brand building and when we're launching BFF or when we're launching these new initiatives, I really do try to put an extreme emphasis with the creative teams behind it to be very careful about how it's showing up in the world. Is it kind connections? Is it our mission? Is it our values? Because Bumble has always, from day one, been more than just a dating app. In my mind, personally, from the very first moment, Bumble was kind of agreed to be built or created even under a different name. It wasn't even bumble at the time.

It stood for something bigger than what even it is today. I still think there's such Runway, and I think there's a message here for anyone that does want to start a company. Don't just think about, like you said, the tactical, like, okay, the product works this way, a, b, and c. It's like, who is this person? If this product was a person, who are they? Do they make you feel good about yourself? Do they leave positivity everywhere they go? Or is it negative? Is it toxic? Or is it kind, is it safe? Or is it dangerous? And, you know, I just really think companies have personalities and spirits and there's, like, a soul to these brands, and so be thoughtful about it. Right. I was obsessed with every little detail of the branding on day one because that stuff matters. It's like the code of its existence for the next, however many, hopefully dozens and dozens of years to follow. I love it. I love that notion of. I don't know if I thought about it that way of, like, if this were a person, what would it be like? I love that. Are there examples, like, tactical examples, I guess, of just, like, as an example at stitch fix? Like, I feel like we would try to say, like, let's look at everything through the lens of our values. Just maybe a slightly different take, but it's like, how would performance reviews be done differently? Or how would this be done differently? And, like, what are some of those for Bumble? What are the things that, like, you know, that you do things in a way that, like, only bumble could do it? Yeah.

So I. Our tagline at our ink level is kind connections. And I, to your point, I think asking ourselves a new product feature or a new marketing campaign, is this kind connection? Is it actually that, or is it something else that we're trying to make fit here? And I do think this will be the beginning of kind of a broader decision making process that we run, which is, if it's not kind connections, just don't do it. And anybody here can apply that to any business they start, whether it's, you know, quite literally, it could be any business in the world having that simplistic, whether it's a mission or a tagline or an ethos, whatever you're going to subscribe to and just say, is it actually this right? Is it actually organic? Is it actually x, y, or z? And so I think it's really important. And to your point, you probably make changes all the time. You're like, oh, wait, this isn't in line with our values, or this could be more in line with our values, and it kind of keeps you on the track. Totally. And I love that. I mean, you're even trying to figure out what you're not going to do, I feel like is actually one of the hardest parts of, like, being an entrepreneur and someone who has lots of ideas and lots of exciting things. And so I love even using it as, like, okay, like, let's use this as a lens to figure out what we're not going to do. Yes. Yes. I think process of elimination through mission, through who you want to be, is really strong because I think you and I are in very similar boats when we have this type of scale.

The world is literally your oyster. You can work with anyone. You can team up with any brand. You have access beyond, you know, our early founding wildest imagination. And so I think when you're starting your company, it's like, what can we do? What can we do? We'll do anything. We'll take anything that we can get. And now it's really about being extremely protective and very, very precise about what not to do. Right. Because the to do stuff will just run a huge list. Totally. And on the to do side, I mean, what are some of the things that you're working on that you're excited about, things that you want everybody to sign up for besides just signing up for Bumble in general. So I was very sad in the last class that we were just in, I asked everybody who had a bumble profile, and it was not as many people as I would have liked. So how many people in this room are on Bumble. Okay, this is better still, broadly anchored over here. So I'm not sure if they're doing this to be polite, because they're closer to me, but everybody needs to download Bumble and bumble BFF. Right, Beth? So, Bumble BFF, for those of you that are not looking for romantic connections, friendship is something we all need. And that really is a big focus of mine in 2023. I think everybody here, probably on a personal level or on a more macro level, understands how serious loneliness is right now. I think we've seen the devastating reports that, you know, teen girls, one in three of them, have had very serious mental health struggles with social media and all of that.

So I think my 2023, the things I'm excited about, to the point that you were just talking about, is what is kind connections? How does that come to life further? So how do we. Safety by design. Every single thing in our product. I mean, there should not be one thing that we do at bumble that is not safety by design, inclusivity by design. The gender conversation is huge for us. I mean, think about it. We started a company where women make the first move. This was in 2014, when MeToo had not happened. Times up had not happened. There was no conversation around gender. It was really early. And so I think 2023 is about what's the next iteration of that, beyond this kind of binary women go first product offering and furthering our efforts around legislation. So in 2019, we passed our first law, which makes sending unsolicited lewd images illegal. It's now actually illegal in California, Texas, several other states, and we're working on the federal version of that. So, also, looking at AI, right, AI is happening. It's going to be a bigger part of our business. I'm sure it's a huge part of your business already. How do we keep that from being harmful towards women and marginalized communities? And so really just being obsessed with engineering kind connections into everything we do, and then, you know, really making sure that bumble BFF scales into this friendship space that we think is enormous and a lot of other things, but trying to stay sane. Yeah, I love that.

No, I think, I mean, this. I love the concept of investing in friendship, and I think it is such. In this moment in time. It's like, it's always important, but it's just, like, more important than ever. And who better to lead it than you? You better delete it, probably. But no, we're doing the best we can every day, and I'm actually very curious about AI. In your world. I like how you're trying to turn the tables here. You're on the monologue. This is a conversation. This is not a monologue. So I'm actually very curious about AI. Has that already been a huge piece of how you serve? You know? Yeah, I mean, it's so interesting because I. Yeah, like, it has. So many people now are talking about just from chat, GBT and generative AI, and just like so many people now are talking about, like, in our world, everybody's talking about, well, what's your AI strategy? And whatever? And, I mean, it's interesting because stitch fix, in some ways, has been an AI strategy since the beginning. We have a stylist. It's like a, you know, and now there's, like, more formal words for all of these, but it's like, you know, human in the loop with AI and machine learning. And so that's always been what we've done.

And so it's interesting because in some ways, it commoditizes what we've been, what we consider to be one of our core capabilities. And so in some ways, that can be a little scary, I guess. But on the other side, it's actually really exciting because it suddenly just makes, like, so much. We spent, you know, we had 150 data scientists working on things that now you could just kind of plug and play and use efficiency. It's more efficient. And I think that the valuable thing is the data set, which you guys have, too, right? Like, I think you can, it's garbage in, garbage out with data. Like, you know, a model needs a data set that's really actionable and really accurate and helpful. And so, like, we still have this proprietary data set, and we've already built a lot of things on it. And I think actually, a lot of what's happening in AI now is actually going to help us to, like, move faster, I think, in some ways. But it's interesting because there are things like, we already had a guided stylist note, so the stylist could, so we could help the stylists with memory as an example, where it's hard if a stylist is working with the same client for a long time to remember something that happened nine fixes ago, and we can surface that kind of stuff. And so we had already kind of started doing some things like that, that now I think in some cases, we don't have to homegrown all of the AI development that we've been doing and that we can plug in.

But it's interesting, it's a very interesting conversation that we have because like now. And one thing on the public side that's actually really helpful is that I do feel like there are times when there are people in the public markets who would kind of be like these 150 data scientists, like, but what do they really do? Does this really help your business or not? And like now people like get it. And so that's so, you know, so largely, I think it benefits our business and it's really exciting that I think something we've been excited about for eleven years is like now something that the general public's excited about. Yeah, I think it's very validating. And also your brand is front and center with this. So I actually think there's an opportunity for the public to actually understand what stitch fix power and superpower is in a more tangible way because to the average consumer out there, AI would have been such foreign language last year. And so I think this is probably really helpful. It's interesting, in addition to AI, what are some of the other, like really big picture themes of things that you're seeing that are kind of changing the business landscape or things that you're thinking about in terms of the long term strategy of Bumble? So I think we think about our business in kind of three key buckets, which is our dating products, right? So that's bumble date, the one that you all know and will have on your phone today.

So that's that product, fruits, Baidu. And then our next bucket is really kind of builder buy strategy. So what is out there that we could buy that is, you know, additive to the relationship environment, not even just a core dating product, but what extends that user lifecycle, what adds back to the bumble ecosystem? And then the third category is really kind of this foray beyond love. So Bumblebeeff is our prime example. Biz is still there, but it's kind of taking a backseat to BFF at the moment. And then really anything that we can kind of use around kind connections but platonically, and you can imagine that can extend into a lot of different verticals, but I think really just being obsessed with our customer and letting them lead us as well. I think there's a huge opportunity around breakups. You know, a lot of people come back to bumble after they've gone through something tough. So how can bumble have your back? Not necessarily AI necessarily start to finish, but have this kind of kind be bot of sorts that can have your back through all of your relationships, right? Through finding friends, through navigating nights out with your friends to going on first dates, to making your profile better after you've gone through a breakup and you're feeling a little insecure all the way to finding your business opportunities and maybe, you know, starting your company and then the kind of the next step.

So what can we do with success stories? There's such an opportunity. I mean, I get tagged in bumble weddings. I love repost those. And it's like, you know, the wedding planners are integrating bumble into all their weddings. And so there's just a lot of different adjacencies. And I think it's a good message for anybody that wants to start a business, is what's the LTV of your customer? And where can you go with your customer beyond your core offering? Because sometimes, maybe ten years from now, that will be more interesting than our core dating product. Who knows? Yeah. Okay. I see Graham up here hovering. Are you cutting us off? We'll move to Q and A. So if you have a question, raise your hand. We have a number of runners who are going to run the mics, too, but before we do that, let's give Whitney and Christina the one. Thank you. We're the best. Where's our mic runners? Okay. There you go. All right. Thank you so much for speaking with us. It's really a privilege to hear from someone who's just had such an impact on advancing equality for women. So, question for you. What do you think the next phase of dating will look like, and how do you think it's going to impact gender dynamics between men and women? Great question. So I think we are in the swipe era right now. Right? So when I somehow landed in this dating land, we were in the match eharmony era, where you, in order to online date, you had to be a certain degree of creepy at that point, perceived as perceived by society standards, and you had to fill out crazy forms, digital forms, like, you had to essentially hand over your blood type to figure it out.

And then when we launched Tinder, it kind of threw all of that out the window and was like, who's right here around you? You get to see photos and you say yes or no. And we all saw the consequences, good and bad, of that. And then when I launched bumble, it was really like, wait a second. And even through all of these dating phases, the woman has been completely ignored in all of this. And women are treated like second rate citizens offline and online in the digital dating and offline dating world. So it was all about women. And now I think we're moving into this space of people really wanting to connect beyond just looks and want to, people want to have that magic moment, that lockeye momentous. But I don't think we're going to get rid of our phones, and I don't think we're going to go back to, you know, just waiting for that perfect person to sliding doors style walk in front of us. So I think it's going to be a hybrid of how do we make online dating more trusted, safer, more accountable? And two, how do we let people's personality and kind of intangible beyond a screen shine through? And so I think if you can imagine the innovation around those two opportunities, I think that's the next level of everything. So pro social behavior, a lot of more accountability, safety kind of women first approach, but in a way that feels more personal than just a photo.

Sorry, that's probably really vague, but that's all I can tell you. Thank you both so much for your time. Whitney, you have spoken earlier about how when people underestimate you, you use that as an opportunity. In previous interviews, you had also talked about how when you receive a no. Rather than being disappointed, you use that to be motivated. What are ways that you've trained your mind to have this type of positive grit when facing rejection? Ooh, great question. You know, I think it's very simple. You have to believe in yourself. You have to. Even when others are unwilling to, and even when you struggle to do it, it has to start with you. It's so easy for everyone around you to dismiss you. So we have to be our own biggest advocate. We have to. And it's funny, you know, I'm in this business of relationships, but candidly, the most important relationship we've got is the one with ourselves. And so, you know, let everybody around you tell you no, let everybody around you not believe in you. That's okay if you become so strong in yourself, which, by the way, I'm not always strong in myself. Right? Like, there are days where I have zero belief in myself, but that's part of it. You have to have compassion as well for those feelings.

So I think it all starts with just believing in yourself and letting you know, let everybody else follow. That's what makes a real innovator. And so I think you just got to let everybody do their own thing. You can't control them. Only you. Hi. Thank you so much for coming in and speaking with us. I'm Emily. Hi. I really loved what you said about how the business is the people and how you craft, like a personality for Bumble. I'm curious how you came up with your strategy for hiring and specifically maybe young talent, the people right at the beginning that were making bumble what it would be. And now also after going public and obviously managing so many people who make a bumble. Yeah, great question. So I think early on, and not to make her feel awkward, because she will feel awkward when I do this, but Caroline, who's in the front row, she is my first hire ever at Bumble. So she's a big part of the DNA of the company. And I think when I met Caroline, I could see values and attributes in her that I would want to see in the company. Kind, thoughtful, hardworking. She was just kind of the perfect blend of a good human, and so I really tried to just look for good humans that had potential.

So, actually, it's interesting. A lot of the folks that I hired early on, they would not have gotten jobs off of LinkedIn. Like, no one would have hired them based on a series of just random criteria. But, my God, when you spoke to them and when you just got in their mind for two minutes, you're like, you have so much potential. So I think really looking for potential beyond just resume is so important early on. But you need a hybrid, right? You have to have the resume for a lot of these real kind of more structured roles, whether it's legal or finance, whatever. And then as you scale, I think you don't want to swing the pendulum 100% one way or another. You know, it's still really important to me that we hire people that bring the magic, even if they're not, you know, 30 years tenured at 20 amazing companies. Like, you need a blend. And so I think, you know, you just have to kind of deal with the needs of the business as it goes. I mean, Katrina, I'm sure you've had dealt with this all along. I mean, you have to have. You have to strike that right balance, because too many professional people will kill the magic. This is the truth. Too many smart people ruin things. No, seriously, you have to have some people that are willing to just operate off of a gut, and then you need the really smart people to keep them in check. I don't know who's calling on who. I. It's me.

I'm going to ask a question. Thank you so much for being here today. And my question is two parts. So who are some of the mentors or the role models that you looked up to when you first started your bumble journey? And my second question is now, as a successful entrepreneur, what are some ways in which you're supporting or bringing in more women into the tech and business space? So Katrina, and I know that's like an easy thing to point to, the person asking you questions, but no, really, truly, Katrina was the role model for me. I mean, reading your articles, seeing your stories, like, I could do it because you did it. And you did it in such a way that I was like, oh, my God, I'm inspired. It makes you want to run faster. You have to have a role model to be able to make it. You know, you have to. And the sad reality is, as much as I'd love to say there was 1000 katrinas, there wasn't. I mean, you were the one and only. And so, you know, Katrina, still to this day, you still are my role model. I'm, like, very, you know, shocked that I get to be on a stage with you. I mean that sincerely. Like, I really admire you and I think you've been an incredible example of giving back because she did not have to take my call when we were going public. She did not have to respond to me. She's busy a lot going on.

But you were so willing to, and you were so humble and so generous with your time. And I think that's something I would like to be better about because I get caught up in the, like, I have all these high priorities in the day and I have these kids that need me. Like, I don't have time for 15 minutes with this person trying to start a company and I have to stop doing that. And I'm really trying to get into, actually have carved out one day a month on a Friday where it's a free day, but it's not a free day for me. It's a free day for people that want mentoring. You do a sensational job of this, she does on her instagram. You should all follow along. But I do think, like, you just have to make time because it's easy, once you've made it past these hurdles, to just, like, keep going forward. And I think you have to continue to go backwards to help the next people along the way. So thank you for inspiring me to do that and I'm going to do a better job of that. Well, it goes both ways. And, I mean, I so admire everything you've done. And it's funny because now I feel like you were calling me about public. Now I call you Bill Gurley. On my board recently, I told Whitney this, like, sent me their earnings call and was like, you should listen to this. And these are all the things that I thought were awesome about it that you should borrow.

And so it's really cool to have the table turned. And the one thing I would just add to it, just because I do feel like the public narrative around it is so different, is that, like, my experience of the women that we get to reach out to and connect with as mentors is that it is like 1000% people helping each other. And I feel like there's this kind of, like, nasty narrative around, like, women being super competitive or blah, blah, blah, that, like, I feel really lucky that I haven't experienced. And I really do think, like, you know, we all, I felt so supported and so felt like people are going above and beyond. And I know you feel like it never feels like it's enough, but just know that, like, you know, I know that you've given back in those ways, too. And I do, like, I think it is one really special part about kind of the community that we get to be part of, albeit it's way too small. But I do feel like it's one that, like, I really appreciated how supportive people have been. Power of female friendship. It's really important. No, I agree with you. I think. I think that's absolutely right. Hi, I'm Shane. Thanks so much for coming. I'm right here. Sorry. Oh, my God, these lights are blaring. I can't see where anything. I'm curious. I think some would say that something that's really unique about your product is if you do your job really well, then potentially you would be on the app for a short period of time, which I know not every relationship is like that, but let's say in a typical one.

So I just wonder how you think about that. Problem of success means that actually potentially less engagement. Yeah. Honestly, a fantastic question. It's the first question that every investor asked me when we were going public. So the day we were wire framing bumble, I wrote several words on a board, but one of them was churn. And Churn is a guaranteed part of a dating app. You're going to have churn. But how could we tweak this and make it super positive? And how can we turn churn into our marketing engine? So beforehand, if you met on a dating app, people were like, we can lie and say we met at a coffee shop. So I wanted to make sure that that was not the case. And so if you met on Bumble, that became the best marketing for us. So now at a wedding, if there's bumble stuff everywhere because they met on Bumble. Like, I can't pay to get into your wedding. Like, I don't know how to do that from a marketing perspective. And it happens all the time. It's amazing. And so this churn, actually, you lose one to gain five because, yes, you lost a match because they met each other and they had such a great time, and now they're never going to use the dating app again. But now they've told all their friends and they validated it in their micro communities, which is super powerful. The second piece of that is the LTV story around Bumble, the brand.

We were kind of talking about that earlier, bumble, BFF, these adjacencies, being in your yoga class on the yoga mat. I mean, why would a dating app do that so particular about this? And we just broke through the rules of what we were told we could do for our category because candidly, like, love is all we've got, right? And relationships and the health of those is all we've got. So I feel like we have permission to play anywhere. That's how I personally feel. But I might be a crazy lady, so who knows? We have time for one more question. Hi, there. Oh, is this okay? Hi, my name is Zoe, and I'm a bumble honey for campus. And thank you so much for talking. My mom's also, like, a huge super fan, so, like, right now, she was like. She was like. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I guess my main question for you is, what does bumble mean to you? And, like, on a more personal note, like, how has the creation and journey of your company affected the way that you see yourself in the broader world or your relationships or. Yeah, just in life. Well, hi, mom, wherever mom is. Thank you for being a bumble honey. We love you. I, Bumble saved me. I was a broken human when I started, bumble. Completely broken.

So sad going through this tinder stuff. And I basically just channeled everything I wish there was that I didn't have into this company. I just gave it everything I didn't even know I had in me. And I had only ever had really toxic relationships. My first boyfriend was very, very abusive when I was a young girl, like 15, 1617 years old. And I just never wanted that for any other girl out there. I just wanted to fix it. And so I basically just wished upon a star of whatever I wish relationships looked like and tried to just put that into every corner of our business, engineering kinder connections and trying to make people behave better on the Internet. Like, I live for this stuff. So bumble is me, and I am bumble, which is probably not a good thing. Like, literally, people are like, hi, bumble girl. I'm like, I do have a name, but that's okay. So I think it means everything to me, and I'm excited for what we can do with it next. And I just love that answer because all of us have had experiences.

Like, I think all of us sometimes have this question around, like, do I have the skill set or the background or whatever to be an entrepreneur? Entrepreneur. We all have experiences, and some of them might not be great experiences in our life that you can actually learn from and be able to create into something that's going to positively impact people in the future. And so I just. I love ending on that. I think it's so inspiring. You're the best. And thank you for doing this. Anytime. Yeah. Whitney, Katrina, thank you so much for spending time. There's so many things you could be doing.

Entrepreneurship, Inspiration, Innovation, Leadership, Women'S Empowerment, Resilience, Stanford Graduate School Of Business