The Tim Ferriss Show #316 Whitney Wolfe Herd — Founder and CEO of Bumble
The idea before Bumble: A female-only social network where you can only be kind to one another. The thought process was compliments are contagious like hatred is contagious. [6:28]
How she met her cofounder: He tried to hire me to be his CMO at his dating company. [7:32]
How Bumble became Bumble: I couldn’t trademark the word Moxie. [9:02]
She was crippled by anxiety: I thought can I channel this anxiety into doing good work? What are your thoughts? Let’s get your thoughts under control. How do we harness this and get to what is causing this? You have to shift your focus instead of doing the self-doubt thing on repeat. It worked. . . Other things that helped: Take a walk [without your phone] and get 8 to 9 hours of sleep. [23:16]
Book recommendations: Originals: How Nonconformists Move the World, Shantaram: A Novel, and The Plant Paradox [26:32]
Taking notes is therapeutic and incredibly productive: I just write things down as they come up. I’d go back and read and was shocked how much I would never remembered had I not written it down. It’s fascinating to see how much the human mind just disposes of in terms of memory. [37:19]
What was the most worthwhile investment you have ever made? The best thing I ever invested into is time and dedication into my team at Bumble. Investing the extra hour or moment is what counts the most. The missions become ingrained in them. They know why you started the company to begin with. [49:24]
I think the first 10 hires define your business: These are the people that scale your culture. [50:57]
I’ve received a lot of advice: I think the more you listen and the more you absorb the better you are. [53:29]
The single best piece of advice I’ve ever received was: The most expensive currency in the world is an experience. You can not buy it. You can’t go out and get it overnight. So tap into people with experience. [54:12]
Best new habit: Turning my phone off from time to time. I have formed an insane tech addiction in the last few years. [1:06:12]