Everyone deals with trauma differently, and recovery is always a work in progress. But courage is contagious, and the more that people stand up and speak out against misogyny, the faster we can create the kind of world where we won't have to.
Networking is extremely masculine. It's a vulnerable thing to admit to, but even I experience feeling super insecure around certain masculine meetings. So, we put women in control. Women will make the first move on Bumble Bizz as well.
After graduating in International Relations in 2011, I turned down safe, corporate job offers and instead accepted a position at an 'incubator' in L.A. - a tech word for a team of people who are funded by investors to create apps. I knew the future was digital and that I had to take a risk.
My best advice for a new Tinder user is don't just start swiping left or right. Take a moment and really evaluate everyone's photos before you say 'yes' or 'no.' Sometimes people don't know what they are doing when choosing photos.
The men who use Bumble appreciate a confident woman, a woman who has a voice. A lot of men suffer from insecurity and fear rejection, too. Bumble removes that fear, as they don't have to make the first move, so it benefits both men and women.
As long as you know that you're doing the right thing, do not care about what other people think about you.
Are we solving the world's problems by allowing women to make the first move on a dating app? No. But I do believe we are helping to change some very archaic norms.
I personally have always hated dating. I was never vulnerable or insecure in any part of my life, but I would become that way with a guy because they have control, according to society, when it comes to dating.
There's an assumption that women don't start companies that earn more than X amount of dollars, or that have more than X amount of users, and Bumble is now really growing into one of the main players if you look at all the mainstream social-media platforms.
Usually, it's men who run these big monster companies, and girl companies are usually much smaller - it's like an unwritten tech-industry stigma.
Books such as 'The Rules' and 'He's Just Not That Into You' need to go out of the window.
Now, women are expected to be equal to men in so many capacities - financially, career-wise, in education - yet the one disconnect was, and is, with relationships.
Every point in your career is a learning lesson - I learned a lot about how much work is required to grow a user base and create a new product. I also learned that things take time and extreme hard work and passion.
Don't be afraid to let someone go if it's not working. You're not a bad boss. You're not a bad CEO.
You have to accept people for who they are. You can guide. You can give people chances. But you cannot hold on to people in fear that you are bad because you can't keep everyone you've hired.
If you're in a job that you hate, don't be scared of seeking out something that might be riskier. Anything can turn into something with passion and hard work.
Online, I would never friend a random cute guy on Facebook or start liking his pictures on Instagram - even if I had a crush on him. But with Tinder, it's like following or friending each other at the same time. The risk of revealing your feelings is removed.
Be genuine. Put out what you want to receive; that's the same for real life and Tinder.
In real life, we are all on our devices. We might go to a place where we fit the crowd and could meet someone. But, because we are all on our phones, you might not notice the cute boy behind you in line for coffee, and he's not going to notice the gorgeous girl sitting outside. So, we might as well notice them on our phones, on Tinder.
When you accept that failure is a good thing, it can actually be a huge propeller toward success.
