The dating app Bumble recently went public, making founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd a billionaire at the ripe old age of 31. I heard an interview with Herd a while back, and her genius at marketing really struck me.

She had just created Bumble…now, how can she get anyone to sign up?

…we ran as fast as we could to the fraternity row, and went into the frat houses and said a different pitch, and said, “Hey guys, I bet you have no other way to access hundreds of sorority girls right now. Download the app, because they’re all waiting for you! They’ve all just downloaded this app and they’re all waiting for you to like them.

This is incredible marketing genius, even if it involves a little white lie. Hurry boys, and you can have all the ladies to yourself! (What man will say no to that?) Quickly girls, the most desirable boys are waiting for you! With 2 meetings, she solved the problem of how to get enough people on the app to make it a real network.

This interview is truly a master class in marketing and worth a listen in its entirety. The quote above is from about the 10:10 mark.

I only wish I had been in on that IPO!

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