Bumble Inc. Offers A Much-Needed Break!

Aakash Sharma — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 05:35:04 +0000

The American social media company Bumble Inc. has given its employees a week off from work to relieve and relax from the stress of the pandemic. The decision, unique and positive as it is, has been praised universally across social media by industry leaders and entrepreneurs.

Bumble founder-CEO and recently turned billionaire businesswoman Whitney Wolfe Herd has taken the action “having correctly intuited the company’s collective burnout”. The company announced in April that all Bumble employees would have a week’s paid leave and be completely offline as part of the vacation in June 2021.

Company’s Collective Burnout and Pandemic Stress are Reasons behind the Break

As the pandemic forced people to refrain from going to their offices, schools and other public spaces, the line between work and ‘the personal’ got blurred amidst innumerable online meetings. This has raised concerns about fatigue and exhaustion globally. While many businesses have thrived in the pandemic year, their workers have never been more exhausted and dismayed.

A Microsoft Corp study has recently found that 41% of workers may quit their tech-savvy, high demanding jobs in the United States this year. Workers are demanding changes as employers risk losing workers if they don’t bend for the right causes.

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Like everyone else, our global team went through a very difficult time during the pandemic," said Rosanna Sachs, a spokeswoman for Bumble.

As vaccination rates rise and restrictions ease, Bumble is focusing on calming the nerves of its teams around the world by letting them focus on themselves for a week.

Bumble’s Business Growth has been Massive

Bumble has grown rapidly than many other companies over the last year. Its rapidly growing users and stock market debut are proof enough of its busy success. During the first quarter of 2021, the number of paid Bumble and Badoo, another Bumble Inc. owned platform, users increased by 30% as compared to the same period last year.

Can businesses in India follow the same road as Bumble’s?

With restrictions largely lifted in the United States due to reduced cases of and mass vaccination against the coronavirus, companies are taking a variety of approaches to retaining employees and increasing productivity. Some want a full return to the office, while others are offering a more flexible approach.

Paid vacation for Bumble employees coincides with a trend in which executives are convincing employees that their well-being is important to them. Apple Inc. is adopting a work-from-home hybrid strategy this year, and Twitter has announced that many of its employees will be able to work from home indefinitely.

While the above-mentioned companies are leaps and bounds ahead of a majority of Indian businesses, the messaging from their actions is worth following suit. Even though the pandemic is far from over in India, a large number of companies call employees to offices as soon as the restrictions are lifted by the government. Such practices of calling employees to offices amidst the pandemic make them extra vulnerable. Their stress levels increase due to the risk of contracting the virus.

Businesses must chart out a pragmatic way for keeping themselves up and running, while simultaneously leaving some space for their employees who have been facing the double brunt of work and pandemic for over one and a half years. That indeed is the most sustainable way to go forward.

The post Bumble Inc. Offers A Much-Needed Break! appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

Why did Priyanka Chopra Jonas Back Social Networking and Dating App Bumble?

Smruthi Krishnan — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 06:30:07 +0000

Online dating app Bumble Inc.’s shares have soared over 70 per cent in New York, valuing the women-led company’s chief executive Whitney Wolfe Herd’s nearly 12 per cent stake at over $1.5 billion. Herd is now the youngest female CEO to take a company public in the US and also the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire. Off late, Priyanka Chopra Jonas invested in the social networking and dating app bumble. Let us understand why celebrities like Priyanka invest in various start-ups.

About Bumble

The main unique selling point of Bumble is that it is termed as a “feminist dating app” where conversation only starts on a woman’s initiative in case of heterosexual matches. As of 2020, the app had more than 100 million users in 150 countries including India. It is also a platform for friendships and professional communication under the verticals Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz, respectively.

Bumble has a “freemium model”, where users join and use the app for free. Their revenue streaming comes from in-app purchases and different subscription offerings like Bumble Boost and Bumble Premium.

The company has guidelines that ban people who body shame anyone. Bumble users cannot use “fatphobic, ableist, racist, colourist, transphobic, homophobic and other body-shaming” related languages. US tennis star Serena Williams marketed the app while Priyanka invested in the app. With women making the first move, these women believed in the app and promoted it.

Priyanka Invests in Bumble

With Bumble debuting its IPO at $43, Priyanka Chopra became an investor. Chopra has always been a budding women entrepreneur. She set up her production company Purple Pebble Pictures to focus on producing small budget films and to introduce and promote new talent in the Indian film industry, particularly regional Indians films. She produced several Indian regional language films, including Pahuna: The Little Visitors (2018) and Paani (2019), which won the National Film Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation at the 66th National Film Awards.

In 2018, Chopra started investing in tech companies by investing in a coding education start-up called Holberton School and the dating and social media app Bumble. The Bumble app was launched in India with the help of Chopra in October 2018. Chopra believes ideas are the currency of the present. She also launched her haircare line called “Anamoly Haircare” which become available exclusively in Target stores, U.S in February 2021.

Why do celebrities invest in start-ups and what is in it for you?

Several celebrities are looking forward to investing in various start-ups that match their philanthropy. They look for concepts or ideas that interest them and innovations that impact the world. By investing in such start-ups, they boost the sales and reach of these companies, and with a celeb on board, their brand value increases. Celebrities also invest in start-ups because their investments have good returns. They want to invest their earnings in companies that pay off later. Especially celebrities who become brand ambassadors or major stakeholders, future prospects are beneficial and profitable for both the company and celebrity investing in it.

The post Why did Priyanka Chopra Jonas Back Social Networking and Dating App Bumble? appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

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