David Brown

Every other dating app is essentially an open inbox.

Signing up as a woman opens the floodgates.

Anyone can message you.

And what comes through that inbox can be wildly unpleasant.

The idea Andreev and Wolf have hatched flips that.

Women won't just be users.

They'll be the ones holding the keys.

They'll decide when a conversation starts, and ideally, that means fewer of the kinds of messages and experiences Wolf herself just endured after she sued Tinder.

Less than six months later, in December 2014, this female-first Tinder competitor launches.

It's a stunning act of corporate revenge.

They name it Bumble.

Almost two years later, in fall 2016 in Austin, Texas, a camera crew from The Atlantic is following CEO Whitney Wolf's every move inside Bumble's headquarters.

As Wolf walks through the office, the lens catches small details like neatly stacked books with titles like Conscious Capitalism and Feminist Fight Club.

The app has become a sensation since its launch, with around 7 million users worldwide.

Not all of them are there to date.

Some choose Bumble BFF to find friends.

And the company is catching on at a key cultural moment, too.

In October 2017, actress Alyssa Milano encourages women to share their stories of sexual harassment and discrimination using the hashtag MeToo, and it becomes a global movement.

And it's one Whitney Wolfe, now Whitney Wolfe Heard after marrying Michael Heard, understands firsthand.

In fact, her personal story is becoming deeply intertwined with Bumble's identity.