My London: Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd

The CEO of Bumble (and Tinder co-founder) tucks in to pizza at The Lansdowne, works out at Ham Yard and shops at Emilia Wickstead 
Lily Worcester22 February 2018

Home is…

Austin, Texas.

Where do you stay when you’re in London?

Ham Yard. I like the location and the rooms are bright and spacious (below). It’s also close to Yauatcha. I’m obsessed with their dumplings.

A room at the Ham Yard

What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?

Make misogynistic behaviour a criminal act and have this regulated and formal legislation passed.

Favourite pub?

The Lansdowne in Primrose Hill. It feels like you’re in the countryside and the pizza is delicious.

Pizza at the Lansdowne

Which tech companies are the ones to watch?

Any that are solving a problem that consumers have on a daily basis. The most successful apps have taken a societal problem and built an accessible and democratic solution. There is a new dog walking service in an app called Wag! which gives you detailed updates on your dog’s walk, experience and whether they drank water or went to the bathroom — I’m so impressed by it.

Biggest extravagance?

My collection of Gucci bee items. When they launched that collection I went a bit crazy. I was so nervous that their next collection would be another bug so I bought a laptop case, shoes, purse… hopefully they’ll last me forever though.

A bag from Gucci's bee collection

Where do you work out in London?

It’s always such fleeting visits for me, so I work out in my room or the gym at Ham Yard. I have a routine that I can do on the go.

What shops do you rely on?

I love Emilia Wickstead. Her designs are amazing so I always make a stop there.

Joseph is another favourite — I always try and pop in to the store on Westbourne Grove.

What could you not live without?

I’m obsessed with the app Slack — it’s somewhere between email and WhatsApp. It’s how I communicate with my team. It’s global, efficient and lets you compartmentalise topics within a business. It means we don’t get lost in emails.

What do you collect?

Good people. People with a sense of humour. Life is a lot more fun with good, positive people around you.

What upcoming tech hubs should we keep an eye on?

I think it’s smart to always keep an eye on the companies that sit within incubator communities, which bring together the skills and expertise needed to grow an enterprise. Station F in Paris is one I’ve always been impressed with from an international point of view.

Employees work and play pool in illuminated workspace cubicles inside in the Station F startup campus in Paris, France
Bloomberg via Getty Images

Where do you let your hair down?

I love Novikov — that’s always a fun night — and Isabel in Mayfair is a new favourite too.

What do you like about Londoners?

I would pay good money for a British accent.

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