Bumble
Erin Foster, Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Heard and Sara Foster at the Hive in NYC.
- Barely Famous stars Erin and Sara Foster will join Bumble as Heads of Creative for Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz
- The two women will be working with CEO and founder Whitney Wolfe Heard on brand awareness and content as well as live events.
Whitney Wolfe Heard's relationship app Bumble has a new advantage over competitor LinkedIn.
Actresses and television producers Erin and Sara Foster have been announced as the Heads of Creative for Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz, the friendship and networking arms of the website.
Bumble, which just started out as a dating app, just launched its Bizz platform in October.
The Fosters have been working on ideas with Wolfe Heard on everything from dinners and panels to TV shows within the app and partnerships with female-led companies.
Bumble says meeting the sisters was 'kismet'
Whitney Wolfe Heard wasn't looking for two new employees when she invited Erin and Sara Foster to speak about their careers at the "Women in Entertainment" panel on June 13 but that was, in fact, what she left with.
The sisters were supposed to talk about their careers in entertainment and Erin's time as a screenwriter but the conversation quickly shifted to female friendships and women coming together to motivate each other in business.
"It was kismet," Wolfe Heard said. Wolfe Heard was blown away by the sister's passion for the mission of Bumble and how genuinely excited the two were about females coming together. "I felt like I couldn't live without them."
Bringing new perspectives to Bumble
Erin and Sara, who are known for their satirical portrayal of Hollywood on Barely Famous, are thrilled to bring a fresh perspective to the company.
"It's not every day an opportunity like this comes around," Sarah Foster said. "Everyone wants to be in tech. Silicon Valley is the new Hollywood."
When we asked them about why Bumble was right for them, both shared their passion for what Bumble and Heard do for women.
"For me, it's about inclusion," Sara said.
"Bumble is a place for women to find friends and be creative and clever who deserve to be in the conversation and surround themselves with men who encourage that," Erin echoed.
The two women said they are inspired and impressed by their new boss as Heads of Creative for Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz.
"A product is a direct reflection of its CEO," Erin said. "Whitney believes in a mission but she never comes across as overcompensating. Watching her makes us better."
Similarly, Sara said, "She's so humble but she's also such a boss. She's genuinely happy for the success of other women."
Plans to put Bumble's friendships and networking tools on the map
Wolfe Heard said the sisters were "bouncing around a thousand ideas before we officially started."
"We weren't really looking," Wolfe Heard said about hiring a head of creative for Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz. "We didn't want to look at who was famous at the moment and just attach ourselves to them. We wanted someone who would rally cry for this brand and with their passion, we couldn't not."
Instagram/ @bumblebff
Instagram/ @bumblebff
For the remainder of 2017, the sisters plan to focus on brand awareness for Bumble.
"We want to make people laugh and be honest. We firmly believe in letting women know, 'hey this is all fake'," Erin said about the perceptions of Hollywood stars, including themselves, on social
In 2018, their focus will shift to content within the app, panels and dinner that bring users and influencers together, and more partnerships with female-run companies. They also plan to help open a Hive, a networking lounge similar to the one the company opened in New York, in Los Angeles.
"It will be a hub for conversations and real-life connections," Erin Foster said about the space. "Women are so powerful when we come together."