Bumble boss falls out of love with dating apps and into women’s wellness

From matters of the heart to matters of the mind… Valerie Stark, once a leading figure in the world of dating apps as a director at Bumble and CEO of the social app Huggle, has embraced a new passion: women’s wellness.

The 37-year-old’s wealth of experience in the tech industry working for the UK’s most popular online dating apps, along with her MSc in neuroscience from King’s College London, uniquely positioned her to understand women’s wellness needs. Her disruptive approach to industry norms, coupled with a commitment to ensuring the wellbeing of women, forms the foundation of Novomins’ first-of-its-kind Women’s Range.

After a remarkable journey from the tech industry to pursuing her masters degree in neuroscience, Valerie was inundated with offers to go back to tech – but she was passionate about the link between women’s delicate mind-body balance and wanted to make a difference.

Valerie said: “I wanted to advocate for the care and attention that women deserve, where they are often overlooked and undermined. So I decided to formulate a never-before-seen female-focused range which caters to all different life stages, from PMS and intimate health, fertility and menopause, focusing on an innovative way of looking at health.”

Although Valerie’s career started in the tech-sphere, her interest has always been in the science of mind and body, with a focus on being impactful and empowering. Valerie said: “All too often the way we look at health is disjointed and we tend to compartmentalise, despite the fact it is all connected. Specifically, the link between mental health and gut health in women is ignored, which is why the science-backed probiotics in the range balance the whole system and bring a holistic approach to mind and body health.”

The data she looked at in the online dating world and social app industry, analysing people’s behaviour, is similar to the realm of psychology, looking at why people do things the way they do and finding solutions to cater to their needs.

Founded by Dr. Peter McQuillan and Akil Memishi in 2020, Novomins has rapidly gained recognition as one of the fastest-growing nutrition companies in the UK. With over 50m gummy bites sold and almost a 300 per cent increase in revenue year on year, Valerie’s partnership has only fueled its sweet success.