Brand authenticity: A secret superpower

In the wake of Bumble’s recent IPO, I re-listened to How I Built This's episode with Whitney Wolfe Herd. Near the end of the interview, Guy Raz asks Whitney if she’s worried about competition.

She responds that anyone could replicate Bumble the product, but what can’t be replicated is Bumble the brand.

Brand is authenticity, purpose, and story, she says. And that’s not something that can be copied.

It’s a reminder that without a strong brand, even the best products or innovations can be quashed or fade into oblivion.

Here’s the full quote from the interview:

“We aren’t worried about competition for one reason: I really believe anybody can copy a product...With the right support, someone could rebuild any piece of technology—it’s engineering. However, you cannot just copy someone’s brand and become them. There has to be authenticity when you build a brand and there has to be true purpose...Anybody could go build a competitor version of Bumble, but where I don’t think they can just come in and sweep us off our feet is that I don’t know if there’s another group of people with the exact same story or the exact same mission and motive.”