From The Dropout to WeCrashed, we can’t get enough of bio-dramas that give an inside glimpse of working in the tech industry.
One brand new such film is now streaming on Hulu — Swiped, starring Lily James. It tells the story of Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, who started at Tinder, left and became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.
That sounds juicy to us already, so Watch With Us breaks down why this Hulu original is one to check out ASAP.
Lily James Leads With a Fantastic Performance
The British actress first broke out by nabbing the title role of Cinderella in Disney’s 2015 live-action reboot of their classic animated film, and she’s gone on to give memorable showings in films like Baby Driver, Yesterday and The Iron Claw. As Herd, James fuses naiveté with keen intelligence and manages to showcase a fragility as well as the strength necessary to play someone like her.
James is the backbone of the film, but she is supported by a strong cast as well. Dan Stevens (Godzilla v. Kong: The New Empire) plays Badoo founder Andrey Andreev, while Myha’la (Industry) plays a coworker named Tisha and Jackson White (Mrs. Fletcher) plays Herd’s’ toxic boyfriend and coworker at Tinder, Justin. Clea DuVall and Dermot Mulroney also make appearances.
The Show’s Main Theme of Women Working in a Male-Dominated Industry Is Still Sadly Relevant
After accusing a coworker of sexual harassment, Herd left Tinder in 2014 and created Bumble, a dating app that billed itself as safer for women to use. For those who don’t know: Bumble allows women to be the ones in control of who they do or do not talk to.
Swiped takes a look at the sexism Herd experienced in her field, moving from the male-dominated computer science classes she took in college to the still male-dominated tech-startup scene of the 2010s. At Tinder, she is frequently sidelined and subjected to verbal abuse despite how integral she was to the dating app’s success. As ever, women who break into fields helmed by men face numerous obstacles, and Herd’s experience is, thus, dishearteningly universal.
The Insight Into How Someone Can Become a Billionaire Is Fascinating
How does one girlboss their way to the top? It’s difficult for anyone to become a billionaire from the ground up (one can dream, can’t they?), and Herd’s path to becoming the youngest female self-made billionaire is filled with more hurdles than that of her male peers.
Nevertheless, persistence is key — along with getting into a particularly lucrative industry at the right time. Despite the sexism that surrounded her (and momentarily displaced her), Herd was able to tap into a market that relied on women’s judgment rather than sexualizing them. By prioritizing women and their safety, Herd defied gender-biased expectations and became rich because of it.
