Andrey Andreev#MagicLab

Andreev was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. In interviews, Andreev discussed an early interest in communication technology; he built a homemade radio as a preteen and the first person he spoke to was from New York.{{Cite news |last=Machell |first=Ben |date=21 October 2017 |title=Meet Andrey Andreev, the man behind Badoo, the world's biggest dating app |newspaper=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/sex-relationships/article/meet-andrey-andreev-the-man-behind-badoo-the-worlds-biggest-dating-app-f3qql99zs |access-date=23 October 2017 |issn=0140-0460}}Machell, Ben. Meet Andrey Andreev, the man behind Badoo, the world’s biggest dating app (англ.) (21 October 2017). Архивировано 27 декабря 2018 года. Дата обращения 27 декабря 2018.

In 2005, he moved to London, England, settling in Covent Garden.David Rowan. How Badoo built a billion-pound social network... on sex // Wired UK : magazine. — 2011-04-25. — ISSN 1357-0978. Архивировано 22 декабря 2018 года.{{cite web |title=Forbes profile: Andrey Andreev |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/andrey-andreev/ |access-date=13 August 2022 |website=Forbes}} He became a British citizen in 2008.

• {{Cite news |last=Au-Yeung |first=Angel |title=The Russian Billionaire Cupid Behind The Biggest Dating App in the World |language=en |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2018/03/12/russian-billionaire-cupid-andrey-andreev-most-popular-dating-app-badoo/#12b6daa47800 |access-date=27 May 2018}}
• {{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2019/07/08/exclusive-investigation-sex-drugs-misogyny-and-sleaze-at-the-hq-of-bumbles-owner/|title=Exclusive Investigation: Sex, Drugs, Misogyny And Sleaze At The HQ Of Bumble's Owner|work=Forbes|last=Au-Yeung|first=Angel|date=July 8, 2019|accessdate=March 17, 2024}}

Andreev lists cooking as one of his greatest passions and contributes dishes to the menus of his favorite restaurants.{{Cite web |last=Cook |first=James |title=We ate with the billionaire tech founder who eats his lunch at a different Michelin-starred restaurant nearly every day |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/badoo-ceo-andrey-andreev-explains-his-passion-for-food-and-why-he-doesnt-enjoy-spending-more-than-1-hour-in-restaurants-2018-3 |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} The sweet onion soup 'Andreï Style' at two-Michelin-starred L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Covent Garden, London, is named after him.

In 2018, Andreev made the Forbes{{'}} global list of billionaires for the first time. In August 2022, his net worth was estimated at $2.0 billion.

In 1992, after dropping out of a management course at the University of Moscow within a year of enrollment, Andreev moved to Valencia, Spain. He began startups and sold them for a profit. Two such ventures were Virus (1995 to 1997), an online Russian business selling computers, and SpyLog (1999 to 2001), software for web owners that tracks visitors.[https://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/05/features/sexual-network?page=1 How Badoo built a billion-pound social network... on sex] by David Rowan, Wired Magazine, 6 April 11. Accessed April 2011

In 2002, Andreev founded the digital advertising firm, Begun.{{Cite web |last=Cook |first=James |title=The reclusive CEO of dating app Badoo on his app's redesign, Bumble, and why he won't IPO any time soon |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/badoo-ceo-andrey-andreev-interview-2017-4 |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} In 2003, he sold the majority share of the company to Russian investment firm Finam Holdings{{Cite web |date=2019-11-11 |title=Andrey Andreev sells Badoo, Bumble to Blackstone at $3 billion valuation |url=https://www.ewdn.com/2019/11/11/andrey-andreev-sells-badoo-bumble-to-blackstone-at-3-billion-valuation/ |access-date=2022-10-15 |language=en-US}} and sold his remaining stake in 2004.

In 2004, Andreev founded the freemium, desktop-based dating site, Mamba. In its first year of operation, Mamba grew to more than 4 million users. In 2006, he sold his stake in the company for an undisclosed amount.

{{Main|Badoo}}

In 2006, Andreev launched Badoo, a social networking and photo-sharing app. Initially developed to compete with Facebook, Andrey decided to pivot to dating after the release of the iPhone. The company experienced rapid growth throughout Europe and Latin America, growing to nearly 12 million users within the first year.

In an article in 2011, Wired described Badoo as a 'mass phenomenon' in Brazil, Mexico, France, Spain, and Italy.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/sexual-network|title=How Badoo built a billion-pound social network... on sex|last=Rowan|first=David|access-date=23 October 2017}} By 2019, Badoo had 425 million registered users globally and operated in 190 countries.{{Cite web |title=The Dating Game |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-2e3f0042-75f6-4bd1-b4fe-9056540c65f8 |access-date=23 October 2017 |website=BBC News|date=12 February 2016 }}

According to a 2018 Forbes investigation, thirteen employees reported a toxic culture at Badoo's London headquarters. This included circulation of pornography of an employee and a culture of parties with prostitutes and illegal drug consumption, photos of which were shared via internal emails. Forbes accused Andreev of knowledge of the events via email, but not participation in them. Additionally, female employees were sexually harassed and assaulted and described tolerating this to achieve career progression. Forbes additionally reported that parts of this culture were beginning to change, including diversity and inclusion training and cessation of naming technical updates after pornography performers.{{cite web|url=https://www.inc.com/cameron-albert-deitch/badoo-bumble-toxic-workplace-sexism-allegations.html|title=Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Bumble's Majority Investor Threaten to Throttle the Company's Pro-Woman Cred|work=Inc.|last=Albert-Deitch|first=Cameron|date=9 July 2019|accessdate=17 March 2024}}

In a 2017 interview, Andreev claimed that Badoo had invented the popular dating application "swipe" feature. Andreev also introduced industry-standard paid features such as 'rise up' and the 'lookalike' feature that allows users to search for others who have similar characteristics to their favorite celebrity. In an October 2017 interview with Shortlist, Andreev stated his philosophy and management style is, "to make people happy", describing Badoo's company culture and the perks they offered including food and parties.

In April 2019, Andreev committed 100% of Badoo's revenue to restore the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following the fire.{{Cite web |last=Shearing |first=Stephanie K. Baer, Hazel |title=French Billionaires And Corporations Have Pledged At Least 600 Million Euros To Rebuild The Notre Dame Cathedral |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/skbaer/notre-dame-fire-rebuild-pinault-donation-french-billionaire |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=BuzzFeed News |date=16 April 2019 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Billionaire with Armenian roots donating money for Notre-Dame |url=https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/267736/Billionaire_with_Armenian_roots_donating_money_for_NotreDame |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=PanARMENIAN.Net}}

{{Main articles|Bumble}}

In 2014, Andreev contacted former Tinder marketing executive Whitney Wolfe about working together.{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Avery Hartmans, Annabelle |title=How Bumble grew from a female-focused dating app to a global behemoth valued at over $8 billion after going public |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/bumble-dating-app-company-history-2021-ipo-2020-9 |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Tepper |first=Fitz |date=2018-05-13 |title=Whitney Wolfe Herd doesn't care what she's supposed to do |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/13/whitney-wolfe-herd-bumbles-founder-doesnt-care-what-shes-supposed-to-do/ |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Crook |first=Jordan |date=2014-07-09 |title=The Story Of Whitney Wolfe Vs. Tinder |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/07/09/whitney-wolfe-vs-tinder/ |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}} Andreev initially offered Wolfe a role as Chief Marketing Officer at Badoo, but she refused. He persuaded her to move back into the dating space by offering her funding and access to Badoo's team. In December 2014, they launched Bumble, the women-focused dating app.

Speaking to The Guardian, Wolfe named Andreev as her biggest mentor in business{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jul/07/bumble-founder-whitney-wolfe-tinder-feminism-online-trolling|title=Whitney Wolfe: 'I'm worried we're alienating the good guys'|last=Featherstone|first=Emma|date=7 July 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=23 October 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} and that he, "took the chance on her when no one else would", and that "without him, the Bumble journey wouldn’t have been possible."{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2018/03/12/russian-billionaire-cupid-andrey-andreev-most-popular-dating-app-badoo/#371fe1877800|title=The Russian Billionaire Cupid Behind The Biggest Dating App in the World|website=forbes.com|language=en|access-date=13 March 2018}}

Per their agreement, Andreev oversaw the company's operations and leveraged Badoo's infrastructure and engineering resources. He provided US$10 million in funding and owned 79% of the company. Wolfe was founder and CEO, and owned 20%.{{Cite web |last=O'Connor |first=Clare |title=Billion-Dollar Bumble: How Whitney Wolfe Herd Built America's Fastest-Growing Dating App |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2017/11/14/billion-dollar-bumble-how-whitney-wolfe-herd-built-americas-fastest-growing-dating-app/ |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Bumble shared infrastructure with Badoo at its London office.

Bumble was valued at more than $1 billion in November 2017.

In 2019, Andreev launched MagicLab, a holding company that builds and owns dating and social networking apps Badoo, Bumble, Lumen, Chappy, and Hot or Not in partnership with their founders. In November 2019, he sold his shares to Blackstone Group, the largest alternative investment firm in the world, which became a majority owner of MagicLab.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/11/08/blackstone-buys-british-dating-app-business-badoo-valuing-3bn/|title=Blackstone buys British dating app business Badoo, valuing it at $3bn|last=Cook|first=James|date=8 November 2019|work=The Telegraph|access-date=12 November 2019|language=en-GB}} At the time of purchase, Bumble and its sister apps were valued at $3 billion.{{Cite web |last=Reader |first=Ruth |date=2019-11-08 |title=Dating app Bumble and its sister apps are now worth $3 billion |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90428425/dating-app-bumble-and-its-sister-apps-are-now-worth-3-billion |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=Fast Company |language=en-US}} In 2020, MagicLab was renamed Bumble as the parent company of both Bumble and Badoo.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90527896/bumble-hits-100-million-users-and-has-new-plans-to-take-over-the-dating-world|title=Bumble hits 100 million users—and has new plans to take over the dating world|first=Nicole|last=LaPorte|date=July 15, 2020|website=Fast Company}}

In 2020, after the sale of MagicLab to Blackstone, Andreev launched the social audio app Stereo. The app allows users to interact with live talks via hosting and listening capabilities.{{Cite web |last=Stupples |first=Ben |date=2020-11-09 |title=Billionaire Bumble Seller Plans Global Launch of Talk Show App - BNN Bloomberg |url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/billionaire-bumble-seller-plans-global-launch-of-talk-show-app-1.1519508 |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=BNN Bloomberg}}{{Cite web |date=2020-11-02 |title=Andrey Andreev Backs Audio-Only Social App 'Stereo' - Global Dating Insights |url=https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/news/andrey-andreev-backs-audio-only-social-app-stereo/,%20https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/news/andrey-andreev-backs-audio-only-social-app-stereo/ |access-date=2022-09-19 |language=en-GB}} The company has offices in London and Los Angeles, with 20 former MagicLab employees involved.{{Cite news |date=2020-01-31 |title=MagicLab billionaire Andreev to launch new mobile app business |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/243bba62-4426-11ea-a43a-c4b328d9061c |access-date=2022-09-19}}{{Cite web |title=Badoo founder launched competitor Clubhouse in Russia |url=https://whitecro.ws/en/community-12955/7265406 |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=Badoo founder launched competitor Clubhouse in Russia |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-02-26 |title=An analogue of Clubhouse from the founder of Badoo launched in Russia |url=https://tekdeeps.com/an-analogue-of-clubhouse-from-the-founder-of-badoo-launched-in-russia/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420215205/https://tekdeeps.com/an-analogue-of-clubhouse-from-the-founder-of-badoo-launched-in-russia/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=20 April 2021 |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=Tek Deeps |language=en-US}}

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Category:Living people

Category:1974 births

Category:Armenian businesspeople

Category:Russian businesspeople in information technology

Category:Businesspeople from Moscow

Category:British billionaires

Category:Russian billionaires

Category:Russian businesspeople in the United Kingdom