Michelle Kennedy (businesswoman)
Michelle Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| Add a Photo | |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | University of Sheffield |
| Employer | Peanut App |
| Children | 2 |
Michelle Kennedy is a British tech entrepreneur and businesswoman. She is the founder and CEO of Peanut App, an online community for women to connect throughout fertility, pregnancy, motherhood and menopause, launched 2017.[1] She was previously Deputy CEO of Badoo and on the board of Bumble.[2] Michelle is an advocate for building safer social networks[3] and was responsible for Badoo becoming an Internet Watch Foundation[4] member June 2011.
Career
Legal
Michelle started her career as a corporate M&A lawyer at Mishcon De Reya.[5] One of her clients was Quotient Bioresearch and in 2010 she joined their team as in-house counsel.
British Ballet Organisation
From March 2011 to April 2014 Michelle was a trustee a director of the British Ballet Organisation[6] where she advised on how to think about strategic growth.
Badoo and Bumble
Later, she was introduced to Andrey Andreev, founder of Badoo.[7] She became Badoo's in-house legal counsel, setting up the legal function[8] before moving to acquire other reporting lines in the business (HR, Finance, Business Intelligence) and later becoming Deputy CEO.[9] During her tenure as Deputy CEO at Badoo, Michelle sat on the board of dating app Bumble.[10]
Peanut
While working in the dating industry, Michelle gave birth to her first child, Finlay. Her friends who lived nearby weren't at the stage in their lives where they were having children and she started to experience loneliness and isolation.[11] Despite reading books and attending NCT classes,[12] Michelle began to feel like she was losing her identity and wanted to connect with women who understood.[13] She began to look for products that could help her solve this problem but she was unable to find a mobile-first solution to help mothers find friends.[14]
Michelle launched the Peanut App early 2017 to provide a solution for women looking to find friendship and support at key life stages,[15] including fertility, pregnancy, motherhood and menopause.[16] The app uses algorithms to connect women with shares interests — users can choose from things like “Fitness Fiend,” “Wine Time,” and “Music Is My Medicine.” alongside experiences, whether it’s having a child with special needs or being a single mother.[17]
Investments
Michelle runs her own fund StartHER[18] where she invests in women and underrepresented founders of all ages, life stages, ethnicities and sexual orientations.[19] Michelle's investments include Linktree, Elvie, Sunroom, Intimately, Lex and more.[20] She is also a scout for the Index Ventures Magnetic Fund II.
Learning Curve
Michelle is the host of Vodafone Business podcast "Learning Curve" aimed at aspiring entrepreneurs.[21] In her role as podcast host, Michelle interviews business leaders on the areas that shape business success.
Judging Awards
In 2018 Michelle judged the WeWork Creator Awards an initiative to support innovating and social-first businesses alongside Ashton Kutcher and Vanessa Kingori.[22] In 2013 Michelle judged the Brilliant Innovators award at Brilliant Minds.[23] She is also judichging the Lovie Awards[24] in 2013 aimed at recognising digital innovations from Europe.
References
- ↑ Malik, Aisha (2022-04-04). "Peanut launches "Peanut Pro"; gives women info from experts". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
- ↑ Nast, Condé (2020-07-14). "Meet the App Rethinking Social Networking". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
- ↑ Nast, Condé. "Building Safe Networks Makes Social Media Less Toxic". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "Bumble Inc. | IWF Membership". www.iwf.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "Jazz Shaper: Michelle Kennedy". Mishcon de Reya LLP. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "Michelle Theresa KENNEDY personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "Women in Business Q&A: Michelle Kennedy, CEO and Co-Founder, Peanut". HuffPost. 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "Why mum is the word". The Times & The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ Eldor, Karin. "Raising Boys In The #MeToo Era? The CEO Of Peanut, A Tinder-Like App For Moms, Shares Three Tips". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "The woman who helped create Bumble now launched an app to connect lonely mothers". The Independent. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
- ↑ Langley, Edwina (2018-07-05). "What one woman did to combat the loneliness of motherhood". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
- ↑ Kennedy, Michelle (2017-07-21). "'Feeling lonely as a new mother inspired me to launch a friendship app'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ Kennedy, Michelle (2019-01-23). "Let's Admit It: Motherhood Can Be Lonely — but It Doesn't Have to Be". POPSUGAR UK Parenting. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "How to empower female entrepreneurs". www.privatebank.citibank.com. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
- ↑ Gross, Elana Lyn. "How This Founder Created A Tinder-Style App For Making Mommy Friends". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
- ↑ Morgan, Blake. "How One Woman Created A Safe Space To Discuss The Good And The Messy Stages Of Motherhood". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
- ↑ Kercher, Sophia (2017-05-10). "An App for Mothers Who Missed Out on Tinder". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
- ↑ Bradshaw, Tim; Murgia, Madhumita; Thomas, Daniel (2021-09-30). "The UK's female entrepreneurs battling for a fair share of funding". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ Perez, Sarah (2021-06-30). "Women's social network Peanut launches microfund StartHER to invest in pre-seed stage startups". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
- ↑ "Women Entrepreneurs - Backing Women-Led Businesses: In Conversation with Peanut". icg.citi.com. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ Office, Press (2023-06-07). "Vodafone Business launches 'Learning Curve' podcast series". Vodafone UK News Centre. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "Ashton Kutcher and Tim Ferriss tell how to pitch your company". Ideas. 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "Michelle Kennedy". Brilliant Minds. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "Introducing the Latest Lovie Judges". 2023 Lovie Awards. 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
External links
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