Valerie Stark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1986 (age 37–38) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | CEO, Co-founder of Huggle |
Valerie Stark (born 1986) is an entrepreneur and businesswoman. She is the co-founder and CEO of the mobile app Huggle. [2] Stark is also a board member at Bumble and an advisor to Badoo. [3]
Stark was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. At the age of 15, she began working as a secretary for a technology company. Stark studied interior design and paid for the education herself. [4]
Prior to founding Huggle, Stark blogged about gardening [5] and worked in a managerial position for one of the largest restaurant business in Moscow where she was known for her role in the company's European and UK expansion. [6] After moving to London from Moscow, [7] she found it hard to make friends and began using her familiarity with Instagram's geolocation feature to find people with common interests. [8] She met Stina Sanders using this technique and the two women eventually founded Huggle based around Stark's idea of connecting people who visit the same locations. [9] Stark is considered a feminist entrepreneur. [10] In 2018, she was named one of the Top 30 Female Entrepreneurs in the UK to Watch in 2018 by About Time magazine. [11]
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