The “Rule of 9” That Helped Build a Billion-Dollar Company

Hey, Arjun here.

She started a dating app called Bumble in 2014 that let women make the first move and became the youngest self-made billionaire in the world. Nearly 9 years and countless Bumble weddings and babies later, she’s celebrated over 1.5 billion first moves.

Meet Whitney Wolfe Herd.

The 2-Minute Hack: The Rule of 9

Whitney Wolfe Herd uses a powerful decision-making framework I call “The Rule of 9″ to filter what deserves her attention:

𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴, 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴, 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴? 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵.

Why This Works:

This simple framework creates a powerful time perspective that:

• Instantly filters out short-term distractions

• Identifies what truly deserves your focus

• Prevents reactionary decision-making

• Creates mental space for long-term thinking

• Reduces stress about things that won’t matter long-term

How to Implement the Rule of 9

1. When faced with a decision or problem, ask yourself if it will matter in 9 minutes

2. If yes, ask if it will matter in 9 hours

3. Continue through each timeframe: 9 days, 9 weeks, 9 months, 9 years

4. Only dedicate significant energy to issues that will matter across multiple timeframes

5. For issues that only matter in shorter timeframes, find quick solutions or delegate

The magic happens when you realize how few things actually pass the full 9-year test. This creates extraordinary clarity about what deserves your limited time and attention.

Three More Insights from Whitney Wolfe Herd:

Beyond the Rule of 9, here are three more powerful insights from the founder who disrupted the dating industry:

𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 2011, 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯 ‘𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳’ 𝘪𝘯 𝘓.𝘈. – 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘴. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬.

𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺, 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

What issue are you currently facing that you could apply the Rule of 9 to?

See you next Tuesday.

Let’s doola it ⚡

Arjun

P.S. Are you ready to start your business journey? The decision to form an LLC might pass the Rule of 9 test – it’s something that could impact your life 9 years from now.

We can help you get started at doola.