| Valerie Stark | |
| Birth Place: | Moscow, Russia[1] |
| 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]