Suzanne Xie is the Founder and CEO of Hullabalu, a family media startup based in New York creating storytelling for the new generation. Her team is creating interactive epic adventures with a female lead heroine in the form of a little purple panda. On July 8, Suzanne will be speaking at WIM’s luncheon hosted by Bank of America, welcoming the State Department’s TechGirls program to New York City. Check out the interview below to learn more about Suzanne and her experience as an entrepreneur in tech.
When and why did you become interested in tech?
I’ve been interested in tech since a young age since both my parents were computer engineers. During my first year of college, I got my first taste of entrepreneurship when a friend in my dorm started an education company and I joined to help out. Pretty soon I was working with them everyday, and was really inspired to see how technology could make a positive impact on people’s lives.
What did you study and how has that influenced your career?
I studied Economics at the University of Chicago, and while I haven’t used it directly at work, it has provided me a lens of the world. An undergraduate degree is valuable, but if you already know what you’re passionate about, I would suggest you go for it.
What was it like for you as a young woman getting involved in tech?
I launched my first startup in 2008, which was a fashion tech company called Weardrobe. Investors weren’t as interested in the fashion space as they are now, but we just worked really hard to get in front of the right people.
What was your first project you ever worked?
My first company was a small business I started with a friend who happened to be an architect. We had the idea to create specialty stationary by using cool materials like acrylic and bamboo. It was a fun, creative project. It was also my first experience cold-calling different clients. We went to meet with someone once, and thinking we would have been older the client asked us, “How old are you?” At the time I was eighteen years old, and my answer was, “Old enough to sell this product to you.” We closed the deal!
What has your greatest opportunity been during your career?
After I left my job in banking, I moved out to California to start my own company. I think you create your own opportunities by working hard and smart. If you do that, will people help along the way to make those opportunities happen.
Why do you think it’s important to invest in young women in tech?
All of the programs focused on increasing investment in young women are really important because there are so few female role models for young girls to follow. That’s one of the reasons we’re creating Hullabalu – to create those role models. In the early stages of Hullabalu’s creation, I noticed that in the most epic stories, the protagonist is almost always male. I hope that our stories will make female heroes a more natural narrative, which will hopefully make an impact for the next generation of women in tech.
What inspired you to create Hullabalu?
I was thinking about the stories we read as we were growing up, and noticed how tech is changing and asked myself how can we bring stories to kids that will engage them even more and reflect this change in society? There are fewer stories that inspire girls and boys to be leaders and take adventures so we made that philosophy an integral part of our creation process.
As a founder, what do you wish you had known about launching a company and what are some more resources you wish you had access to?
In terms of funding I wish I could have had access to the website, AngelList, for my first company. They’re disrupting the angel model and it’s great. There are a lot of great high-quality blogs that share a lot of honest advice, and if I had the time I would scour each one of them.
What’s the worst mistake a founder can make?
Not listening to themselves enough and listening too much to investors or outside voices.
Do you have any advantages as a woman in tech?
Since the ratio is so unbalanced, there are more opportunities to seek help. Sometimes investors are more likely to agree to meet with you because you’re a woman.
Best advice you’ve ever gotten?
Someone I really respect once told me, “Listen to your gut.”
Previous to Hullabalu, Suzanne started Weardrobe, one of the largest online fashion communities for street style and fashion photos, which was acquired by Like.com and subsequently Google. Weardrobe won the Microsoft BizSpark Accelerator competition at SXSW and a spot in the first Facebook Rev Fund. Previous to Weardrobe, Suzanne worked at Goldman Sachs Asset Management in NY and London and UBS Investment Bank. She graduated from University of Chicago with a degree in Economics and was born in China.
This post was created by Raine Dalton, WIM’s editorial and community innovation intern. Raine is passionate about finding creative ways to empower women globally through tech. In addition to WIM, Raine has written, tweeted, and posted for the Global Banking Alliance for Women, WITNESS, and 90.7 WFUV News. You can find her work at www.rainedalton.com or get in touch with her through Twitter @rainedalton, or by emailing raine@wim.co.