Diane Keng, Founder of MyWeboo, Faceless [Interview]
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Diane Keng is a teen entrepreneur based in Sillicon Valley. That in itself presents a lot of opportunities and challenges. She’s up to her 4th business now, Faceless. She talks to TBF about what her first couple of businesses were, what it’s like being a female tech entrepreneur, and how having parents as investors can be a challenge.
Q. How did you first catch the entrepreneurial bug?
I was part of DECA, an association of marketing students, in high school. It exposed me to the startup world and I actually wrote my first 30 page business plan through DECA.
Q. What were your first two businesses?
My first business was a screen-printing business where the marketing techniques were location-based. My second was a market research firm focused on teen trends in the Silicon Valley.
Q. When you dropped the t-shirt company, how did your clients react?
Well in the shirt business, clients make purchases almost on a yearly basis with the marketing plan I had executed. Different clients chose different time of the year, so I had clients consistently.
Q. And your second business? Who were these companies that wanted to market to the teenage market?
Many of them were interested in creating social platforms for the high school demographics. Social platforms in Silicon Valley was a great idea. However the teens here in Silicon Valley are very different from the teens from other locations. Teens in the SV seem more tech-oriented. Many parents work in the tech sector and encourage their kids to become trendsetters.
Q. And now MyWeboo?
Correct. Steven is now handling the situation with MyWeboo. We had lost a crucial window of opportunity. However I am working on a new startup called Faceless.com, which is launching this week.
Q. How does the parent-investor relationship work out between your father?
It’s different for sure. We need to specify when we are working and when it is family time. Just because he is my father does not mean he is any nicer as an investor. In fact, he pushes us harder since he knows we will love him regardless.
Q. What tips would you give to teens who are looking to raise money from their parents?
Good luck. In addition, prove to your parents that you are responsible and capable. What does this mean exactly? It is not just about working hard on your startup. Even when you are not working, your behavior and actions reflect who you are which directly correlates with your company.
Q. What was your strategy to get new users to your site? Simple way of saying user acquisition.
For MyWeboo we attended many events with many early adopters in social media. We also utilized social media
For Faceless.com, which is a social networking platform targeted at college students which allows them to share anonymously to their network which allows them to expand past their network of people they already know.
Q. How did the idea of MyWeboo evolve after getting all the tough questions from your investor?
We began with online game aggregation to social media aggregation to online web content as well as social media aggregation. Somewhere in the middle we thought about being an online storage
Q. So how would MyWeboo bring in revenue?
We were focused on a freemium and premium model.
With Faceless.com, we will be bringing in 2 sources of revenue: Targeted advertising and the Groupon model.Q. Has anyone ever said, “Why not just be a teen”? How do you respond to that?
Now, isn’t that boring? And what does it even mean to be a teen? Who said teens can only study and hang out?
Q. I’m sure some people gave you some flak in saying things like “If my dad gave me $100,000 to invest in a business, I would be successful too”. How would you respond to those people?
Quite a bit, but they’ve never met my father. What people don’t know is my father invested my college tuition. Now that is a motivator. If you are in college, ask yourself would you risk your whole college experience since apparently if you had the money you would be successful right? It’s very different when you weigh it this way. For the adults that had this mindset, consider giving up your car or downsizing your home. It is all a matter of opportunity costs.
Q. You were asked at the web 2.0 conference about what things you would share online. One of the things you mention you would not is financials on Google Docs. Can you elaborate on that? Have you heard of instances where that has come back to haunt them?
There hasn’t yet, but why risk it? My reasoning is that it is still on the web and hackers have the ability to steal information from the web. All you can do is limit what you put on the web.
Q. What obstacles have you had to overcome?
In the tech industry, there are very few female entrepreneurs, much less female engineer entrepreneurs. Thus, I have had many male entrepreneurs look down since they believe I am just a face for a company.
Q. Great insight. How have you tried to earn their respect?
Learned to code. Be a bit more aggressive. And be confident.Q. Where has entrepreneurship taken you?
Start-up mode is definitely a roller coaster ride. It’s exhilarating and one of the best adrenaline rushes you will ever experience.
Q. Has your companies help you stand out in the college application process?
I would like to think so since Santa Clara University has offered a full-ride tuition scholarship. SCU, you are awesome.
Q. What advice would you have for teen entrepreneurs?
Go For It. The only obstacle preventing you from doing a startup is the initial leap. Help is all around, but only YOU can do something with it.
Q. What’s next for MyWeboo and yourself?
Launching Faceless.com! Faceless.com is aimed at the college market. It allows students on the network to share anonymously and connect indirectly to people within the school network without needing to know them personally.It becomes a community solely based the school and its individuals.
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Created By: Jack Liu
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