Alexandra Chong

Alexandra Chong

Alexandra Chong at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015
Born Jamaica
Alma mater London School of Economics
Occupation Founder and CEO of Lulu
Spouse(s) Jack Brockway (m. 2015)

Alexandra Chong is a Jamaican businessperson. She was the founder & CEO of Lulu, a mobile app for dating intelligence. Business Insider[1] and AdWeek[2] have recognized her as one of the top entrepreneurs in New York. She launched Luluvise in 2011[3] and Lulu was released in the US by 2013.[4] It was nominated as TechCrunch's 2013 "Fastest Rising Startup".[5] Lulu was acquired in 2016 by Badoo where she is now an employee.

Chong was born in Jamaica to a Canadian mother and Chinese-Jamaican father,[6] who won the lottery and started a successful tourism company with the money.[7] She grew up in Ocho Rios.[8] In the 1990s, she played tennis in the women-only Federation Cup.[9] She attended Florida International University on a sports scholarship,[6] and Florida served as one of the main sites for Lulu's launch in US.[10] She's a former member of the Jamaica Fed Cup tennis team[11] and has a law degree from the London School of Economics.[12]

After graduation, she worked in the legal department of a music licensing start-up.[13] Before founding Lulu, Chong had a position in Upstream, a London-based mobile marketing firm.[14]

Lulu has been covered by the New York Times,[15] which wrote that Chong started a “take back the internet movement for young women". Her unique idea to bring the reputation economy into the world of online dating also gained coverage by international media, including People,[16] TechCrunch,[4] Fox News,[17] CNN,[18] The New Yorker,[19] The Next Web,[20] Wired UK,[3] among others. She came up with the idea for the app while having lunch with friends and discussing the potential benefits of being able to rate a male friend using a suitable hashtag.[21]

In February 2016, it was reported that Lulu was bought by Badoo, which is the biggest dating company in the world. Chong had known Badoo CEO Andrey Andreev since 2011, which is before Lulu had launched. Chong became Badoo's president as part of the deal and moved back to London.[22] She departed Badoo in July 2016.[23]

Personal life

Chong married Jack Brockway, the nephew of British businessman Richard Branson, in June 2015 in Jamaica.[24] Brockway is the brother of Ned Rocknroll.[25]

References

  1. ↑ "10 Young Entrepreneurs Share Their Best Career Advice". Business Insider. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  2. ↑ Goldman, Sharon. "Watch Out Guys—Lulu's in Town: Alexandra Chong, Founder, Lulu". Adweek. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Venkataramanan, Madhumita. "Why Alexandra Chong built Luluvise, the ladies-only social network". Wired UK. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Butcher, Mike. "Lulu Raises Another $2.5M From Yuri Milner And Angels For Its Girls-Only App To Rate Guys". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  5. ↑ "7th Annual Crunchies Awards". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Gilpin, Lindsey. "Alexandra Chong: Lulu co-founder. World traveler. Former tennis pro.". TechRepublic. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Should Men Really Care What Women Say About Them On Lulu?". StartupBook. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ "London-Rock Connection". Jamaica Observer. February 5, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Why Alexandra Chong built Luluvise, the ladies-only social network". Wired.com. March 8, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Lulu, The Girls-Only App for Dating Intelligence, Launches in US Colleges". PRNewswire. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  11. ↑ Schoeneman, Deborah. "What's He Really Like? Check the Lulu App". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  12. ↑ Pham, Tiffany. "How She Did It: Alexandra Chong on Founding Lulu, the Private Network for Girls". Forbes. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  13. ↑ "How She Did It: Alexandra Chong on Founding Lulu, the Private Network for Girls". Forbes. November 20, 2014.
  14. ↑ Stone, Madeline. "How the CEO of guy-rating app Lulu organizes her pink-filled work space". Business Insider. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  15. ↑ Schoeneman, Deborah. "What's He Really Like? Check the Lulu App". The New York Times. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  16. ↑ Fowler, Tara. "Alexandra Chong Couldn't Find a Dating App Geared Towards Women, So She Started Her Own". People. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Women-only app for rating men raises privacy concerns". Fox News. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  18. ↑ Fink, Erica. "App lets girls anonymously rate guys". CNN Money. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  19. ↑ Marantz, Andrew. "For Women, By Women, About Men". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  20. ↑ Connolly, Amanda. "Why date-rating app Lulu matters for women and men alike". The Next Web. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  21. ↑ Marantz, Andrew. "For Women, By Women, About Men". Daily Mail. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  22. ↑ Marantz, Andrew. "Lulu, the app that lets women secretly rate men, just got bought by the biggest dating company in the world". Business Insider. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  23. ↑ Marantz, Andrew. "Lulu, The App That Lets Women Rate Men, Acquired By Badoo". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Sergey Brin and Kate Winslet were at this dating app CEO's epic Jamaican island wedding". BusinessInsider. June 5, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  25. ↑ "What's He Really Like? Check the Lulu App". The New York Times. November 20, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
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