Hailey Ji, Founder HULA, "Entrepreneur Spotlight: Why I started HULA - helping people find like-minded new friends to attend events together"

Our guest for today's podcast is Hailey Ji, Founder of HULA, a community-driven friend discovery platform that connects like-minded people and propels meaningful relationships through shared offline experiences.  Another way to think about HULA is a Bumble or Tinder app to find friends to attend cool events together, whether it be a Coldplay concert or an anime themed launch party.

 

I met Hailey at the Asian Hustle Network Conference in Las Vegas and I found her to be full of energy and optimism, two attributes that are definitely necessary for a start-up entrepreneur.  Hailey is a USC graduate and, after spending 4 years in marketing and digital media working with iconic brands like HBO Max and Fox Broadcasting, decided to quit her job and go all-in on launching HULA.

 

Hailey's inspiration for starting HULA was based on her own personal experience.  In college, she was a big fan of Adele, yet none of her friends in her immediate circle shared her same passion for attending an Adele concert.  She needed an app like HULA.

 

As an Expat living in the U.S., Hailey deeply understands the current generations' loneliness and struggles of locating communities and making meaningful relationships, especially in metropolitan cities like New York City.

 

Without further ado, here is our conversation with Hailey Ji.