Have you always been a creative person?
I came to the U.S. from China when I was 10 years old. I wasn’t very good at English, so school was hard for me. Art was a way for me to express myself. I also loved video games. I liked that they allowed you to build worlds, create characters, and tell a story. Video games inspired me to do creative things. I’m still inspired by them to this day!
When did you know you wanted to start a business?
After I finished art school, I worked on 3-D effects for commercials and movies. But I started to notice that there weren’t many other Asian Americans running creative businesses. That really inspired me to start my own.
What’s the process of making a Snapchat lens?
Let’s say McDonald’s has a new menu item. They want a fun lens to promote it. Our job is to help them figure out what that lens looks like. Is it for selfies? Is it a game? How do you play? Do you have to tap or tilt your head? We map out the answers to these questions on a storyboard. This helps us design the lens. Then our team of tech designers builds it.