How LiveMe’s CEO Found Courage in the Face of Adversity and Built a Multi-Million Dollar Company
Every year the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) comes together to empower women and girls across the globe to help alleviate poverty in their communities. As a speaker invited to this year’s event on November 16th, our founder and CEO Yuki He had the opportunity to share her entrepreneurial journey with hundreds of attendees.
The grassroots mission and message of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Summit is to enable women and girls to become active participants in the economy by igniting a network of women leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to initiate startups, drive economic expansion, and advance communities around the world. Yuki was joined by many other notable entrepreneurs, speakers and guests including Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, Bridgewater Associates’ co-CEO Eileen Murray, and fashion designer Anna Sui, to name a few.
As a longtime advocate for gender equality, speaking at the WED Summit was a special moment for Yuki. “I’m excited to be invited and have attended such an important event, tell my story, and share how LiveMe is empowering women around the world to share their talents and follow their passions,” she said.
Born in a small town in the southwestern part of China, Yuki grew up under the guidance of two strong, independent women: her mother and her grandmother. When Yuki’s mother was just three years old, her grandfather — a military general — died as a political prisoner of war, leaving her grandmother to take care of the family on her own. Still, she was able to raise Yuki’s mother to become an accomplished teacher of 50 years. Hearing the story of her grandmother’s perseverance despite adversity had a big impact on Yuki. Inspired by the strong women in her family, she grew up with a solid belief in herself and knew that if she maintained a strong work ethic, she could accomplish her goals.
One of the recurring themes in Yuki’s speech was the importance in carving your own path and making “unpopular” choices. The first of Yuki’s many unconventional decisions in her path to success was to attend a tech-focused university where over 90% of the other students were male. It was also at this time Yuki first experienced gender discrimination. She felt that, because she was a woman, she was expected to study certain subjects or pursue a particular career, but she worked hard and received scholarships every year. While at college she also discovered that she could sing, a talent that would later be reflected in her motivation to start LiveMe, which is now a live broadcasting platform that lets people share their unique talents with others around the world.
After graduating with a degree in computer science, Yuki was offered the opportunity to attend graduate school. While she had the work ethic needed to gain multiple degrees and the skills to become a high-level executive at a major corporation, Yuki chose again to take the road less traveled and join a small internet company. That startup was Tencent, which would eventually become one of the most influential enterprises in the world. When Tencent started to gain momentum, Yuki knew it was time to move on, however. She joined Cheetah Mobile, and it was there that she created Clean Master, an app that helps users keep their Android devices clean and free of viruses and also helped Cheetah Mobile gain 300 million users worldwide, as well as a coveted spot on the New York Stock Exchange.
Despite her incredible success in the professional world up to that point, Yuki was at a crossroads. She could continue moving up the corporate ladder or she could create something of her own and gain the independence she had yearned for her entire life. Armed with years of experience and knowledge of the global market, Yuki founded LiveMe in 2016. Within the first year of its launch, she raised over $110 million in funding. In two years, the app has reached 80 million users, making it the fastest growing live broadcast app in the United States.
But reaching number one in the App Store or building a multi-million company isn’t how Yuki determines success. Hearing from broadcasters about how LiveMe has impacted their lives is what keeps Yuki motivated. “We are building a platform that allows anyone regardless of nationality or gender to share their talents, follow their dreams and get support from the community,” she told the audience from the WED Summit stage.
She also talked about a few of the LiveMe broadcasters who have inspired her. Jennifer from Long Beach, California, was depressed after her partner died of suicide. By sharing her story on LiveMe, she found support and connected with others who had faced similar situations. Another broadcaster, singer/songwriter Lindee Link, even invited Yuki to her wedding. While she is passionate about providing a safe place for users to express themselves, Yuki is also adamant about giving back and helping those in need, especially other women. To date, LiveMe has raised over $120,000 for charities supporting single mothers, breast cancer awareness, suicide prevention, LGBTQ youth and more.
In addition to being the “mother of LiveMe,” Yuki is also the mother of a six-year-old son. Maintaining a balance between her career and family is difficult but a priority. “I’m catching the next flight back to Beijing so I can make my son’s piano recital. That‘s also very important to me. I won’t miss it,” she said.
Yuki ended her speech the way she began: thanking the women in her life who inspire her.
“It’s women like my grandmother, my mother, the women you’ll hear from the stage today, and women like you that remind me to believe in myself, follow my heart and just keep going. Never give up.”
Want to hear more from our broadcasters? Check out the latest interview in our new LiveMe Spotlight Series.
