Alexandra Chong Explained

Alexandra Chong
Birth Place:Spanish Town, Jamaica
Occupation:Founder and CEO of Jacana; Founder of Lulu
Alma Mater:London School of Economics

Alexandra Chong is a Jamaican entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Jacana,[1] a global cannabis company. Jacana cultivates, develops and distributes medical cannabis internationally and in a historic move, it was the first company to export Jamaican medical cannabis flower internationally. [2]

She was previously the founder and CEO of Lulu, a mobile app for dating intelligence. Business Insider[3] and AdWeek[4] have recognized her as one of the top entrepreneurs in New York. She launched Luluvise in 2011[5] and Lulu was released in the US by 2013.[6] It was nominated as TechCrunchs 2013 "Fastest Rising Startup".[7] Lulu was acquired in 2016 by Badoo.

Chong was born in Jamaica to a Canadian mother and Chinese-Jamaican father,[8] who won the lottery and started a successful tourism company with the money.[9] She grew up in Ocho Rios.[10] In the 1990s, she played tennis in the women-only Federation Cup.[11] She attended Florida International University on a sports scholarship,[8] and Florida was one of the main sites for Lulu's launch in the US.[12] She is a former member of the Jamaica Fed Cup tennis team[13] and has a law degree from the London School of Economics.[14]

After graduation, she worked in the legal department of a music licensing start-up.[14] Before founding Lulu, Chong had a position in Upstream, a London-based mobile marketing firm.[15]

Lulu was a highly controversial app, with its functionalities frequently described negatively in the popular press as "sexist and objectifying",[16] "nonconsensual",[17] and "shallow and mean".[18] The release of Lulu caused notable social "recoil"[19] and received significant negative coverage in the press for its violation of Facebook's policies on the use of user data.[20]

In February 2016, it was reported that Lulu had been bought by Badoo, which is the biggest dating company in the world. Chong had known Badoo's 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.[21] The app was subsequently shut down, and she left Badoo in July 2016.[22]

Personal life

Chong married Jack Brockway, the nephew of the British businessman Richard Branson, in June 2015 in Jamaica.[23] Brockway is the brother of Ned Rocknroll.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jamaican Global Cannabis Company Jacana Raises 20 million. New Cannabis Ventures. February 28, 2019. February 28, 2019.
  2. Web site: Jamaica ships medical cannabis to Canada for testing. Jamaica Observer. March 8, 2019. Tanesha. Mundle. March 8, 2019.
  3. Web site: 10 Young Entrepreneurs Share Their Best Career Advice. Business Insider India. November 17, 2015.
  4. Web site: Goldman. Sharon. Watch Out Guys—Lulu's in Town: Alexandra Chong, Founder, Lulu. Adweek. November 13, 2015. November 18, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151118132942/http://www.adweek.com/sa-article/watch-out-guys-lulus-town-alexandra-chong-founder-lulu-156730. dead.
  5. Venkataramanan. Madhumita. Why Alexandra Chong built Luluvise, the ladies-only social network. Wired UK. March 8, 2012. November 17, 2015.
  6. Web site: Butcher. Mike. Lulu Raises Another $2.5M From Yuri Milner And Angels For Its Girls-Only App To Rate Guys. TechCrunch. February 5, 2013. November 17, 2015.
  7. Web site: 7th Annual Crunchies Awards. TechCrunch. November 13, 2015.
  8. Web site: Gilpin. Lindsey. Alexandra Chong: Lulu co-founder. World traveler. Former tennis pro.. TechRepublic. December 23, 2014. November 17, 2015.
  9. Web site: Should Men Really Care What Women Say About Them On Lulu? . StartupBook . January 23, 2016 . January 31, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160131035213/http://startupbook.co/2013/11/23/do-men-really-care-what-women-say-about-them-on-lulu/ . dead .
  10. News: London-Rock Connection . Jamaica Observer . February 5, 2012 . January 23, 2016 .
  11. Why Alexandra Chong built Luluvise, the ladies-only social network . Wired . March 8, 2012 . January 23, 2016 .
  12. Lulu, The Girls-Only App for Dating Intelligence, Launches in US Colleges. PRNewswire. November 17, 2015.
  13. News: Schoeneman. Deborah. What's He Really Like? Check the Lulu App. The New York Times. November 20, 2013. November 17, 2015. subscription.
  14. Web site: Pham. Tiffany. How She Did It: Alexandra Chong on Founding Lulu, the Private Network for Girls. Forbes. November 20, 2014. November 17, 2015.
  15. Web site: Stone. Madeline. How the CEO of guy-rating app Lulu organizes her pink-filled work space. Business Insider. April 24, 2015. November 17, 2015.
  16. Web site: Jupp . Emily . Luluvise: Nobody—male or female—comes out of this boyfriend-rating app looking good . The Independent . 6 February 2013 . 21 November 2013.
  17. Web site: Hess . Amanda . Rating Men on Lulu Isn't Empowering. It's Creepy. . Slate Magazine . 7 February 2013 . 20 November 2013.
  18. Web site: Strasbaugh . Werner . Lulu strikes OSU . The Daily Barometer . 7 May 2013 . 20 November 2013.
  19. Web site: O'Connor . Maureen . The Nice Girls of Lulu, So-Called 'Yelp for Men' . New York Magazine . 13 November 2013 . 20 November 2013.
  20. Web site: Scott . Tom . Luluvise's date-rating site shows where your Facebook data can end up . The Guardian . 8 February 2012 . 21 November 2013.
  21. Web site: Maya . Kosoff. February 9, 2016. Lulu, the app that lets women secretly rate men, just got bought by the biggest dating company in the world. Business Insider. January 18, 2022.
  22. Web site: Steve . O'Hear. February 9, 2016. Lulu, The App That Lets Women Rate Men, Acquired By Badoo. TechCrunch. January 18, 2022.
  23. Web site: Sergey Brin and Kate Winslet were at this dating app CEO's epic Jamaican island wedding . BusinessInsider. James. Cook . June 5, 2015 . January 18, 2022 .

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