[TechCrunch Shanghai] From Online Dating to Online Education: Gong Haiyan, Founder of Jiayuan and 91Waijiao

Gong Haiyan: Founder of Jiayuan and Co-founder of 91Waijiao

Gong Haiyan, the women behind the mega matchmaker Jiayuan and the online English-learning service 91Waijiao.com, took the stage at TechCrunch Shanghai this afternoon to share her entrepreneurial experience and insights on the two industries.

Positioned as a serious dating website where single people can seek marriage not just dates, the NASDAQ-listed company currently has more than 100 million registered users, on the basis of authentic user profiles, considerable user data, and seriously motivated users. The business turned out to be a success for both her career and personal life, Gong added.

Gong Haiyan resigned as CEO of Jiayuan last year and started an online English-learning service 91Waijiao with Zhang Dong, a former Baidu scientist. 91Waijiao only provides teachers who speak English as mother tongue, aiming to shake up traditional education practices and teach each student according to their own aptitudes. 91Waijiao has raised $4 million in series A funding from NetEase, one of the biggest Internet companies in China.

Chinese entrepreneurial community embraced more mature ecosystem, but fiercer competition as compared with ten years ago when she founded Jiayuan back then, said Gong.

Online education catches the eyes of domestic investors in the past one-year period. Big companies like NetEase, Tencent and YY all dipped their toes in this sector.