China’s LGBT community is making serious strides in the country’s economic and cultural circles.
The mainland’s ‘pink economy’ in tech is booming, and during TechCrunch Beijing 2015 we will be inviting our favorite speakers to tell you all about it. In our panel session How LGBT Social Networks Come Out, they are going to share with us their projects, from e-commerce, O2O to tourism and beyond.
Geng Le
Geng Le is the founder of Danlan, the first gay website in China. Facing social discrimination during development, Geng launched the gay social media app Blued in 2012. Blued now has 15 million users all over the world, and its value is estimated as about $300 million.
Geng quit his 16-year career as a policeman to build social tech for China’s LGBT community. He also actively participated in public welfare projects, including the prevention, treatment and anti-discrimination of AIDS through his personal influence. On Nov. 26 2012, GENG was received by Vice Premier Li Keqiang. In March 2014, he was received by UN Under-Secretary General Michel Sidibé who acknowledged his work.
Lu Lei
Lu Lei is the founder of the L, a lesbian social app launched in 2012. It is China’s first mobile social network for lesbians in China, and remains one of the most popular services across the country. He is also an independent designer.
Liao Zhuoying
Liao Zhuoying started Lespark and Gaypark, two gay-focussed mobile community apps in 2014. This year he debuted an app called Queers which helps gay people in China discuss convenience marriages. Before tapping into this LGBT market, he worked in Microsoft’s Research Asia and Zynga as a software engineer.
Tickets are still available, stay tuned for more information here and the event page, or simply follow our WeChat: TechNodeEn or Weibo. The full agenda will be up soon.