We had the good fortune of connecting with Liang Chiu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Liang, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process behind starting my own business was that I noticed a lot of the bigger more established brands have the budget resources to run influencer marketing campaigns and the smaller startups want to implement influencers but have no clue how to get started or have the budgets. So I started my influencer marketing agencies catering to all kind of companies, and making influencer marketing possible for companies of all sizes and budgets.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My first job out of college was working at Yahoo, that’s where my Online Advertising & Marketing career started. From there I got into the Internet Security space doing sales & partnerships at McAfee and Symantec. At those companies I saw the importance of marketing and sales are tied together. Then I completed my MBA, and saw the rise of the social media networking platforms (ex. Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, Twitter, etc…), so I joined a Austrian based social photo sharing platform, that’s when I started to experimenting with Influencer Marketing, then got into the online travel space, fashion eCommerce platform where I was given the task to build an influencer marketing program to help the company drive brand awareness, engage with prospective customers (creating a relatable community), and drive sales. Then I spent 8 years at an Influencer Marketing Agency where I help brands source, vet and negotiate agreements to collaborate with social media influencers.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take my best friend to Beverly Hills to explore the Rodeo Drive area, Getty Museum, UCLA, drive down Sunset Blvd, Griffith Observatory, Tour the Hollywood Star of Fame, Checking out Erewhon, Universal Studios, etc… Eat at Little Tokyo.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liangc

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