Prerna Gupta
{{Short description|American businesswoman}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Prerna Gupta
| image = File:Prerna Gupta headshot in black dress.jpg
| alt = Headshot of Prerna Gupta
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date |29 |2011|09}}
| birth_place = Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = Stanford
| spouse = Parag Chordia
| education =
| other_names =
| occupation = Businesswoman
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| website = {{url|http://prernagupta.com}}
}}
Prerna Gupta is an American businesswoman.{{cite web | first=Scott|last=Meacham|title=Oklahoma is fine place to launch tech startup, entrepreneur says | website=Oklahoman.com | date=October 31, 2017 | url=https://oklahoman.com/article/5570144/oklahoma-is-fine-place-to-launch-tech-startup-entrepreneur-says/ | access-date=September 6, 2020}} She currently is the CEO of Telepathic Inc., which developed the smartphone app Hooked. She cofounded several startups focusing on music, dating, and short-stories. In 2011, she was named one of the most influential women in technology by the Fast Company magazine.
Early life and education
Prerna Gupta was born c. 1981/1982 to Dr. Sudhir and Shikha Gupta, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Her parents were Indian-American immigrants.{{cite web |first=Sara |last=O’Brien| title=15 questions with Prerna Gupta | website=CNNMoney | date=June 24, 2015 | url=https://money.cnn.com/interactive/technology/15-questions-with-prerna-gupta/index.html | access-date=September 6, 2020}}
In 1999, Gupta won the title of Miss Asia Oklahoma at a beauty pageant. She also was mistress of ceremonies at Brad Henry's inauguration, the governor of Oklahoma in 2003;{{cite web | title=Top-ranking social music making app developer Smule acquires Khush |first=Lillie-Beth|last=Brinkman | website=Oklahoman.com | date=November 1, 2011 | url=https://oklahoman.com/article/3628186/top-ranking-social-music-making-app-developer-smule-acquires-khush/ | access-date=September 6, 2020}} she had met his wife, Kim Henry, in one of her high school history classes. Gupta graduated with a degree in economics from Stanford University in 2004, earning the Phi Beta Kappa honor.{{cite web|last=Chang|first=Angie|title=This Is What An Angel Investor Looks Like – Prerna Gupta|url=http://www.women2.com/this-is-what-an-angel-investor-looks-like-prerna-gupta/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527163511/http://www.women2.com:80/this-is-what-an-angel-investor-looks-like-prerna-gupta/|archive-date=May 27, 2013|access-date=18 October 2012|publisher=women 2.0}} While at Stanford, Gupta joined Kappa Alpha Theta.https://content.fortune.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/show_temp-15.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}}
Career
Gupta's first job out of college was at the Monitor Group in San Francisco, a strategy consulting practice. In 2006, she and her husband moved to Atlanta, Georgia{{cite web | title=LaDIDa, LaDIDa | first=Lillie-Beth|last=Brinkman|website=Oklahoman.com | date=April 26, 2010 | url=https://oklahoman.com/article/3457021/ladida-ladida/ | access-date=September 6, 2020}} and created a dating site for young Indians called Yaari. Gupta grew the site to two million users before moving to her second venture.
In 2009, the couples started an app company called Khush{{Cite web |date=2011-09-08 |title=Khu.sh's Prerna Gupta Pioneers High-Tech Music for the Masses |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna44436768 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126022037/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna44436768 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 26, 2020 |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{cite news|last=Graham|first=Jefferson|title=Smule snags Songify app creator|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-12-01/smule-khush-music-apps/51544284/1|work=Tech|publisher=USA Today|access-date=October 18, 2012|date=December 1, 2011}}{{cite news|last=Anders|first=George|date=March 10, 2012|title=11 Secrets of Viral Videos|work=Tech|publisher=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2012/03/10/11-secrets-of-viral-videos/|access-date=18 October 2012}} which developed an iPhone app called LaDiDa creating background music to a user's singing.{{cite web | last=Dannen | first=Chris | title=The Most Influential Women in Technology 2011 – Prerna Gupta | website=Fast Company | date=January 10, 2011 | url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3016961/the-most-influential-women-in-technology-2011-prerna-gupta | access-date=October 23, 2020}} It became one of the most downloaded free music apps.{{cite news|last=Wang|first=Jennifer|date=September 5, 2011|title=Khu.sh's Prerna Gupta Pioneers High-Tech Music for the Masses|url=http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220220|newspaper=Entrepreneur|access-date=October 18, 2012}} The company also developed the app Songify.{{cite web|last=Eördögh|first=Fruzsina|title=Prerna Gupta shares her secret viral-video sauce|date=9 March 2012 |url=http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/prerna-gupta-viral-video-sxsw-kush-ladida-songify/|access-date=18 October 2012|publisher=Daily Dot}} Khush was acquired by Smule in December 2011.{{cite news|last=Samuels|first=Diana|title=Smule to acquire friendly competitor Khush|work=BizBlog|publisher=San Jose Business Journal|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/blog/2011/12/smule-to-acquire-friendly-competitor.html|access-date=18 October 2012}} After the acquisition, Gupta became the Chief Product Officer at Smule,{{cite web | last1=Craggs | first1=Ryan | last2=Sargent | first2=Joshua | title='CineBeat' app by Smule makes music videos | website=SFGate | date=May 9, 2013 | url=https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/CineBeat-app-by-Smule-makes-music-videos-4503906.php | access-date=September 6, 2020}} staying there until 2013.{{cite web|last=Ha|first=Anthony|date=September 17, 2015|title=Hooked Is An App For Readers Who Think Fiction Should Be More Like Text Messaging – TechCrunch|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/17/hooked/|access-date=September 7, 2020|website=TechCrunch}} She also became involved in angel investing.
After leaving Smule, Gupta went on a road trip and started writing a book, a fiction piece that took place in a futuristic Silicon Valley.{{cite news|last=Fortson|first=Danny|date=February 11, 2018|title=The app that has younger readers Hooked|newspaper=Sunday Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/technology/article/the-app-that-has-younger-readers-hooked-dcw67m837}} Abandoning the book, she and her husband created Telepathic Inc. and an app called Hooked where users share 1,000-word pieces of fiction.{{cite news|last=Meacham|first=Scott|date=November 12, 2017|title=Oklahoma entrepreneurs advised to 'follow curiosity'|newspaper=Tulsa World|url=https://tulsaworld.com/business/scott-meacham-oklahoma-entrepreneurs-advised-to-follow-curiosity/article_0c05ed2d-405d-561d-a7d8-1efc14e2b75a.amp.html}} By 2017, Hooked was one of the most popular apps on the iTunes store. In 2018, the company released its first feature-length story.{{cite web|last=Ha|first=Anthony|date=October 26, 2018|title=Chat fiction startup Hooked unveils Dark Matter, its first feature-length thriller|url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/26/hooked-dark-matter/|access-date=18 September 2020|website=TechCrunch}}
Personal life
Gupta married to her husband Parag Chordia on March 16, 2009.{{cite web | title=Chordia Wedding | website=The Shawnee News-Star | date=April 12, 2009 | url=https://www.news-star.com/article/20090412/NEWS/304129961 | access-date=September 6, 2020}} She lives in San Francisco, California.{{cite web | last=Khanna | first=Priyanka | title=Meet the Indian-origin women entrepreneurs laying the foundation of the brands of the future | website=Vogue India | date=October 14, 2020 | url=https://www.vogue.in/magazine-story/meet-the-indian-origin-women-entrepreneurs-laying-the-foundation-of-the-brands-of-the-future/ | access-date=October 23, 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://prernagupta.com/ Official website]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gupta, Prerna}}
Category:American women business executives
Category:American business executives
Category:Stanford University alumni
Category:American beauty pageant winners
Category:Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area
Category:People from Los Altos Hills, California
Category:People from Shawnee, Oklahoma
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)