SIQI'S WORDS. OUR SHOES.

SIQI TALKS BEAUTY, TECH AND EMPOWERING WOMEN

I AM A FEMALE FOUNDER AND I WANT MORE GIRLS TO FOLLOW THAT PATH

The world is changing. There’s so much celebration for female founders these days, which is amazing to see. And I think it’s an incredible time to become a female founder and I encourage a lot of young women to pursue this route.

My journey, my education, personal interests and career shifts feel organic — I believe in a way that it all was meant to be. My background in economics and computer science, and my time on Wall Street feel like natural steps before going to grad school at Harvard to study economic policy, and then going to Stanford. All of it led me to enjoy problem solving. So founding HelloAva in 2016 was just another step focused on problem solving.

CONFIDENCE MEANS YOU CAN BE COMFORTABLE AND HAPPY WITH WHO YOU ARE AT ANY TIME

I founded HelloAva because I was inspired by a personal struggle with my own skin. I did not feel confident and felt very emotional, so I wanted to use my own power and influence to solve the same problem for other young women.

TODAY WE WILL MEANS WE ARE GOING TO TAKE SOME KIND OF ACTION

I think you will never be fully ready, so when you’ve got that dream, and you’ve got that gut feeling you’ve just got to try it. When my own needs meant starting HelloAva, I took the leap as a female entrepreneur hoping to find real-life solutions for other women who shared the same challenges. That’s how I’ve lived my entire life, exploring areas of interest and pushing myself to discover what is possible—both as an individual and as a woman.

EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH CODING AND MUSIC

It is very important to empower women to learn how to code since the language of coding is now imbedded in nearly everything we do. The importance of that is only going to amplify quickly as we move forward. I learned coding at the age of 17, and in reflection I would have been interested in learning to code around the age of 5! That’s when I was learning piano, and I believe learning coding is a similar practice.

The feeling and experience of emotions is an important theme that flows through all aspects of my life. Growing up as a pianist I focused on my own achievement, but at the same time I was always striving to have my compositions or performances give people the feelings and happiness that I put into my music. I approach work the same way. Now, with my first child, I think that’s how to approach motherhood—happiness.