Peekawoo.com : The all-female startup company from the Philippines

THE INTERVIEW

VALENICE BALACE

FOUNDER/CEO AT PEEKAWOO.COM

Can you tell us about your humble beginning as a Founder and CEO at Peekawoo.com?

Well, I was like everyone else I had a day job and it was in that point that I had extra money to either save it in a bank or invest it in a business. So I decided to do business. I started with almost 100K for the development and design of the first version of Peekawoo.

It took a while to do the first version because we only had enough money for a part time employee and it took him 3 months to finish the prototype of the site. We tested it out and we got a 50 of our closest friends and family to test it out which was successful.

When we decided that this was worth it we went to look to hire. It was hard because developers didnt want to leave their day jobs for a startup and when someone was willing it was for a part time gig. 3 months after no luck looking for a developer and for some reason giving up was one of the options I was able to pitch to Kickstart.

And from being accepted in Launch Garage, i had to quit my day job and honestly that was one of the hardest decisions I had to make. I was with them for almost 5 years and I assume that I’ve already made a name there. I mean people knew me and I was doing great. And moving to something new and totally different was a bit scary, frankly speaking.

But i decided to take the leap and so far it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Can you tell us about Peekawoo.com?

Peekawoo is a speed dating website which is fun, friendly and wholesome. We aim to put back the fun in dating and take the pressure out of it. In Peekawoo it’s all about the “spark” the “chemistry” you get to speak to a person for 2 minutes and if you decided that you’re conversation wasn’t such a struggle to do you can like her and if she likes you back you get each other’s facebook/ twitter contacts.

Why being a founder is your passion?

This is a hard one, but to quote Forbes magazine:

“Founder is a label with some amount of prestige. It carries connotations of creativity and innovation, determination, native intelligence, and a sense of fearlessness. Founders create something from nothing.”

I couldn’t think of a more perfect group of sentences to describe what I love doing and what I am. I love doing products, I could do this till I’m old. I love being creative with the things I only have at my disposal it challenges me and the happiness that you feel once you’ve pulled it of is priceless.

Can you tell us more details about your job or profession?

Well generally founders are responsible for literally everything the company does and what it stands for.

But in a nutshell there are just 3 main things:

#1 Make sure your product is working.

#2 Funds Management. (1) Spending (2) Cash Inflow and (3) Getting investments

#3 Make sure everything and everyone involved is in the same page you are in terms of what the company is, what it stands for and what it is trying to achieve.

Where do you work? can you tell us your roles and activities in the company?

Well there’s 4 main branches:

1. Content

2. Marketing and Sales

3. Technical

4. Project Management

What is success to you?

Success to me in terms of Peekawoo (well, besides getting millions of dollars :P ) would be I don’t have to put up ads to get users to join. Where people talk about Peekawoo as if they don’t have any other choice for a dating site.

Memorable moments as a Founder and CEO at Peekawoo.com?

When we were mentioned by a female guest at BoysNightOut. That’s when I knew people knew about us. And it felt great. It wasn’t just a number where we announce that we have 15,000 users. Our users actually tell the world they are users.

What can you contribute to our Society as a Founder and CEO at Peekawoo.com?

Well I’ve been pitching to people from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan. They all say that we’re the first all female start-up and surprisingly doing a dating site.

That’s something Pinoys can take proud of. As a founder I want the Philippines to be on the map for innovative apps. And when that day comes men and women from the Philippines won’t just be good in development. They can actually make great products.

(Note: 65% of our users only come from the Philippines and 35% come from Indonesia, India and Malaysia)

Any other hobbies aside from a Founder and CEO at Peekawoo.com?

Well I love creating things as a past time. I love DIY projects like making a chair :) making accessories, I used to join christmas bazaars and I love cooking :)

What’s your motivation in life?

All the girls who think they don’t have a choice, girls who settle. Girls who sacrifice themselves and what they believe for some boy who doesn’t deserve them.

There are a million guys in the world and that’s why I made Peekawoo for women and men to meet them.