Panya Chheng
Panya Chheng is a Founder and CEO. He tells us that, “I am a serial entrepreneur and part-time professional actor. I have started two companies: Medyear and Starra. Before becoming an entrepreneur I was a strategy consultant for companies like Deloitte. I gravitate towards pulling off the impossible ideas, such as giving people control over their medical records, or finding true love.”
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your Entrepreneur journey/venture/initiative.
I was born in Cambodia, but immigrated to the US as a young child. I grew up in Texas. The first few years of my life were in the rural town of Breckenridge, but at age 9, my family moved to the Dallas area and became restaurant owners. So I was introduced to the business and entrepreneurship world fairly young. I helped run the cash register and bus tables. My parents were supportive and invested in my many extracurricular pursuits. They got me my first computer at the age of 13. This led to me becoming very proficient with computing to the point of being able to develop websites and web application software on my own, and I even did web design to help pay my way through college.
After I got an amazing education, I became a management consultant for Deloitte for a decade. I worked with some giant public and private sector organizations, such as Intel, HP, J&J, Dept of Homeland Security, TSA, etc. After Deloitte, I did a brief stint on the Obama 2008 presidential campaign, and then I joined a large IT services company that went public on the NYSE in 2010.
Despite a fairly successful run in the corporate world, I have always been a bit of an independent thinker, and a creative one. I am also somehow rather drawn to solving these huge pains for society, such as not having your medical records or dating the wrong people. After the IPO, I decided it was time for me to take a chance on one of my ideas, so I followed in my parents’ footsteps and became an entrepreneur by starting Medyear.
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business /initiative? What motivated you within to say YES, go for it!”
The original idea for Medyear was an idea for a social networking platform with which you could organize your own healthcare. The idea made a lot of sense at the time, because people were drawn to using social networking for all kinds of random activities, including microblogging about their health journeys. What compelled me to go for it was the positive feedback I got from a large hospital system when I pitched this social networking idea. They loved it and with this strong positive feedback, we started to build it.
Tell us something about your initiative or current role. What is it about, and what impact are you trying to make?
My new company is Starra. Starra is an astrology-based dating and matchmaking service, powered by AI. Currently the Starra app that is available for download on iOS and android is a dating app which offers instant relationship compatibility readings whenever you match with someone. We also offer a web-based version of Starra for people who aren’t trying to date, but are general astrology enthusiasts and want access to the readings, horoscopes, and AI astrologer to chat with. Meanwhile, we are currently working on a new matchmaking feature that will find you an ideal relationship, using astrology. This has never been done before in the world of online dating. The impact we hope to make with this new feature is a 50% reduction in the divorce rate in the US.
Your journey and your vision are very inspiring, but are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
I have one patent, and am currently working on getting the second.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I hope the world will become more spiritual, and curious about what else is out there outside of our three dimensional experience. There seems to be positive movement towards this vision underway. Modern spirituality is becoming more expansive, and touching more lives. It helps that concepts like astrology are now being embraced by society and pop culture.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. What are your thoughts about women leadership today?
It’s a fact that female-led companies tend to perform quite well. There should be more strong female leaders who are sharp and compassionate. In fact, a company like Starra would benefit from female leadership because our audience is predominantly female. Women believe in astrology at twice the rate of men.
What would you want to say to our young leaders/audience reading this?
Sometimes because of where you are vs where your destination is, there may not be any direct flights. If you’re blessed with some direct flights, then great! But a lot of the time, these journeys require layovers, multiple legs, etc. If you are to start the entrepreneurial journey, then be willing to take the long way if needed. In fact, the long way is probably better because the journey itself is really what entrepreneurship is about. Learning how to make your own way, winding roads and all, is really what gives joy and meaning to it all.
One more thing. The best founders are able to do the most with the least. They are disciplined, resourceful, efficient and frugal.