Today we’d like to introduce you to Yannie Tan.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, I took a gap year from Stanford University. As a student who enjoys hands-on experimentation, I did not want to experience my college experience virtually.
I ended up quarantining at home for most of the year, spending many hours practicing piano. As a classical pianist and YouTube influencer with 270K subscribers, I spent a lot of time making music videos, crafting album single after single.
Of course, my entrepreneurial and creative mind would not stop budging me. At that time, TikTok and podcasts were on the rise. My mind began to race, thinking about all the possibilities that could involve music and sound into the social space.
What if I created a platform where my friends, 2000 miles far away from me, could accessibly produce short sound clips and share them with creatives? 15-30 second sound bites of music, comedy, poetry, or even ASMR? Sound bites would be produced with only a click of a button, just as how Snapchat immediately takes pictures. With no official need to publish sound snippets on platforms like Spotify, this new platform idea would allow many more people to attempt creating music and sound.
I founded Droplet, an audio social media app. Imagine if you could hear an exclusive sound bite from Beyonce, talking about an interesting musical idea about her new album, trying to garner insights from her fans. Or perhaps Sara Blakely, the founder of SPANX, sharing her daily dose of wisdom. Some may think of it as an audio version of Twitter.
My favorite part was the design process of the app. Instagram feeds look like mechanical squares, with not much engaging interaction in the design. Twitter is a scrolling news feed.
But with Droplet –– even the name of the app –– could become a metaphor. I decided to think about the concept of a Droplet. A Drop could be a short sound bite, a Cloud could be the category of sound a listener would choose from (i.e., music, comedy, sports), and a Wave could be directly related to the volume or frequency of a sound wave. Everything revolved around the idea of wave movement and water –– something that makes social media platforms much more in-tune with our natural world.
That’s when I started to realize that my purpose with Droplet wasn’t to only create a social media app, but to create a platform that could elevate creative voices – all without the visual aesthetics that constantly impact our social pressure to “look good” when creating auditory art.
My team and I worked extremely hard on this project, and we ended up with around 800 users and 14,000 overall listens on our platform.
As school began to be in-person again, decided to return to school to focus on my studies. Though this year had taught me so much about the values of sound and music, one thing is for sure: I live for creativity. Whether it’s making more music videos, pursuing my next venture, or writing stories.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We were interviewed by YCombinator, a selective startup accelerator in which 3,000 to 5,000 companies apply for each class and 500 are interviewed. It was the most intense 10 minutes of my life. With challenging questions after questions shot at me and my cofounders, we were ultimately asked hardest question of all: “Why do we need another social media app?”
This took us a while to finally articulate. But once we started to understand what Droplet truly represented and its purpose in the world, we were able to grow with much more direction. I believe that regardless of the startup, as long as the team members are aligned in the mission, vision, and values of their work., the work becomes much more meaningful.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Droplet is an audio social media app where users can create and consume audio content in the form of 15-30 second sound bites, ‘Drops’.
CREATING
Users can record Drops in-app, instantly sharing content such as jokes, shower thoughts, music beats, or even ASMR. Uploading Drops also allows users to produce more polished short-form content, i.e., DJ mixes. Filters (i.e., Helium or Darth Vader) and sound Cues (adding a laugh track after a joke) are creative tools to make Drops more entertaining.
LISTENING
Listeners can choose from a set of four sound categories (launching with: comedy, asmr, music, and thoughts) on autoplay, with the feed being curated based on content popularity. Whether it’s waking up in the morning and tuning in to Droplet or listening while on a quick jog, Droplet provides users with different sounds environments and learn from others without having to constantly stare at a screen. Why 15-30 seconds? We Gen Z’s love it – no need to commit to long podcasts or pay constant visual attention to social media posts.
SHARING
Besides regular commenting and sharing, Droppers collaborate using our features such as Duet (harmonizing acapella style) and shared playlists. We see these driving more interactivity and collaboration between users to create a stronger Droplet community, particularly among Gen Z.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I’m super grateful for all the people who have supported me throughout this journey. As I return to school, I hope I’ll be able to sustain my passion in the media, arts, and technology space. I look forward to keeping in touch with VoyageATL and am excited to hear the many new and amazing voices of Atlanta.
Contact Info:
- Email: yannie@stanford.edu
- Website: yannietan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yannietanmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yannie.tan
- Youtube: youtube.com/yannietan
- Other: joindroplet.com
Image Credits:
David Bunzey, filmmaker and editor for Droplet promotional videos. YouTube video images taken by Yannie Tan and Katerina Mia Servi.
