Tech, the Arts, and the Value of Human Interaction with Shirley Yu

<p>Shirley Yu is the CEO and Founder of Choosii, the community app for everyone that loves to collect (including herself and her friends - crazy plant collectors). Prior to launching Choosii, she discovered her creative side in high school, studied computer science at Rutgers, and then started an award-winning creative production studio where she created environmental portraiture and conceptual still life works for clients that include New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, Barclays and Toyota.  </p> <p>In our conversation, we talk about Shirley's journey from computer science to entrepreneurism, her creative process, and building communities with our collections.</p> <p>Show Notes: <a href='https://steampoweredshow.com/shows/shirley-yu'>https://steampoweredshow.com/shows/shirley-yu</a></p> <p>[00:01:17] Shirley's beginnings in computer science. [00:01:29] Shirley's family is heavily STEMM leaning. [00:02:55] With a creative background, computer science seemed like a good balance between technical and creativity. [00:04:15] Algorithms to 3D print sculptures. The intersection of creativity and technology. There's an intentionality and logic to the universe. [00:05:37] Shirley's pursuit of photography. [00:05:52] The creative problem solving of photography and bringing a vision to life. [00:07:45] Seeking a creative outlet and discovering the scope of photography. [00:10:27] Renting a studio to develop her skills in parallel with school. [00:11:38] Being nominated for awards and having commissions and realising that photography would be a viable career path.[00:13:51] Steve Giralt and being motivated to be in that world where she could innovate creatively. [00:15:20] Graduating from computer science and building her studio. [00:15:53] Developing client work, but also personal projects to explore what you're capable of creatively. [00:17:07] Being passively creative and pulling from both her technical and creative experiences. [00:19:32] Creating Choosii for collectors inspired by her own exper