lilyzhao2@gmail.com - Los Angeles

I aim to leverage as many disciplines as possible to drive creative ideation, efficient execution, and consumer experience.

I’m hungry & currently exploring strategic GenAI opportunities.

Education

  • Cornell University, B.S in Hotel Business Administration

    NCAA Division 1 Varsity Athlete

  • University of Chicago Laboratory High School

    Top 3 Science Olympiad, National Policy Debate

Work Experience

I’ve worked in private equity, tech, and entertainment:

  • Unreal, Founder & Product Dev

  • Instacart, Business Development

  • Pulsd, Head of Partnerships

  • Oaktree Capital / Bellwether, Business Analyst

  • UChicago, Research Assistant to Freakonomics Author

Accomplishments

  • Worked on beta company as a solo founder

  • Learned food science to lead product dev

  • Worked directly under cofounder of Instacart

  • Extended pandemic runway by 3 months at a startup

  • Created a social media app prototype in a day

  • Offered a cookbook deal, made viral Instagram page (30k+ followers)

  • Walked on with no experience onto a D1 Varsity Sport

Global Experience

  • Beijing, China: Business Intern - Kaifeng Foundation

  • Paris, France: Director of Operations Assistant - Hilton Hotels

Life Goals

  • Work on the founding team of a unicorn

  • Work in a writer’s room + be a showrunner

  • Write a cult classic sci-fi (book or movie)

  • Create a transformative documentary

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Writing & Analysis

I enjoy analyzing data & trends to inform entertainment & social media strategy:

  • I wrote this in a few days on new election survey data

  • I wrote this as a trust & safety interview exercise

AI Videos & Storytelling

  • Shorts I made (with no experience): Zoe the Procreating Doll | Freedom | Hungry

  • My first pilot (30-minute dramedy), quarterfinalist at Manchester Film Festival

  • My screenplay (dark comedy), accepted as advanced script at UCLA Extension

Projects (2024 - 2025)

I transitioned to social media & AI entertainment:

  • Prototype, made in a few days - Github | Loom vs Old Version

  • AI Sentiment Analysis Dashboard - Loom | Github

  • Social App - Product Jam/Prototype

  • UGC Content Startup - Process Improvement

  • Social Messaging Startup - Feature Pitches

  • Music Royalties Startup - CRM Set Up

  • Career Path - Consultation