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Photo courtesy of HeyPal
Meet HeyPal, the Language App Using Social Media Influencers To Spread the Word
Christian Hetrick
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
Katy Johnson, a reality TV star and globe-trotting travel blogger, has lately offered some advice to her more than 100,000 Instagram followers.
“I urge you to learn a new language,” the model has told her fans, noting how locals in the foreign countries she has visited appreciate the effort. “It’s essential to be able to connect with people as much as possible while I travel,” she wrote in another post last month. Johnson, a former contestant on the TV show “Joe Millionaire,” has repeatedly suggested one particular way to study a new language: HeyPal, a one-year-old language-learning app.
A photo from Johnson's Instagram account, which she's used to promote HeyPal.
Photo courtesy of HeyPal
“Today I wanted to work on some Arabic slang, so I literally can pull out the phone and use the app anywhere, anytime!” read a caption to one photo of Johnson sitting near the Indian Ocean with a smartphone in her hands and a cocktail nearby.
At first glance, her casual endorsements may look like mere tips from a travel expert. But the Instagram posts, sprinkled between photos of the model posing in exotic tropical locations, are part of a paid campaign by HeyPal, which is owned by Beverly Hills-based digital app developer ClickStream.
HeyPal—which promises to help users learn new languages through social media posts and online chats with native speakers—has made content creators like Johnson a key part of its marketing and growth strategy. The app is currently paying three influencers, including Johnson, to spread the gospel by showcasing glamorous real-life examples of how people can benefit from the platform.
HeyPal, which has racked up more than 1 million downloads since going live last June, is hardly the only brand turning to influencers. Spending on influencer marketing has exploded in recent years, jumping from only $1.7 billion in 2016 to $16.4 billion this year, according to research from Influencer Marketing Hub.
In some ways, influencer marketing is not much different from traditional celebrity endorsements where actors, artists and athletes hawk products in advertisements. But online influencers often forge deep relationships with their fans, making their endorsements more effective, according to experts. That’s especially true if the products or services they’re marketing naturally fit with the content they’re creating—such as Johnson highlighting a language-learning app as a travel blogger.
“At the end of the day, influencer marketing works because the audience trusts the creator,” Brad Hoos, CEO of influencer marketing agency The Outloud Group, told dot.LA. Hoos noted that customers acquired through influencers tend to stick with brands longer than those lured by other campaigns.
Launched in 2020, HeyPal aims to help people learn new languages by conversing with native speakers through social media features like chats, posts, comments and media uploads. HeyPal offers both free and paid versions of the app; the latter is available in two subscription tiers ($9.99 or $14.99 per month) and includes additional features like unlimited translations on posts and a “PenPal” feature that matches users who can teach each other new languages.
HeyPal CEO Jonathan Maxim, a marketing veteran who ClickStream hired for the role last year, told dot.LA that Johnson and the app’s other influencers bring credibility to the platform. Those other influencers include Jessica Killings, an actress, model and angel investor who, like Johnson, has a large Instagram following.
HeyPal CEO Jonathan Maxim. Photo courtesy of HeyPal
HeyPal has worked with roughly 20 influencers to date, though it has only struck paid partnership deals with three, according to Maxim. (“The other 20 or so are just enthusiasts of the mission,” he noted.) The company declined to share how much it pays influencers to market its app.
In addition to boosting the brand’s visibility, HeyPal’s influencers are able to steer people to the app or channels like its Instagram account, through which the company can later retarget them with ads or push notifications, Maxim said. HeyPal can measure reach, click-through rates and number of app downloads by influencer, and can optimize its ads accordingly.
“Influencer marketing serves the top of the funnel for us,” Maxim said. “Katy creates engaging content, brings people to the middle of the funnel, and then we retarget them and bring them to the bottom of the funnel—which is conversion and engagement in the app.”
Johnson’s Instagram endorsements don’t dig into the details of the app, but they subtly suggest the perks of learning a new language. An Instagram Reels video she made in March shows Johnson dancing and posing for selfies with people around the world—activities presumably made possible by her ability to speak different languages.
“These types of posts help people dream—to see a country and the beauty, the food, the people,” said Jamie Gutfreund, chief marketing officer for Los Angeles-based Whalar, a creator economy company that works with influencers and brands. “They can imagine what their experience could be, especially if they have learned the language.”
Creators have to tread carefully when it comes to corporate partnerships, however. Although brand deals may provide more stable income than platform ad revenue, creators have to ensure they don’t harm their authenticity by constantly promoting products, experts said. About 13% of fans say they have unfollowed a creator because they included too many ads in their content, according to a recent survey.
Johnson is keenly aware of that balancing act: She said she sends just a few promotional posts per month and doesn’t endorse anything on Instagram “unless I really believe in it.” Asked how she makes her promotional posts seem authentic, Johnson said she doesn’t need to.
“I don't really make it look like anything—it is authentic,” she told dot.LA, pointing to videos she shared of her playing with children in Kenya or receiving some help putting on a hijab in Egypt.
“Those are all real moments that I've had,” she added. “And some of these moments can be helped when I'm learning language from language apps.”
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Christian Hetrick
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
LA Tech Week 2024: Wednesday’s Event Lineup
03:17 PM | October 10, 2024
tech-week
Here’s what’s happening on Wednesday, October 16 for LA Tech Week 2024! Organized by location, this schedule makes it easy to find events that match your interests and goals for the day.
BEL AIR
5:00 PM
- Tech BBQ at Lumos House (Day 2):See Details Here
Andrew Yeung, Blindspot
8:00 PM
- Tech Party at Lumos House (Day 2):See Details Here
Andrew Yeung, Blindspot
BEVERLY HILLS
8:00 AM
- Scrappy Hour:See Details Here
Scrappy
3:00 PM
- InvestHER Roundtables:See Details Here
Gritty In Pink, Live Nation, Stella Foundation
BURBANK
6:00 PM
- Burbank Tech Talks:See Details Here
Fresh Brewed Tech, City of Burbank
CENTURY CITY
6:30 AM
- IW24 Celebrity x Investor Golf Invitational: See Details Here
City of Santa Monica
CULVER CITY
9:00 AM
- Intersections LA - Coworking at LA Tech Week Day 3:See Details Here
Intersections LA
- Backend Services Summit: See Details Here
Pragma, AWS, Hathora, Mod.io, Unity
- LinkedIn Headshots & Networking Power Hour: See Details Here
AWS Startups
11:00 AM
- Music Fandoms | Monetizing Super Fans: See Details Here
SOUNDCTRL, Venice Music, Fat Possum Records
12:00 PM
- Hologram Happy Hour: See Details Here
4D Fun, Scenez
- Intersectional Innovation: DEI Considerations for GenAI in Media & Entertainment: See Details Here
AWS Startups, Diversity VC
2:30 PM
BNEF Forum Los Angeles (Invite Only)
BloombergNEF
5:00 PM
- CEOSocial POAP Happy Hour: See Details Here
CEOSocial
- Sandbox VR Mixer: See Details Here
Sandbox VR
- Ir(ish) in Tech happy hour: See Details Here
Enterprise Ireland
5:30 PM
- Techstars Aerospace & Defense Happy Hour: See Details Here
Techstars Space
- Lightspark Tech Talks: Make Money Flow: See Details Here
Lightspark
DOWNTOWN
10:00 AM
- Collegiate Cowork: See Details Here
USC Marshall Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
4:00 PM
- Tech over Espresso Martini: See Details Here
Workps
6:00 PM
- Patron VIP LA Consumer dinner (Invite Only)
Patron
8:00 PM
- Climate Tech Cocktails x LATW Party (Invite Only)
Climate Tech Cocktails, Carbonauts, Hollywood Climate Summit, LA Climate Week, Saniset Fleet
ECHO PARK
10:00 AM
- LA Hardware Happy Hour: See Details Here
Duro
EL SEGUNDO
9:00 AM
- El Segundo Tech Breakfast Club: See Details Here
Tech Breakfast Club
1:30 PM
- Future of Industry Lunch + Talks ft. Doug Bernauer (Radiant Nuclear), John Coogan (Founders Fund) & Jason Dunn (Outpost Space): See Details Here
Parsec Institute, Draper University
HOLLYWOOD
9:15 AM
- Founders Barry's Class: See Details Here
Deel, TeamTailor
1:00 PM
- XR, Robotics & AI in Film: UCXR Mixer: See Details Here
Undercurrent XR Studios
5:30 PM
- AI Law Essentials: Navigating the Legal Landscape: See Details Here
Akin
6:00 PM
- LA TECH WEEK 2024 HACKATHON - GAIN HACK: See Details Here
The Preserve, Google for Startups, Genera Venture Studio, Hacker Fund
7:30 PM
- Adventure Capitalist Hollywood Hills Poker Night (Invite Only)
The Adventure Capitalists, MaC Ventures
IRWINDALE
10:00 AM
- Shaping America's Manufacturing Renaissance Roundtable: See Details Here
Launchpad Build
LONG BEACH
6:30 PM
- STEM Ignite: Unleashing the Innovators of Tomorrow!: See Details Here
Our Generation Cares
MALIBU
10:00 AM
- AI For Social Good: See Details Here
Goldhirsh Foundation, LA2050, Creative Visions
MAR VISTA
5:30 PM
- Toast x The SHE Mark: A Garden Party: See Details Here
Toast, The SHE Mark
MARINA DEL REY
3:00 PM
- USC ISI LabTours: See Details Here
USC, Information Sciences Institute
4:00 PM
- Arc One Electric Boat Demos: See Details Here
Arc
- Electrifying the Future: Climate Tech: See Details Here
Sunstone Management, USC Viterbi Startup Garage
5:00 PM
- Elevated Spirits: SA&M Tech Week Exclusive Mixer (Invite Only)
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles
MID-CITY
6:00 PM
- Founders & Funders In Color: See Details Here
SomosVC, Vamos Ventures, BLCK VC, Plug In Ventures
PACIFIC PALISADES
8:00 AM
- Breakfast (Invite Only)
Morpheus Ventures
PLAYA DEL REY
8:00 AM
- Cerebral Beach Coffee with AI Creators:See Details Here
AI LA
5:00 PM
- Beyond the Noise: Bold Moves in Tech, VC, and Capital Raising: See Details Here
Tax Hack, Xero
PLAYA VISTA
4:00 PM
- A Brand New World: How AI is Reshaping Marketing For Tech: See Details Here
Artera, Ketchum
6:30 PM
- The Price is Right (AI Edition): See Details Here
HelloAdvisr
SANTA MONICA
8:30 AM
- Brewing Connections: Coffee + Alfajores Networking Breakfast for Founders at Series A Stage: See Details Here
Braintly, Alt-Black
- Ignite Growth: CMO Breakfast with Google (Invite Only)
Google Cloud
9:00 AM
- Advisor, Consultant & Fractional Meetup (Founders Welcome): See Details Here
Garden Labs
- BBVC Presents, "The Fundraising Climate": See Details Here
SPANVentures
9:30 AM
- Early-Stage B2B SaaS Founders & Funders Breakfast: See Details Here
Silicon Valley Bank, Forum Ventures
10:00 AM
- GFR Fund Office Hour: See Details Here
GFR Fund
- Panel: Diligence Bootcamp: See Details Here
Kukuyeva Consulting, TruStage Ventures
11:30 AM
- Cobra Fitness Club: See Details Here
Scrappy
12:00 PM
- a16z Talent x Opportunity Fall 2024 Cohort Demo Day: See Details Here
a16z Talent x Opportunity
- J.P. Morgan Social Impact Event - Serving Meals to the Underserved: See Details Here
J.P. Morgan
2:00 PM
- From Creator to Entrepreneur: See Details Here
- Tea & Tarot: A Mystical Meetup for Female Founders and Investors (Invite Only)
Silicon Valley Bank
3:00 PM
- Creators Investing Their Influence: See Details Here
- Demo Day LA: See Details Here
Demo Day LA, Startup Coil, LA Startups, Expert Dojo
3:30 PM
- Pickleball For the Planet: See Details Here
Blue Bear Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, SeaChange
4:00 PM
- Poker Power: See Details Here
Silicon Valley Bank, Fenwick, Female Founder Collective, Poker Power
- Tokenization in the Creator Economy: See Details Here
- Founder Happy Hour: See Details Here
500 Global, Hubspot for Startups
- Cultivating Your Exit Ecosystem: Founders, Investors, and M&A Professionals: See Details Here
Bernstein Private Wealth Management
5:00 PM
- Immersive Space: Bridging Sci-Fi Dreams and Reality: See Details Here
Back to Space, The Lunar Light: Discovery
5:30 PM
- Dinner with Squad.App: See Details Here
6:00 PM
- Demystifying Gaming Startups for Future Founders: See Details Here
1AM Gaming, Wilson Sonsini, Cushman Wakefield
- Beyond AI Automation: How To Build Effective GTM Teams: See Details Here
SoCal CX
- Tech & Mobility Reception: See Details Here
UP.Labs, UP.Partners
- Crafting Tomorrow: When AI and Creator Economy Intersect: See Details Here
AI LA, Sunset VC, Jamalytics, TikTok
- AN AI DOUBLE FEATURE: See Details Here
Tool
- Snark Tank/Money is Funny Tech Pitch Roast Comedy Show: See Details Here
Tech Pitch Roast Comedy LLC
- Internet Pipes x Sandbox VR: See Details Here
Internet Pipes
- Investing in Tech 101: See Details Here
GoodFin, WeWork
- Breaking Barriers: AI, STEM, and the Path to a More Inclusive Tech Industry: See Details Here
Farrukh Foundation, Women in Bio LA, Western Union Foundation, Watson Institute
- Space Tech Happy Hour: See Details Here
Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt, Skylar Consulting
- Women in Tech: Sunset Beach Hang: See Details Here
Women in Tech
6:30 PM
- Sunset Soirée: See Details Here
Rivonia Road Capital, Everywhere Ventures
- Founders, Funders, & Fractionals: See Details Here
Founders, Funders, & Fractionals
7:00 PM
- Health x AI Founders Dinner: See Details Here
Venteur
- a16z Games Tech VIP Dinner (Invite Only)
a16z Games
7:30 PM
- Speed Dating for Tech Professionals (Ages 35-50): See Details Here
Los Angeles Fun Events
8:00 PM
- Hack Comedy: An AI Comedy Show: See Details Here
Jester Labs, Hack Comedy
- Gen-Z Happy Hour (18+): See Details Here
Fanhaven, The Collidescope Foundation
VENICE
8:00 AM
- Startup Breakfast Mixer: See Details Here
J.P. Morgan Startup Banking - LA
- Dawn Patrol – LA edition – coffee | companies | capital: See Details Here
Admnt
8:30 AM
- Latinx Cafecito: Brewing Success: See Details Here
Perkins Coie
9:00 AM
- Founders, Funders & Sustainability: See Details Here
Origin Ventures, Urban Innovation Fund, Progression Fund
10:00 AM
- Matcha in the Morning - Global E-commerce Brands: See Details Here
Shopline
11:00 AM
- Combinations - Investors x Founders Speed Meet: See Details Here
House Of Ventures, Wonder Ventures, Bonfire Ventures
12:00 PM
- Unlocking Wealth: Smart Pre-Transaction Moves for Founders: See Details Here
JP Morgan
1:30 PM
- Getting Your Story Right: See Details Here
HSBC Innovation Banking
4:00 PM
- AI Filmmaking Discussion: See Details Here
Wroom Ai Corp
4:30 PM
- BAM Happy Hour: See Details Here
BAM Ventures
5:00 PM
- Women's Health Happy Hour: See Details Here
Amboy Street Ventures
- Founders x Funders TechWeek Takeover: See Details Here
Unicorner, Fidelity Private Shares, WeAreLATech
5:30 PM
- Golden Hour Rooftop Networking & Drinks: See Details Here
TriNet, Everybody Ventures, Flex, Escalon
- a16z & HSBC present: The Future of AI and Entertainment: See Details Here
a16z, HSBC
6:00 PM
- Founder / Funder Mixer: See Details Here
Cherub
- Fundraising unlocked (live + irl): See Details Here
Admnt
6:30 PM
- State of Training Data: See Details Here
Kiva AI
8:30 PM
- Find your match: Investors x Founders: See Details Here
Smoov, Stars Aligned
VIRTUAL
2:00 PM
- How to get value from your data: See Details Here
Simple Data Solutions LLC
WEST ADAMS
6:00 PM
- WeBeGiggin': See Details Here
The Gathering Spot
WEST HOLLYWOOD
11:00 AM
- Unlock Your Investor Potential: How Tech Workers Can Become LPs Using Vested Stock Units: See Details Here
Musa Capital, Rely Capital
4:00 PM
- Future of Storytelling: Hyphah Salon: See Details Here
Hyphah
4:30 PM
- Empowering Creators: Tech for Women on the Rise: See Details Here
Cree8, StoryTech
5:00 PM
- From Dorm Rooms to the Moon: An Aerospace Event: See Details Here
Crater Ventures
- Consumer AI Happy Hour: See Details Here
Cherry Pick
- Shaping the Future of Family Offices: Embracing Digital Transformation and Generative AI Investments: See Details Here
Amino Capital, Wells Fargo
6:30 PM
- ElevenLabs | Private Drinks & Bites: See Details Here
ElevenLabs
WESTSIDE
10:00 AM
- Smoothie Soiree: See Details Here
Unshackled Ventures, Vamos Ventures, PledgeLA, Scale Health
- Pitch Perfect - Pitch Feedback Session and breakfast: See Details Here
at.inc/, Sidley
1:00 PM
- Building the Blockchain Podcast & Pitch4Capital on the Road: See Details Here
Pitch4Capital, Kern AI
4:00 PM
- Pizza Party With Top Investors & Founders: See Details Here
5:30 PM
- Talent Broker: Speed Networking: See Details Here
Talent Broker Consulting
6:00 PM
- The Future of AI Content Creation & Design: See Details Here
- a16z Talent x Opportunity Fall Founders Celebration Dinner (Invite Only)
a16z
7:00 PM
- Artificially Un-Intelligent: A Tech Comedy Show: See Details Here
Not-So-Daily Stand Up, Avenue Z, Just Go Grind
For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.
Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!
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⚖️FTC’s "Click to Cancel" Rule and Its Ripple Effect on Tech
09:58 AM | October 18, 2024
🔦 Spotlight
Happy Friday Los Angeles,
The FTC’s new “Click to Cancel” rule is shaking up subscription-based tech. Now, instead of navigating a maze of cancellation hurdles, users can cancel subscriptions as easily as they signed up—with a single click. This shift is a wake-up call for SaaS, streaming, and app-based companies, where once-hidden exit options often kept users around simply because canceling was a hassle.
The rule also requires businesses to send regular renewal reminders, ensuring customers stay informed about upcoming charges. It's more than a cancellation button—it’s about transparency and giving users control over their decisions.
For startups, the impact goes deeper than UX adjustments. Many have relied on "dark patterns," which subtly discourage cancellations by hiding the exit. Now, companies must shift toward building genuine loyalty by delivering real value, not by complicating exits.
While this might affect retention rates initially, it could lead to more sustainable business models that rely on satisfaction-driven loyalty. Investors may start prioritizing companies that emphasize transparent, long-term engagement over those that depend on dark patterns to maintain retention metrics.
The rule opens the door to more ethical UX design and a truly user-centered approach across the tech industry. It may even set a precedent against manipulative design in other areas, such as privacy settings or payment methods.
Ultimately, the “Click to Cancel” rule presents an opportunity for the tech industry to foster trust and build stronger customer relationships. Startups and established companies that embrace transparency will likely stand out as leaders in a new era of customer-centric tech, where trust—not tricky design—is what retains users.
As the tech landscape continues to evolve, LA Tech Week 2024 offers a chance to explore these shifts in real-time. Check out the upcoming event lineups to stay informed and make the most of your time:
For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.
🤝 Venture Deals
LA Companies
- Ghost, a company supporting top brands and retailers with streamlined logistics and fulfillment solutions, raised a $40M Series C funding round led by L Catterton to fuel its continued growth and innovation. - learn more
- Hello Cake, a sexual wellness and health brand, raised an $18M Series B funding round led by Silas Capital and Strand Equity and acquired Trigg Laboratories, a Las Vegas-based company, to expand its product line and market presence. - learn more
- Horizon Surgical Systems, a microsurgical robotics company, has raised a $30M Series A funding round led by ExSight Ventures to advance its platform, fund first-in-human studies, and expand its team to drive further innovation. - learn more
- Terray Therapeutics, a biotech company using generative AI to develop small-molecule therapeutics, raised $120M in a Series B funding round led by Bedford Ridge Capital and NVentures, to advance it’s internal programs to clinical trials and further develop its AI-driven platform, tNova. - learn more
LA Venture Funds
- Finality Capital Partners participated in a $2.85M seed round for Blockcast, a decentralized content delivery network focused on lowering streaming costs and enhancing quality for digital media providers. - learn more
- Assembly Ventures participated in a $27M Series A round for Monogoto, a provider of software-defined connectivity solutions that enable secure, cloud-based IoT and cellular network management on a global scale. - learn more
- StoryHouse Ventures participated in a $3M seed round for Parakeet Health, a generative AI company dedicated to enhancing patient engagement for healthcare providers - learn more
- Angeleno Group participated in a $32M Series C round for REsurety, a company that recently launched an innovative clean energy marketplace aimed at providing better financial and operational insights to support renewable energy transactions. - learn more
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