Meet Emily Tang: The Founder of Influencer Studio

Emily Tang is a new founder, podcast host, tv host, and superstar AI entrepreneur. We finally got a chance to interview her about her newly launched startup, Influencer Studio.

Emily, many people first met you as Emily Tangerine. Give us the quick origin story before tech.

Emily: I started on-camera—red carpets, entertainment segments, and live events. I later covered the NBA as a Chinese-language sideline reporter and did overseas correspondent work in esports. That period taught me how to hold a room, improvise under pressure, and translate complex stories for broad audiences.

And now you’re in tech—specifically generative AI. What’s Influencer Studio in one sentence?

Emily: A smart chat assistant for creating AI media —think “ChatGPT, but built for generating visuals, voice, and video.” You chat using natural language, it produces consistent content and even “AI influencers,” all optimized for social.

What problem did you see that pushed you to build this?

Emily: Three things kept coming up with creators I know:

1. Content takes too long to make — Influencers are expected to post daily across formats. But taking out cameras and creating concepts takes forever. Especially for things like YouTube thumbnails. AI images are so good now that you don't need to take photos anymore.
2. Realism — Most AI image generation looks fake, and closed source models are being outpaced by open source. By updating constantly with the latest open source models, users are able to get the latest technology without having to spin up their own GPUs.
3. Make it extremely easy — Great models exist, but you’re duct-taping UIs and prompts. We make it extremely easy since everything is done inside a chat prompt. I wanted one conversational layer that handles images, B-roll/video clips, captions, and voice—without 10 tabs open.

We're also making a bet that AI influencers are going to be way bigger in the future, since companies can now rely on AI influencers to make their commercials and not have to deal with real people. That might be good or bad, so we'll see.

How did your hosting background shape the product?

Emily: Hosting got me into YouTube, which got me into creating AI videos, which got me thinking about what's the best way to make a generative AI product. Influencer Studio was something that a friend of mine was working on. They thought I'd be a good fit since I'm really big into the YouTube space and using AI videos.

Where does Founder Edit fit into your story?

Emily: Founder Edit is my way to spotlight rising builders—short, sharp interviews focused on the real parts of getting something off the ground. It keeps me close to user problems and sparks ideas we bring back to the product. We’re rolling it out on YouTube and socials.

Give us a concrete use case for Influencer Studio a solo creator would recognize.

Emily: Say you’re launching a fitness or you are a fitness influencer.

• You describe your persona (tone, look, values) in the influencer generator UI or you upload photos of yourself.
• The assistant generates images that fit you using our model training feature.
• You can then tweak images until it looks realistic enough for social. Images are HIGHLY realistic, especially if you have input high quality HD photos into the training.

How is this different from what's already out there.

Emily: LoRA training isn't really super accessible – it's not available in tools like Midjourney or Chat GPT - which is the mechanism behind creating your influencer. A few platforms have it but most of them don't. We make it really easy for you to generate your images, then edit them, then lip sync them in one platform without you needing 10 different platforms.

We're also more open to "restricted" content. For example, most image generators won't even let you generate a woman in lingerie because it's too risque.

You’ve been very online as Emily Tangerine. Any favorite career moments you can share?

Emily: Covering NBA games in Chinese was special, and I loved the adrenaline of red carpets and live segments—it’s where I learned to synthesize fast and keep things human. That “live muscle” is the same one I flex when I’m product-testing or interviewing founders today.

What does success look like for Influencer Studio over the next year?

Emily: Three milestones:

1. We hope to get 1,000 creators using our app within the first year. That would be amazing.
2. We hope to get repeat customers, which currently is a struggle.
3. Build Founder Edit to 50 videos by year 1.

Last one—advice to new founders?

Emily: Talk to users obsessively, ship smaller, and treat your content like a product: iterate, measure, and cut ruthlessly. I ask every Founder Edit guest the same thing I ask myself: What’s the simplest wedge that proves you’re solving a real pain?