Ever wonder what gorillas do when no one’s looking? Zoolife is the world’s first interactive virtual zoo. An empathy-led community that lets anyone connect with, delight in, and protect the world’s wildlife.
We value being a force for good. 50% of every dollar goes to wildlife care and conservation efforts led by our partners. Together, we are building a future where we share a deeper connection to wildlife every day.
Tell us about yourself?
Anna Hu is the co-founder & CEO of Brizi, the global pioneer of audience-controlled camera technology. Brizi has become a trusted provider for leading sports, entertainment, and attraction venues in 12 countries, including across NBA, NHL, and ATP world tour. Anna graduated in 2014 from University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University with Bachelor of Mathematics and a Bachelor of Business Administration. As an entrepreneur, Anna has also been recognized as 2020’s Ascend Innovator of the Year and Forbes 30 Under 30.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Don’t take yourself too seriously! Recognize and delight in the magical moments that life has to offer every day.
What problem does your business solve and where did you get the inspiration?
In 2020, Brizi was experiencing our highest sales velocity in the history of the company. I still remember we were deploying across sports stadiums in Athens, Rotterdam and Hokkaido in a 2 week span. That’s when the pandemic hit and stadiums were deserted overnight. Like all life experiences, the silver lining came when we stumbled across the problem of access to zoos & aquariums.
700 million visits a zoo annually — that’s almost 10% of the global population. All the major sports attendance in the world summed up is still less than the attendance of zoos & aquariums. However, their revenues remain dependent on in-person visits, and similar to sports, the average attendee goes only once a year. By extending the experience beyond the rare physical visit, we unlock audience engagement, frequency and retention, while letting anyone connect with, delight in, and protect the world’s wildlife from anywhere.
What is your magic sauce?
We partner side-by-side with ethical wildlife education and rehabilitation centers to livestream the secret lives of tigers, gorillas, alligators, and more than 20 other species, with live expert chats hourly.
Zoolife is for animal people. We give anyone anywhere access to the animal kingdom from the comfort of their home. Today, the average time being spent by customers on Zoolife surpasses that of TikTok.
Streaming live 24/7 from the world’s top accredited zoos, sanctuaries, and rehabilitation centers, each stream is designed to bring you closer to wildlife and offers innovative ways of learning, protecting and engaging with wildlife.
Zoolife enables viewers to control the camera from their device, zoom into a tiger’s whiskers, or move the camera around to explore a gorilla’s habitat. Anyone who signs up to zoolife gets unlimited access, with all product features, to one animal habitat. This access allows the new user to control the camera, watch live talks, interactive Q&As with animal experts, take pictures or clips of the animals, and so much more.
And at the end of the day, 50% of every dollar goes directly to animal care and conservation efforts led by our partners.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
Our ambition is to be the #1 online destination to connect with, delight in, and protect the world’s wildlife. While we will continue to bring on more partners and add new species on Zoolife.tv (koalas coming soon!), we are also focused on adding value to our wide breadth of user personas.
We have validated that Zoolife.tv is a great product for teachers to teach about animals and wildlife, for wildlife enthusiasts to observe animal behaviors in a unique and innovative way, for senior homes to engage their residents, and for every animal lover to relax and unwind while watching in the background.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
Find us at www.Zoolife.tv — The animal kingdom awaits!