Three AAPI founders building apps on the App Store that cultivate community

Many of today's most impactful creators are combining the power of technology with their personal experiences to offer valuable spaces for users to learn, share, and connect on the App Store.

When Larry Liu first immigrated to the U.S., he realized there wasn't an easy way for the Asian community to buy the goods needed to make some of their favorite dishes. Wanting to provide a place to celebrate and bring widespread access to Asian and Hispanic food, he turned to the App Store to launch grocery delivery app Weee! People would no longer have to be limited to the small "ethnic" aisle at mainstream grocery stores.

As big advocates for human connection, Dawoon kang and her twin sister Arum teamed up to found Coffee Meets Bagel, a dating app with an intentionally "slower" approach. Their algorithm focuses not on getting users the most likes, but on guiding them toward meaningful conversations. As one of the most popular dating apps, Coffee Meets Bagel has facilitated over 150 million matches to date.

Annie Vang, a participant of Apple Entrepreneur Camp in 2021, created HmongPhrases to help preserve the Hmong dialect for future generations.

Though the Hmong population has been in the U.S. for over 40 years, it is widely considered one of the most marginalized Asian groups. Her app allows users to search for a phrase in Hmong, hear what it sounds like, and then practice saying it out loud. As a true labor of love, not only does Annie do the coding for the app herself she even records the phrases in her own voice.

Liu, Kang, and Vang discussed how they used technology to transform their ideas into powerful platforms, how their apps uplift their communities, and how they influence positive change.

Why do you feel like the world needed your app?

Annie Vang (founder, HmongPhrases): When Apple said, "There's an app for that," I knew I had to make one for the Hmong people. I wanted us to have a presence on the world's stage.