Ian Chen shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Ian, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Yes! I just got married in Bali less than 1 month ago with friends and family from around the world. It was a beautiful event and life is getting back to normal post wedding + planning season.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Ian Chen — I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of Discotech, an event discovery platform that makes it easy for people to discover and book nightlife and live experiences in cities across the U.S. and internationally. Think of it as the OpenTable or Expedia for going out. Whether you’re looking for bottle service at a Vegas nightclub, tickets to a music festival, or free guest list access to a rooftop party in LA, we help you find it all in one place.
Our journey started from a really simple pain point: my friends and I used to go out a lot, but we were constantly running into friction — long lines, table minimum confusion, and no clear way to compare venues. We realized there was a huge opportunity to bring transparency and technology into nightlife, a space that had been largely offline and relationship-based. Since launching, we’ve grown to over 1.8 million registered users, and we partner with 1,400+ venues across the world.
What makes Discotech unique is how we combine access, information, and transparency. Our motto is “Save Money, Party Smarter”. We give our users everything they need to make informed choices about how to better spend their money and time. That includes exclusive access to free guest lists, as well as exclusive discounts and promo codes to ticketed shows and festivals. On the enterprise side, we’re building tools to help promoters and venues operate more efficiently, too.
Right now, we’re expanding beyond nightclubs into music festivals, concerts, and cultural events, and exploring partnerships with other experience-focused platforms. Our goal is to be the go-to app for discovering and booking live experiences — whether you’re planning a bachelor party, a girls’ trip, or just a spontaneous night out.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was a curious, creative kid who loved solving problems and chasing big ideas — even if they didn’t always make sense on paper. But like many people, I took the well-beaten path. I studied engineering and business at UC Berkeley, then landed jobs at Bain & Company and later in private equity at The Gores Group. I worked hard, checked all the boxes, and was surrounded by incredibly smart people.
But deep down, I always had the itch to build something of my own. I wanted to create, not just analyze. I wanted to take risks, not just manage them. And while I was grateful for the opportunities I had, I never quite felt fulfilled. There was always this voice in the back of my head asking, Is this it?
Eventually, I listened to that voice. I walked away from the safety net of the corporate world and co-founded Discotech — a startup built on passion, grit, and a little bit of blind faith. That leap changed my life, and it reconnected me with the version of myself that existed before the world told me what success should look like.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
The first was in 2016. We were still in our early days at Discotech and had just gotten a verbal commitment from a lead VC for our seed round. At the eleventh hour, they pulled out — and suddenly we were staring at $20K left in the bank. That barely covered a month of expenses. My co-founders and I stopped paying ourselves completely just to keep the business alive. It felt like we were teetering on the edge. But instead of folding, we doubled down. That summer, we hustled hard, focused on product and user acquisition, and ended up seeing a wave of organic growth. Those numbers gave us the leverage to successfully raise a new round by the end of the year. We barely made it — but we made it.
The second moment came in 2020, right after we’d finally hit profitability. We were feeling great — years of grinding were starting to pay off. Then the world shut down. Nightlife and music festivals vanished overnight. Our revenue dropped to zero. We had no playbook for a global pandemic. We had to make some of the hardest decisions of our lives, including laying off more than half of our team. It was devastating. But we stayed lean, kept building, and adapted however we could until the world slowly opened back up.
Both of those times felt like potential endpoints. But in hindsight, they were turning points — moments that tested how much we really believed in the mission. And I’m glad we didn’t quit.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
I think my closest friends would say that loyalty is at the core of who I am. It’s not just something I value — it’s something I live by. Whether it’s in friendships, business partnerships, or family relationships, I show up for the people I care about and stand by them through the highs and lows.
My best man actually highlighted this in his speech at my wedding just a month ago. He talked about how, over the years, he’s seen me go to great lengths to support the people in my life — whether it was being there in their toughest moments or defending them when it wasn’t easy. That meant a lot to me.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would probably stop stressing so much about long term savings and live more financially and stress free. I think a lot of my anxiety stems from worrying about the future and trying my best to prepare for a long and uncertain future. If my future outlook shrinks, then in an ironic way, I have a lot less to worry and stress about.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://app.discotech.me
- Instagram: @discotechapp
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyianchen/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ianchen1959
