# Prerna Gupta

> Prerna Gupta is the founder and CEO of Hooked, the chat-fiction app that turned bite-sized text-message stories into a habit for over 100 million Gen Z readers and topped the App Store in 25 countries. A Stanford economics grad who once ran consulting decks before building apps, she co-created the music hits LaDiDa and Songify under her startup Khush (acquired by Smule, where she became Chief Product Officer) before reinventing fiction for the smartphone generation. She describes Hooked as 'books for the Snapchat generation' and her own role as a product CEO who would rather build with her team than work a room.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Hooked (Telepathic Inc.)
- **Organizations:** Hooked, Telepathic Inc., Smule, Khush, Yaari, Monitor Group, Summit Partners
- **From:** Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A. in Economics, Phi Beta Kappa, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Founder and CEO of Hooked, a chat-fiction platform reaching over 100 million Gen Z readers worldwide, Built the #1 app on the App Store and Google Play in 25 countries, Co-created LaDiDa, the #1 free music app on iTunes at launch

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Graduated Stanford University with a B.A. in Economics (Phi Beta Kappa); joined Monitor Group as a strategy consultant.
- **2006** — Co-founded Yaari, a social networking site for young Indians, which grew to roughly 2 million users.
- **2009** — Co-founded the app company Khush with husband Parag Chordia and released LaDiDa, briefly the #1 free music app on iTunes.
- **2011** — Khush's Songify took off; named one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company; Khush acquired by Smule in December.
- **2011-2013** — Served as Chief Product Officer at Smule, leading hit music apps including AutoRap downloaded by hundreds of millions.
- **2013** — Left Smule, began angel investing, and started writing fiction set in a futuristic Silicon Valley.
- **2015** — Co-founded Telepathic Inc. and launched Hooked, an app for short text-message-style chat fiction.
- **2016-2017** — Hooked climbed to #1 on the App Store and Google Play across 25 countries, reaching tens of millions of readers.
- **2018** — Hooked released its first feature-length story, expanding the chat-fiction format.

## Achievements

- Founder and CEO of Hooked, a chat-fiction platform reaching over 100 million Gen Z readers worldwide
- Built the #1 app on the App Store and Google Play in 25 countries
- Co-created LaDiDa, the #1 free music app on iTunes at launch
- Co-created Songify and led product on AutoRap and other Smule apps downloaded hundreds of millions of times
- Chief Product Officer at Smule following the acquisition of her company Khush
- Named one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company (2011)
- Writing featured in The New York Times, Vogue, Forbes and TechCrunch
- Crowned Miss Asia Oklahoma (1999); mistress of ceremonies at Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry's inauguration (2003)

## Latest updates

- **2018-01** — Hooked released its first feature-length story, expanding beyond bite-sized chat fiction.
- **2017-05** — Telepathic/Hooked's most recent disclosed funding round (Series A), part of roughly $8.8M raised.

## Links

- Website: https://www.prernagupta.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prerna
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/prernagupta
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prernagupta/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/hookedonreading/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/prerna-gupta
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-08