Interview with Paulina Galoostian: A Young Leader in Tech

Paulina Galoostian

BY LORI BOGHIGIAN

Women in tech. Young women in tech. Young Armenian women in tech. Young Armenian women leaders in tech. There aren’t many people that comfortably fit into all of these categories, but Paulina Galoostian can be grouped into them all. As a fresh graduate from University of San Francisco, Galoostian launched her own phone application, ThisWon, at the age of 22. With her work at IBM at the age of 19, she’s was recognized by the San Francisco Egoist as part of the “32 Under 32,” a list highlighting great accomplishments by young entrepreneurs in the tech industry.

Galoostian is the youngest person to make the list to this date–and the only one to make it twice.

As Galoostian proves in her tenacity and perseverance, she’s become a great attribute to the growing technology and media world and sets a precedent to young women to translate their spirit into action.

Currently based in Los Angeles, the young leader finds joy in charity work, playing tennis, and spending time with family and friends.

Lori Boghigian (LB): In 2016, you launched your very own iPhone application, ThisWon, and became the youngest and only founder on the San Francisco Egoist’s list of “32 under 32.” How did you get to this point in life at such a young age?

Paulina Galoostian (PG): My story begins when I was eighteen as an LA girl who moved to San Francisco to attend the University of San Francisco.

In high school, my dad had passed away from cancer, which changed my life. This tragic loss fueled my fire to keep fighting and working hard. As I looked for internships in San Francisco, I was introduced to the tech bubble. I began interning and working at startups and then transitioned to large companies. Eventually, I found my calling for product management, which combined my leadership skills with my strong personality to get work done quickly and efficiently. While I was in college, I started my first company, ThisWon, which launched in May 2016. I love creating products and found an amazing team to bring this idea to life! It was the first time I had stepped away from working for a company to start my own. I graduated school early with honors to follow my entrepreneur spirit. After the launch of ThisWon, I moved back to LA to continue building the ThisWon community and to explore a new adventure. I appreciate the recognition by San Francisco Egotist’s list of “32 under 32,” especially since the list is made up of such brilliant, inspirational individuals. It was amazing to have them recognize me as a young Armenian female founder.

LB: What does the app do?

PG: ThisWon is a decision-making social network. Users get feedback and voice their thoughts by having friends and the community vote on posts. We can all be indecisive! Friends can finally help you decide which shoes to buy, which restaurant to try, and everything else you’re stuck on. You can download ThisWon in the iTunes App Store.

We built ThisWon to help people make better decisions from crowdsourced feedback. Our next goal is to onboard verified experts to give their professional input on specific topics such as fashion, food and beauty.