Tech executive, advisor, board member
Palo Alto, California, United States
114K followers
500+ connections
114K followers
500+ connections
About
Silicon Valley leader focused on innovation and growth in consumer technology products. Over 20 years of experience leading teams and companies including as CEO of Ancestry and as a leader at Meta, PayPal, and eBay. Proven leadership in understanding markets and customer needs and delivering features to profitably meet those needs, including the creation of multiple billion dollar businesses. Experience delivering strategies to enter new markets and building out teams to deliver against those opportunities.
Specialties: product management, product marketing management, consumer web products, business strategy
Articles by Deborah
Activity
114K followers
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Deborah Liu shared thisJust a couple years ago, I was AI curious. LLMs had just burst onto the scene, and I did what most people did at the time. I read the articles, listened to podcasts, and casually played around with the tools. I nodded along when people said it would change everything. But I didn't really understand it from the inside. And that gap from AI curious to AI native was a huge one. It is also the gap that separates the those who will shape what is coming and those who are on the sidelines. I've spent two decades in tech seeing this pattern repeat. Every major platform shift created two groups: the people who understood the new tools deeply enough to drive transformation, and the people who remained on the outside, fluent in the vocabulary but not the craft. The internet. Cloud. Mobile. Social. AI is no different, but it came faster and harder than what came before. Going from curious to native isn't another article or video demo. It's making something. It's the moment you go from understanding AI conceptually to having actually built something real with it shows you what is possible. I took SnapCamp with kids last summer, and we all learned what it meant to build. On June 12 and 19, we're bringing together a small group of people who are ready to make that leap. In 48 hours, you'll go from idea to shipped product with live instruction and 1:1 support to make it happen. Show don't tell. AI is best learned by doing.
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Deborah Liu shared thisI read something this week that I keep thinking about. Molly Graham wrote about the clubs we're all in, the ones nobody announces at dinner parties. The "I got laid off" club. The "my company didn't make it" club. The "I failed at something I really cared about" club. She said something that stopped me: the shame clubs make you think you're the only one in them. And because nobody says it out loud, you can go a long time carrying something that hundreds of people around you are also carrying quietly. I know this is true. I have been in clubs I didn't talk about for years. Roles that didn't go the way I hoped. Failures I retold to myself in the least generous way possible. The story you tell yourself is never as kind as the story you would tell a friend in the same situation. Molly has a way of naming things I didn't have words for. She also writes about sub-clubs, which I found just as true. It's not enough to find someone who's been through something similar. You need to find the people whose version most closely mirrors yours. That's where the real relief is. There is real generosity in writing something this honest. I shared it in this week's Perspectives, and I hope you'll read it. What club are you in right now that you haven't told anyone about?
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Deborah Liu shared thisI grew up in a small town in South Carolina where almost no one looked like me. People yelled at my family to go back where we came from. I brought handmade bao to school and my classmates questioned why I would eat something so weird. Every difference felt magnified, and I spent most of my childhood trying to disappear. In South Carolina, I was too Asian. In Hong Kong, I was too American. For a long time, I thought that tension meant something was wrong with me. My parents saw it differently. They built community wherever they could find it, celebrated their culture without apology, and believed in America even when America didn't always embrace them back. At the time, I couldn't understand their confidence. I just wanted to blend in. My daughter recently came home from an event and said it was the first time in her life she had felt like she didn't belong. She grew up in a community where 40% of her school looked like her, and she had never experienced that otherness before. Hearing her say that stopped me cold. Progress is a strange thing. It doesn't erase what came before. The fact that bao went from a weird cafeteria lunch to something you can pick up anywhere doesn't undo the little girl who sat wishing her food looked like everyone else's. What it does is widen the aperture, making room for more ways to belong. This AAPI Heritage Month, I've been thinking about the quiet courage of the people who came before us, who crossed oceans, accepted indignities, and built belonging out of almost nothing. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. Maybe he had it right all along.
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Deborah Liu shared thisMy sister and I were born just 16 months apart. My parents had a hard time conceiving. After seven years and two miscarriages, my older sister was born. When they brought her to Hong Kong to meet my grandparents for the first time, my mom found out — surprise — I was already on my way. From the beginning, my sister and I were inseparable. Best friends and mortal enemies at the same time. We were basically twins in many ways. By the time she was four and I was three, I had caught up to her in size. We stayed nearly the same height and weight for years, until I finally outgrew her in high school. My parents loved dressing us alike. I thought it was fun. Caroline did not, since she was the older sister. We loved each other fiercely. And we fought just as fiercely. She would squish my favorite stuffed animals' faces. I would secretly step on her pillow. She would push on my bruises. I would dig my nails into her arm. We pulled each other's hair. We called each other names. It was chaos and closeness, all at once. Years later, we found ourselves in another strange symmetry. We were both pregnant with our first child around the same time. The day she went in for her ultrasound, she asked me what I thought we were having. "We both want girls," I said. "So I'm guessing two boys." I was right, though I have to admit, I was a little disappointed at the time. When we were pregnant again, we both had girls. And for my third, I wanted a daughter so my girl would have a sister. That's exactly what happened. Now our kids are living a version of what we had. Our sons are close. Our three daughters are close. My daughters fight like cats and dogs, just like we did, and yet they call each other their "bestest friendest." For years, they shared a room and complained constantly about the mess, the noise, the lack of space. Then we moved, and they each got their own room. And suddenly, they missed each other. It's funny how that works. Some relationships are built on tension and love at the same time. On friction and familiarity. On knowing exactly how to hurt each other, and choosing, most days, not to. Siblings teach you something that very little else in life can. My husband is an only child, and while our kids were running around playing in the background, he said, "I always suspected that having a sibling was like having a friend with you all the time. And now I know it's true." I reminded him that with the joy of friendship comes the cycle of fighting and forgiveness and, if you're lucky, the chance to grow up and watch the same story play out in the next generation. Caroline was my first friend, and she is still my closest confidante. We still whisper-fight in hotel rooms when we travel, but we have learned to stop stepping on each other's pillows. Siblings are the best.
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Deborah Liu shared thisLast week, three people told me they deserved to be laid off. They didn't say it out loud. But it was the story they were telling themselves. Each of them had been operating at a high level just days before. They had full calendars, clear purpose, and key goals. Then silence. When I asked what story they were carrying, none of them were talking about strategy shifts or market dynamics. They were talking about themselves. What they missed. What they should have done differently. How they could have prevented it. There is something oddly comforting about believing that if something went wrong, it must have been within your control. Because if it was, maybe next time you can fix it; but that isn't always what's true. Years ago, my coach Katia Verresen asked me over and over: "What is the story you're telling yourself?" It felt too simple at first. But I eventually learned the question wasn't about simplifying the situation. It was about separating what actually happened from the guilt I had layered on top of it. Those two things are not the same. I asked each of the three people to rewrite their story. I was not asking them to deny what happened, but to shift the ending away from blame and toward learning. I wanted them to walk into their next interview from a place of confidence, not fear. Because the story you carry shows up in how you show up. Others feel it, even when you don't say a word. You may not be able to change what happened, but you can change the story you carry forward. And sometimes, that's the one thing that frees you most.
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Deborah Liu shared thisWant to learn the secrets of great startup investors? Join me at Camp Hustle on May 11-13, 2026. It is a 3-day summer camp for startup investors including LPs, GPs, family offices, and angels. Learn from the best, and listen to real talk from experts and one another. If you want to join, sign up here: camphustle.co Use the code CAMPINSIDER for $300 off. See you there! Eric Bahn, Elizabeth Yin
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Deborah Liu shared thisShe was the quiet one in the corner. So quiet that I wondered if she had anything to say. Ella Mei Yon Harris had been a Content Strategist on our team, and one-on-one, she was animated, observant, and insightful. But in product reviews and meetings, she was silent. I was unclear why there was such a dichotomy, but it threw me off. She took over management of the Content Strategy team and wanted a seat at the leadership table. I was not sure what to do. Would she sit there silently for even more meetings? Turns out that she struggled to show up because of the story she was telling herself. When Ella shared her first Substack post with me this weekend, it was wonderful to see her point of view on what happened back then. She told the story of our relationship and how she overcame her natural inclination to remain in silence. This is something I see over and over again. There are so many people sitting in rooms, virtual or physical, with valuable perspectives, but who are reluctant to share them. They have something to say, but they hold back. And the more they hold back, the harder it gets. And over time, that compounds. It’s not enough to have a point of view. You have to show up and give voice to it like Ella did or you risk being left out of the conversation. I love reading about how Ella found her voice. What has pushed you to find yours?
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Deborah Liu shared thisGrowing up, my mom had a nickname for my sister: 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐬𝐬. Meant affectionately but truthful. Caroline Lau is the oldest. She has always been the one with a system, the one who notices what could run better and cannot help herself from fixing it. This week I am on Spring Break and she agreed to fill in for me. I am sure she also had thoughts about how I have been running things and saw an opening. What she wrote is something every woman who has ever been told she is too much, or not enough, should read. It is about the word that followed her from a middle school snack table all the way to a startup Slack channel, and what she learned about herself along the way. The world needs more bossy women who have learned to be bossy well. My sister is one of them.
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Deborah Liu shared thisMy father moved the same sealed box across four states over twelve years. He taped it shut and brought it with him anyway. When he passed away fourteen years ago, it was still there. When we finally opened it, we found telephone wire and equipment from a job he'd left in New York. He hadn't thought about it in years. Never needed it once. I've been thinking about that box a lot lately. We just had to clear out our garage after renting our home. 100 boxes of randomly packed things we had quietly pushed off to "future us." What I found: three crates of brand new baby clothes. Appliances still in the box. A dozen pairs of scissors. A candle from my husband's fourth birthday. The hats our kids came home from the hospital in. And I found myself asking: how much of what we carry is actually serving the life we're living right now? A few things I've learned from finally facing it all: 1. Clutter is often just delayed decision-making 2. Instead of deciding what to remove, start by choosing what you love. Everything else becomes obvious. 3. Keep the memory. You don't always have to keep the object. 4. Every thing you own takes up mental space, not just physical space. The hardest part isn't the stuff. It's admitting that some of it belongs to a version of your life that has already moved on. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐱?
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Deborah Liu liked thisDeborah Liu liked thisI’m thrilled to share that I have joined Waymo to lead the Global Operations Center! Looking forward to working with an incredible team to help scale the future of autonomous driving. A big thank you to everyone for the warm welcome.
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Deborah Liu liked thisDeborah Liu liked thisEvery year, the Forbes Midas List comes out recognizing the top VCs in the industry. And every year, LinkedIn fills up with the obligatory “humbled and honored” posts from investors who made the Top 100. To be clear - congrats to everyone on the list. Building great investment firms and backing iconic companies is incredibly hard. And I’m also 100% confident the rankings were compiled with purely empirical, objective data 😏 But whenever the list comes out, I’m reminded of one thing: The list only exists because entrepreneurs built extraordinary companies. If there was ever a debate about what comes first - capital or the entrepreneur - the answer is simple: It’s the entrepreneur. Every single time. VCs can help. VCs can support. VCs can amplify. But founders are the ones taking the real risk, enduring the uncertainty, and creating something from nothing. So congratulations not only to the investors who made the list… …but also to many of my friends who didn’t make it and absolutely deserve recognition for the founders and companies they’ve helped build behind the scenes.Forbes 2026 Midas List: Top Venture Capital Investors RankedForbes 2026 Midas List: Top Venture Capital Investors Ranked
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Deborah Liu liked thisDeborah Liu liked thisWe’re excited to welcome our amazing new interns, Jonathan Liu and Cayden Tu, to the TomoCredit team! Jonathan and Cayden join us from Boston College and Duke University, bringing fresh perspectives, curiosity, and energy as they start their internship journey with us, focusing on Engineering, Data, everything AI🦄📲 We’re thrilled to have them on board and can’t wait to see the impact they’ll make. Welcome to TomoCredit, Jonathan and Cayden! #SanFrancisco #SummerInterns Ronnie M. Pauline Chan, CFA, MBA, MSc
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Deborah Liu liked thisDeborah Liu liked this"Who do we want to be in 20 years? That's my problem right now - how do I plan the sequences to get there, while also figuring out if I need to buy another truck in December." That's Bjorn “Hayden” Croxall, President of Croxall Construction Companies, capturing in two sentences what every mid-market leader in the room was wrestling with: long-horizon vision and short-term survival, at the same time. Last week at #IntuitLighthouse Summit, I led a working session with customers to better understand the strategic decisions and challenges they’re facing. What I heard was honest and real from leaders who are scaling fast, making bold bets, and asking the right questions about growth, their people, and what the next chapter looks like. This is exactly why we're here. Powering prosperity is a responsibility that we take seriously. It only happens when we're genuinely connected with our customers. The conversations in that room are already shaping how we build and what we prioritize. That's the commitment. I'm grateful for the depth and honesty shared by leaders making bold bets on growth, people, and their next chapter. Thank you to the Lighthouse Community for bringing those strategic challenges to the table. Greg Johnson Sasan Goodarzi #IntuitLighthouse #MidMarket #Strategy #IntuitEnterpriseSuite
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Deborah Liu liked thisDeborah Liu liked thisThe shift is real - and it's happening faster than most people realize. Men's Fitness just published a piece on why fitness is replacing traditional nightlife and highlighted Sweatpals as leading the movement. People are choosing fitness communities over late nights at bars. Brian Cho put it perfectly: "Community is becoming the product." Sweatpals is the infrastructure for the future of fitness. The only fitness platform built around community - events, classes, memberships, discovery, and connections all in one place. We've grown more than 6x year over year. The daylife generation doesn't want alcohol. They want people. They want to sweat together. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g_mpjrBhWhy Social Fitness Is Replacing Traditional NightlifeWhy Social Fitness Is Replacing Traditional Nightlife
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Deborah Liu liked thisDeborah Liu liked thisAfter an unforgettable chapter, I’ve decided to leave OpenAI. I came to OpenAI to work with Kate Rouch and help build something special. What followed was the most intense, inspiring, and career-defining experience of my life. I’m incredibly proud to have helped scale the marketing organization during a moment when ChatGPT became part of the global conversation. Getting to build out Integrated Marketing, Brand Strategy, Insights and Analytics, Production, Marketing and Creative Operations, Brand Partnerships and Media is the most fun I’ve ever had at work. But what was truly the best and what I’ll remember most are the people. The talent, kindness, curiosity, resilience and sheer speed of this team is hard to describe unless you’ve lived it. To Kate, Kaitlin GiannettiJosh ClevelandAnne OburghAli LayngYili ChangZach StubenvollElke KarskensMichael Tabtabai Andrew McKechnieFrancesca SweetMicah MoreauDane VaheyBenji ShomairBrandon McGrawGary Briggs and everyone I had the chance to build alongside: thank you. It’s been a privilege. I'm wrapping up next week and then taking a moment to reset. I’m excited for the next chapter, and deeply grateful for this one. 💓
Experience
Education
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Stanford University Graduate School of Business
MBA
Activities and Societies: Arjay Miller Scholar, Siebel Scholar
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Duke University
B.S.E Civil and Environmental Engineering
Activities and Societies: Pratt School of Engineering - Board of Visitors
Volunteer Experience
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Founder, Board Chair
Women in Product
- Present 10 years 4 months
Science and Technology
Women in Product is focused on connecting a 30,000 strong community of women builders. We bring together women PMs throughout the tech industry to learn from one another. We host an annual conference of 1,000 PMs plus dozens of events in over twenty cities.
Skills
Patents
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Digital Currency Purchasing Flows
Issued US 9,129,339
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Invoicing system
Issued USPTO 08768798
See patentIn one embodiment, a computerized method facilitates invoicing for transactions in a network-based transaction system. The method includes identifying a plurality of transactions to which a first entity is a party, identifying first and second transactions from the plurality of transactions that satisfy combinable criteria relating to combining transactions into a single invoice, and providing to the first entity an indication of the combinability of transactions of the first and second…
In one embodiment, a computerized method facilitates invoicing for transactions in a network-based transaction system. The method includes identifying a plurality of transactions to which a first entity is a party, identifying first and second transactions from the plurality of transactions that satisfy combinable criteria relating to combining transactions into a single invoice, and providing to the first entity an indication of the combinability of transactions of the first and second transactions into the single invoice. The method can also be implemented on a machine readable medium.
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Virtual Credits - Credit Referral
Issued US 8,504,417
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