Zihan Wang, co-founder of Zilu. (Credit: Hongbo Zhu)
These Avid Readers Created a Book Discovery App
Tired of the same old book recommendations, Zihan Wang and Lucy Clarke created Zilu, an AI-powered app that allows users to discover books based on their interests.
Zihan Wang and her co-founder Lucy Clarke are both avid readers. But they found it frustrating to see the same bestseller recommendations over and over again. Wang and Clarke were itching to see titles that they were actually interested in – not just what was popular. The duo also have day jobs in the tech space, and saw that AI offered a unique opportunity to change how people discover content that resonates with them. So earlier this year, the Berlin, Germany-based co-founders launched Zilu, an app allowing users to discover a whole host of books they might not have known about before.
Editor’s Note: Zilu has been named to The Story Exchange’s 2025 list of 10 Brilliant Business Ideas. Here’s our lightly edited Q&A with Wang.
How is your business different from others in your industry?
Zilu focuses on discoverability. We help readers find what resonates instead of what’s popular. At the same time we enable indie authors to connect with their audience.
Tell us about your biggest success so far.
We have just launched our new multi-modal AI, at the end of March and have achieved thousands of visitors. This type of artificial intelligence can process and integrate multiple types of data simultaneously, such as text, images, audio and video.
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?
We need to figure out our top channels for user acquisition. We have listed 19 options that are relevant to us and are currently testing out the top options including Instagram, Substack, and SEO.
What is your biggest tip for other startup entrepreneurs?
Move fast and break things.
How do you find inspiration on your darkest days?
I constantly find inspiration from books. Also pilates and going on long walks really helps.
What is your go-to song to get motivated on tough days?
Anything by techno duo Eli & Fur.
Who is your most important role model?
Fei-Fei Li. She is an AI researcher and the co-director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute. She is also the author of “The Worlds I See.” ◾
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