Today we’d like to introduce you to Alan Li.

Alan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I started my career in corporate finance, working in investment banking at Goldman and private equity at Siris Capital. Although I learned a lot, I soon realized finance wasn’t for me—I wanted to do something different and build my own company. After business school, I joined a venture-backed startup that built health and wellness mobile apps. We built a solid product, but our business relied on venture funding. When capital dried up in the summer of 2022, we couldn’t secure our next round, and we ended up selling the business to a buyer in Singapore. That experience showed me I preferred not to depend on external funding.

Since then, I’ve launched two bootstrapped, cash-flow positive businesses: Signs and Mirrors and FotoLab Studio.

Signs and Mirrors makes sidewalk signs for premium retail clients. We work with a range of customers—from pilates studios and clothing brands to medspas. Our design stands out, especially with our mirrored and stainless steel A-frame signs.

FotoLab Studio is the first self-portrait studio in New York and Houston where you can get professional-quality photos without a photographer. The studio offers a private room with the camera, lighting, and equipment all set up—just press a clicker and capture your shot.

We’ve also recently started FotoLab Studio AI, a project that turns your selfies into professional headshots using the latest technology.

Bootstrapping these ventures hasn’t always been easy, but I value the control and flexibility it offers. Being forced to be profitable (or at least have a clear path to profitability) has helped strengthen our business and refine our models. I’m looking forward to seeing where we’ll be in the next few years, but I’m not in a rush.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

It hasn’t always been smooth. When you’re going from 0 to 1, there’s a lot of uncertainty. Will this work? What should I focus on? Which direction should I take? In an established company or even a more mature startup, you’re mostly reacting to people, meetings, and issues—constantly shifting focus to handle what’s already set.

In contrast, when you’re building something from scratch, you have to push everything forward on your own. At the early stages, there isn’t someone telling you what to do, and there are no customers calling with complaints or fixes. In these uncertain moments, you rely solely on yourself to figure things out. The journey can be lonely, cause doubt, and test your patience. Yet, there’s a certain beauty in the struggle—if it were easy, everyone would do it.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

FotoLab Studio started with a simple idea: in 2022, we launched New York City’s first self-portrait studio where you can capture professional-quality photos without a photographer. Our private rooms come fully set up with the camera, lighting, and equipment you need—just step in and press the clicker. Our straightforward approach to booking and taking headshots quickly resonated with people, and within a year, we expanded to Houston.

With millions of headshots taken and thousands of 5-star reviews, we’ve learned that people truly value affordable, high-quality photos. In 2023, we noticed a growing interest in AI headshot generators. After testing several, we found that many of them didn’t live up to our quality standards—they often produced pixelated images or distorted features.

That gap in the market inspired us to take action. By late 2024, after rigorous testing of models like Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, Flux, and Midjourney, we developed FotoLab Studio AI—the first AI headshot generator created by a real photo studio. Our tool offers a level of quality that’s nearly indistinguishable from a traditional studio shot.

We’re proud to be known for our commitment to quality and our ability to innovate while keeping things simple and accessible. Our brand stands apart because we put quality at the forefront of everything we do, ensuring every headshot—whether taken in our studio or generated by our AI—is something we’re proud to share.

We invite you to try FotoLab Studio AI and see for yourself how we’re redefining headshots. Your support and feedback mean the world to us as we continue to refine our offerings and push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?

I’ve been fortunate in both life and business, and one of my luckiest moments was attending a friend’s birthday party in Hawaii. That trip led me to meet my wife, who is not only my life partner but also my business partner. Working with your spouse is a real game-changer—you’re together all day, so communication is seamless and brainstorming happens on the fly. Of course, there are challenges, and having complementary skills is essential to make it work. But if you find that perfect balance in both life and business, I think that’s really lucky.

Pricing:

• $35 for Basic Pacakage
• $45 for Professional Package
• $75 for Elite Package

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fotolabstudio.ai/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fotolabstudio
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/
• Twitter: https://x.com/fotolabstudio
• Other: http://www.signsandmirrors.com/