Jesse Draper's Silicon Valley roots
Draper, no stranger to the camera, briefly played a character on a Nickelodeon series (produced by her aunt Polly Draper of "Thirtysomething" fame).
"The Valley Girl Show" combines informative chats with a dash of irreverence, drawing on a culture in which tech workers try not to take themselves too seriously.
Some of her guests - Scott McNealy, founder of Sun Microsystems; Barry Schuler, former chairman of AOL Interactive Services; and Heidi Roizen, a former vice president at Apple - may have been unprepared for her set, with its bright pink walls, couches and chairs, and the floral leis they were asked to wear while being interviewed.
Draper is seen bounding around the Stanford campus in a pink tutu, while a voice-over proclaims "Valley Girl!" in a tone that is meant to be a spoof on the vapid, ditzy Southern California Valley Girl stereotype.
Today, the show is more polished, and Draper has expanded her pool of interviewees to include not only the founders of the latest innovative companies (Hosain Rahman of Jawbone, Sabeer Bhatia of Hotmail and Tony Hsieh of Zappos) but also other famous figures, such as former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, former Los Angeles Mayor Dick Riordan, and former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.
In 2013, her 40 new episodes will focus on technology and the fashion industry.
Each episode runs about 15 minutes and garners 2 million views, thanks to partnerships she has forged with closed-circuit TV screens at airports, hospitals, chain restaurants, Roku and Boxee TV, and may soon be seen on in-flight screens on a major airline.
Draper's favorite spots Head Over Heels Boutique, 887 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park.
Not only do they have incredible shoes and Parisian fashions, but they have a consignment shop with designer fashions that appear to never have been worn.
All are welcome, from the businessmen to AYSO soccer celebrations to two girls having a glass of wine.