SCALE UP

"Every problem is an opportunity in disguise." - John Adams. Like many others, Cass and her entire crew have also been impacted by the dreaded #layoffs2023 pandemic. Although disheartened by the sad news, Cass also saw an opportunity in this layoff market.

“Tech startups still have to grow and keep expanding. However, their way of engaging marketing agencies will need to change fundamentally to adjust to the restricted budgets. This is where I see an opportunity, to be a true partner to the client through fractional marketing team. "

Tune in to this episode where Cass shared the story behind OtterHalf. ( 🔊 Spoiler alert, the name is a witty wordplay and definitely has something to do with Otters as well) and her top tips for turning setbacks into stepping stones and starting a new venture.

1️⃣ Know your strength and do what you love. This way, people can naturally feel your passion and energy.

2️⃣ Execution is key. Surely planning and testing your hypotheses are important when starting a business, but there are no perfect market research can 100% predict the best way to proceed, so my advice is to take that first step and start doing it.

3️⃣ Money matters. Lastly, talk to as many people as you can to get an initial sense of the demand, product-market-fit of your idea. Then do a proper financial budgeting and forecasting to make sure you have taken calculated risks before venturing into entrepreneurship.

Subscribe or follow to never miss an episode!

My guest this week is Andrew Du, Founder of an Generative AI venture, Quadratic Acceleration Quantum, ex-VP of investment at Sequoia Capital China Fund, Andrew is a trailblazing GenZ entrepreneur/investor in the startup/VC ecosystem in China. He started his journey as a strategic analyst at Tencent, making waves with the merger of the new Tencent Music Entertainment Group. Later, he joined Sequoia Capital, swiftly becoming the youngest player in the game. At Sequoia, he immersed himself in early-stage projects in the consumer sector, hitting the jackpot with investments in killer brands like 得物App, SUPERMONKEY超级猩猩健身, Wenheyou...

Beyond his investment efforts, Andrew is also a talented indie musician and writer. He's authored books on #artificialintelligence, #creatoreconomy, and #metaverse real estate. Additionally, he's a frequent speaker at CCTV+ (Video News Agency), Phoenix TV, TEDtoChina and Global Times...

In our conversation, Andrew and I delved deep into the evolving landscape of the #futureofwork in China. We discussed the lessons and tips for managing the #genz crew, and lastly, Andrew shared his inspirational life journey from growing up in the rural countryside to becoming a successful investor and entrepreneur today. Subscribe to the bi-weekly newsletter for detailed write-ups of this interview.

My guest this week is Hanqing Wu, CEO & Founder of KMind, an gen AI focused venture, dedicated to leading the AI revolution with innovative concepts such as programmable personal computers, marking the beginning of a new era for intelligent assistants. Hanqing, also known as Dao Ge, is a renowned figure in the world of cybersecurity.

Starting as a teenage prodigy, he delved into hacking and founded the Phantom Forum at the age of 16, a leading security organization in China. Hanqing played a pivotal role in establishing Alibaba's network security system and, at just 28, led the defense against one of the largest DDoS attacks in internet history. His expertise and contributions earned him recognition, making him a key figure at Alibaba and a global innovator in technology, acknowledged by MIT Technology Review in 2017.

During this interview, we explored the captivating narrative of Hanqing's tech journey, We discussed his most significant scaling regrets and delved into his distinctive management philosophy and leadership lessons.

As requested by the guest, this episode is audio only.

My guest this week is Philip Zheng, Philip has over 30 years of HR experience across big tech and startups. Self-described as an achiever when growing up, Philip stumbled into the HR field from a happy coincidence during his first graduate job. Back in 1995, the HR field in China was still in its infant stages, and local companies predominantly viewed HR as an administrative function and referred to HR as “Personnel” rather than “Resource”.

Drawing from his education background in international affairs, Philip always maintained a focus on the bigger picture. This led him to ride a few waves of technology transformation, from the industrial age to the software era, and ultimately to the advent of AI. Throughout his career, he has held top HR leadership positions at renowned companies such as Microsoft, Motorola, Baidu, and MEGVII—an AI unicorn in China, with AI-powered solutions include: Personal IoT solutions to improve user experience on personal devices by empowering cameras with AI; City IoT solutions to enhance public safety, optimize city and community management, and improve urban resource planning; and Supply Chain IoT solutions to make the supply chain more efficient through AI-empowered robots and sensors.

Dive in this interview (in Chinese) to find out Philip’s scaling regrets, his secret ingredients when pivoting careers and his top advice for next-generation aspiring HR professionals.

“Instead of rushing to point out someone's mistakes or hastily trying to fix things, sometimes it's essential to allow time for the business and the entire organization to recognize those mistakes.”

My guest this week is Aki Taha, co-founder of TalentStories, a media company dedicated to making us smarter about the radically changing world of work. TalentStories ships a weekly newsletter with over 1000 subscribers, as well as a must-listen podcast. And it advises leaders and organizations on how to attract, build and engage diverse, world-class teams.

Aki is a fixture in the tech recruiting space with over 20 years of experience leading US and APAC recruiting efforts at renowned tech titans like Google, Uber and Netflix. He’s helped those companies cross the 5 to 1,000 and 1,000-10,000 employee marks in Asia, during some of their highest-growth phases. And has had the chance to work with leaders like Reed Hastings, Travis Kalanick, and Laszlo Bock.

In this interview, we dive into Aki's intriguing personal journey – from his origins as a New Yorker to his experiences living and working across different parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. He generously shared the secrets behind his success, and candidly discussed the obstacles he faced while scaling organizations – and himself.

Last, Aki offers up sincere and invaluable advice for recruiters in this incredibly tough job market. As well as tips on how employers can prepare for the massive transformations that are already taking place at work.

This is definitely a heartfelt episode you should not miss! All the more so if you’re a recruiter, or work in a talent function!

“Heartfelt, recruiter-to-recruiter advice on how to weather a downturn -- and why the Talent function needs you!”