Startup Sanity

Patience is not a trait I profess I have.

Considering the frequency in which we've had to deal with incompetence and nonsense, I deserve a cookie having refrained myself from strangling and hurling insults on a regular basis. Known for being too blunt and sarcastic, I've been fighting all my natural urges just so I can maintain my cool. No easy feat.

5:17 PM  Hong Kong, memes, sanity, startup  4 comments

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T-10 Update［T－10 最新消息］

A firsthand look at how one of our co-founders is faring in the midst of pre-launch preparations. 加油！

With our launch at T minus 10 days (approximately) you can imagine there is SO MUCH TO DO. 

2:14 PM  interview, radio, startup, tv  2 comments

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Days Away

Our launch is days away!!! 

Shamelessly resting ANYWHERE I get the chance. In this case, a chair ("art") exhibition in Shanghai. 

Excitement aside, I've been pretty irritable of late thanks to prolonged sleep deprivation and stress. Luckily Vicky's not too bothered by my angry outbursts and is accustomed to my sudden swearing and incessant bitching (or so I think). She usually calms me without so much as blinking an eye!

2:03 PM  entrepreneur, MVP, startup  2 comments

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ZAO on TV

To wrap up a busy day and an even busier week, the ZAO girls accepted the opportunity to speak in a video for Metro Broadcast (part of the CKC/Hutch empire) in Hong Kong. As cameramen hauling bulky recording equipment invaded Cocoon for the day, we were extra conscientious to "keep quiet" and "move gently" per Darren's request. 

Shhh! Filming in progress.

A tall order it was, considering we are probably the loudest and most obnoxious Cocoonians around.

1:27 PM    1 comment

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A Quickie for Your Thoughts

Dug up this New Yorker article  on Peter Thiel after our friend Joel (founder at bufferapp) tweeted it, only to realize that it's not actually new - it's from November 2011. For those unfamiliar, Thiel is most well-known for co-founding Paypal, and now runs Clarium Capital (a hedge fund) and of course invests in start-ups. It's always interesting to glean insights on the personal side of the accomplished and the ingenious; usually quirky, often misunderstood, and most likely flawed in fundamental ways.  Anyway, have not been enraptured by an article like this in a while. Serious braingasm.

No time to write a full fledged entry at the moment but wanted to put in a placeholder first. So many thoughts, so many points worth expanding on...libertarianism, aging and death, hedge funds, social constructs, list goes on.

Ahhh Peter, please let me have your babies! (naturally, he is gay)

4:06 PM    No comments

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My Story

ZAO me maybe?

On my 4^th day abroad in Hong Kong, with no cellphone, no sense of direction, and no Octopus card, I jumped on the MTR for the first time to meet Vicky. With mixed feelings of anxiousness and excitement, I shared a casual exchange with Vicky of the sweaty sauna-esque heat and humidity in Hong Kong and the current progress of the East Asian economy as we walked towards the office. Upon arrival, I received a crash course in ZAOZAO 101. Vicky gave me the background of the startup, of her and Ling, their visions for the future of ZAOZAO, and invited me to take part in this vision as well. I was eager to get started, but at the same time a bit nervous due to my limited experience and knowledge.

Up until recently, to say I knew nothing about fashion is an understatement. In middle school, while other girls were obsessed with Teen Vogue and Seventeen, experimenting with purple eyeliner, blue mascara, and denim skirts from Abercrombie, I was more into reading the Babysitter’s Club and volunteering at the library. My wardrobe consisted of hand-me-down jeans, (unfitted and oversized) t-shirts in every color of Skittles, and sneakers.

12:15 PM  intern  No comments

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Trip Down Memory Lane: My Ridiculous Fashion Stories

My internship experiences have ranged from ridiculous to surreal. Some stories are like scenes straight out of The Devil Wears Prada, others from Mean Girls. While the fashion industry is nowhere near as glamorous as it's portrayed to be, the personalities within the dog eat dog world are every bit as nasty as you would imagine. Hundreds of girls fight for the same limited, unpaid internship positions. They work hours on end in hopes of scoring a full-time, paid position- not an easy feat. At one internship, I couldn't get anyone in the office to acknowledge my presence. A week went by before someone pulled me aside to give me a warm welcome and a pep talk. He was the mail man. At another internship, the constant praise I received from my supervisor sent ripples of jealousy across the intern team and only encouraged them to be nasty to me. You would think those bitches would surgically remove their Blackberry's from their hands and get shit done. But no, one intern found a more efficient way of spending time at work: writing herself post-it reminders to starve. At least I didn't have to look far to identify the source of her bitchiness: insecurity.


I've highlighted the best and the worst of my internships as I take a trip down memory lane. Hope you enjoy these absurd and hilarious moments from my time as a fashion minion.

5:16 PM  fashion, internship  No comments

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The Devout ZAOist

Here at ZAOZAO, the meaning of devout is one neither of worship nor of religion, but rather a sincere devotion to the company while maintaining our collective sanity and outside interests.  Some entrepreneurs we've encountered cite lack of sleep and other extreme sacrifices (no showering, no sex etc.) as keystones to success but akin to responding to someone's "how are you?" with "busy", this humble-brag is merely another tool of existential reassurance (cf NYTimes' busy trap. Also, it's a reason for us to slap them).  After all, idleness inspires, and some degree of mind wandering is surely healthy. 

Taken on a recent trip to Taipei, 五分埔 shopping market

With two interns onboard for the summer, Ling and I are now learning the importance of being good role models as well as solidifying a distinct ethos for our startup.  Do we play nice, and risk setting a passive example? Or should we reveal our aggressive side, the one that's hungry for success but just looks desperate when we see it coming from others? Which is better: a silent-but-deadly image or in-your-face intensity? In an attempt to find answers, we decided to try meditating at Kadampa, our neighborhood Buddhist meditation center.

This brought back memories of my days as a volunteer barista for the now-defunct World Peace Cafe,  a place where people could chill and grab a vegetarian bite post-meditation. Ultra-hipster (in the sense of not acknowledging their nonconformity, yet truly so), I met people there who temporarily shattered my usual constructs, inspiring me to think more universally. Much to my delight, some of these familiar faces reappeared at Kadampa. 

To be honest, we sucked at meditating. The A/C bothered me so I couldn't concentrate, and when the spiritual leader asked us to imagine an anchor descending through our minds into our hearts, Ling thought she had said "anger" (instead of "anchor") and got confused.  Halfway through, our phones started buzzing with emails and soon thereafter, we were done for.  Result? Meditation fail. 

Next time, we'll try something else. In the meantime, while we prepare for our imminent launch, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

4:32 PM    No comments

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Life Savin' Fashion Maven

When I moved to Hong Kong from New York at the end of 2009, it was to start my first job out of college. Having interned here during the summer of '08 (just weeks before the financial crisis commenced), I had acquired a rudimentary understanding of the town and a handful of friends, mostly intern classmates. While I was lucky enough to receive a return offer at Goldman, lots of things changed post-GFC including a lot of people moving out of the island and a shift in sentiment as a whole.  In short, I came to Hong Kong knowing basically no one, living by myself and working in a time of uncertainty and general bleakness. So what did I do? Armed with a hello kitty lighter on weekends, I trolled Wyndham Street for clubgoers who sought respite from the sweaty crowded confines of the dancefloor, and offered to light their smokes in exchange for a handshake and chat.  

Ling was not one of my riff-raff acquaintances, but rather the first real organic intro.

11:15 AM    No comments

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