Shanghai is a city of entrepreneurship. In our new series, 'Shanghai Entrepreneurs,' we talk to entrepreneurs from different backgrounds and businesses about their motivations, experiences and what they have learned along the way.
For our first feature in this series, we sat down with Stephany Zoo, a booming entrepreneur with not one, but four projects that she is heading up simultaneously.
After settling in Shanghai four years ago, Stephany has founded two companies, is working for SAP, and has begun to dabble in non-profit work creating a WeChat subscription to assist women in making more empowered decisions about sex. Even though she’s got a full plate, she’s also got a cool head and some excellent advice on being an entrepreneur in China.
Elevator pitch: Tell us what you do in fewer than 50 words.
SAP Anywhere is a front-end SaaS platform that connects ecommerce channels, plugins and other back-end systems, empowering SME’s to ‘run simple.’ LXW is cross-cultural female networking league. Buzz & Bloom is a WeChat account that encourages Chinese women to think more critically about sex through expert dialogues and comics. (50 words is a lot more in Chinese)
Why did you choose Shanghai?
I came here only a year after I graduated and I was itching to do new things—not just one new thing but everything new all at once, and Shanghai was the one place that didn’t force me to focus. It gave me options, let me take it at my own pace, and didn’t make me settle down until I was ready.
How long have you been working in Shanghai/China?
My family is originally from Shanghai, but this time around I’ve been here for four years.
What are the biggest challenges setting up a business here?
Learning exactly how much you can get away with. To be honest, that’s the only way you can level the playing field. For examples, if you’re paying full taxes and none of your competitors are, then obviously you’re at a serious disadvantage.
What was your ‘a-ha!’ moment?
When I got my current job as the head of marketing of China for SAP Anywhere, and I was able to leverage all of my past experiences in some way. All the various responsibilities and roles in my previous companies— creating an ecommerce platform to bring Chinese designers to the Western world, helping brand Chinese tech startups, re-launching Bikini.com, travel writing, running events for professional women in Shanghai— it all made sense. All those things seemed so random at the time, but you can’t connect the dots when looking forward, only when looking back.
What is the biggest cultural no-no doing business in Shanghai?
Trying to be an entrepreneur in China without speaking Chinese. Like really? It is so arrogant to think that you can make it without being able to communicate with the community you’re serving.
What is the craziest thing you have done for your business?
Two weeks after I met my first business partner at an EDM concert, I quit my job, moved in with her and started our company. I moved to Tel Aviv for four months. I wrote the CMO of Lego a love letter. I don’t know, I think being an entrepreneur at all is pretty crazy.
What is the one most important piece of advice you would give to someone starting a new business here?
Be really humble. You cannot talk to enough people. Everyone here has more cultural insight, sharper business acumen and better connections than you do. Take all that information, glean out the insights, and follow that. Don’t assume anything. Take the time to verify everything.
Do you see China as a springboard for taking a business international?
No, a lot of people think that if you can make it in China you can make it anywhere, but I don’t agree with that. SAP Anywhere first launched in China, but this year we’re launching in US, UK and Canada, and we’ve really learned that no market is the silver bullet. You have to put in the love and effort into every single market—you can’t just assume that once you’ve made it in one, that you can use the same formula in other ones. I think one of the hardest things is to create a global brand with true localization, which is why I love working at SAP Anywhere.
What would you say your biggest success has been?
Learning my purpose. Only through trying out so many different things and truly feeling out what makes me happy and what doesn’t have I learned my purpose in life is to empower women. I now to try to carry that in everything that I do, whether professionally or personally, and that thread of meaning has helped me focus and center my work.
Where do you see your company in five years?
In a place where I don’t have to run it. I am always looking for the people to replace me.
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