In the latest episode of Gen.T’s podcast Crazy Smart Asia, Peggy Choi, founder of Lynk, talks developing a company culture remotely, fundraising in the early days and growing as a leader
In today’s hyper-connected world, where everyone has access to millions of data points, having the right insights can mean the difference between failure and success for a company, big or small.
This explains why Peggy Choi’s knowledge-as-a-service platform Lynk has grown so rapidly. The company provides businesses with access to a pool of more than 840,000 thought leaders and experts from a wide range of industries.
In the last two years alone, Lynk has doubled its workforce, to 250 people across eight countries, and raised US$29 million in a Series B round earlier in 2021, which will fund its expansion in China and North America.
In a contemplative conversation, we discussed with her the challenges of building a company culture over Zoom, navigating early fundraising rounds as a female founder, and the importance of a “permanent beta” mindset.
Here are a few excerpts from the conversation. Click the audio player below to listen to the episode or subscribe via Apple, Spotify, Google or wherever you get your podcasts.
The value of connections
“It's incredibly important because that's how we grow, how we learn. You don't have all the time in the world, and the way you can develop yourself and grow your experiences other than experiencing things yourself is to talk to people.”
Getting the right people on board—and staying
“You want people who are actually firm believers of what you do, because that belief is what can help sustain them through painful periods. Startups have a growth expectation, [which means] sometimes you have to look at doubling your business within a certain period of time and that you've got to go at more than organic speed. So that belief in the vision is very important.”