In this first episode of The Hive Up Podcast, we talked about stress and how one person always needs to remain calm when things go awry.We also discussed the necessity of moving from a private test of your education product to a public educational event and then getting relevant feedback from your clients. Pride aside, one needs to determine whether your clients are in tune with your product offering or not.
Further, most people unfamiliar with finance, investing and trading are intimidated by the terminology. If the educational event can get them comfortable with terminology alone, then something important was accomplished and they should come back for more.

Qiuyan also shares a recent story about her test of Grab Hitch. She was driving to work and her first rider was with a woman that was a financial advisor. The conversation they had on that ride was indicative of why the curation of financial advisors that the Hive Up does is essential for its clients.

Episode 01 - Whatever a  HENRY Is, She Needs Finance 101

In this episode of The Hive Up Podcast, we talked about how to find a good co-founder. Qiuyan and I discussed the challenges of finding the right partner and how to test compatibility. While we observed that solo founders can sometimes appear heroic, we agreed that having a strong co-founder is optimal for us. Having someone that ‘understands your heart’ is important when unexpected situations arise, decisions need to get made quickly and trust is key.

We spent a bit of time talking about the B2B space and why bigger companies sometimes feel compelled to use plug and play innovations of smaller companies and startups.

Finally, Qiuyan went into detail about an event Hive Up is having to inform new investors about how to build your first portfolio.

Episode 02 – Finding the Right co-Founder and Going to War Together

Qiuyan Tian and I were joined by a guest (and friend!) today, Melvyn Yeo. Melvyn had a successful, decade long career at Goldman Sachs, prior to co-Founding ThirdRock Group and TRIREC. Melvyn is an experienced investor and startup founder and has been a mentor to Qiuyan during both her institutional and startup career. His insights during this episode were invaluable.

We discussed what constitutes failure and success, driven by a conversation that Quiyan had with a startup friend of hers. At some level, failure is an outlook one has…and getting comfortable with it actually helps drives one’s success.

Episode 03 – What is Failure or Success When No One is Undefeated?

Qiuyan and Michael talked about why someone would leave a comfortable job at a large financial institution (OK, Goldman Sachs) and continue to try to build startups. It can get very stressful at big companies, but building something from scratch is another level completely.

Benefits and drawbacks definitely need to get weighed, but the freedom to create and the direct influence over outcomes that one has as a startup founder are super impactful.

We also discussed what it is like to spend a lot of time on client acquisition, only to have that client say, “No, thank you.” We cover a lot of these implications and discuss how the support of one’s team really matters.

Episode 04 – That Makes Me Feel Alive

This week we were joined by Charles Wong, an investor in Hive Up and a mentor to Qiuyan. Charles is also the Founder and CEO of Prive Managers, an award-winning, innovative financial services start-up located in Hong Kong. Privé Managers’ mission is to provide cutting edge investment solutions to both investors and intermediaries.

Charles has deep insights on the digitalization of Wealth Management specifically and on FinTech as a whole. We discussed how FinTech enables wider access to products and removes investment barriers, creating more financial freedom and wealth creation.

We touched on how running a data-driven business has highlighted to Prive the impact that women have on the build out of FinTech Platforms… which lead to an interesting give and take on gender diversity in FinTech leadership.

Keeping It Real With Qiuyan

Episode 05 – Trying To Level the Playing Field

Qiuyan and Michael talked about listening and the importance of understanding why you are involved in a conversation in the first place.

A discussion was had at a recent ‘Lean In’ event in Singapore that posited whether women, in general, are better listeners than men. Are there accepted societal norms that encourage men to feel compelled to speak while women are more comfortable listening?

More importantly, can listening as a skill be taught or learned? Qiuyan thinks it can be taught and Michael agrees…

The second half of our conversation was spent talking about risk tolerance and how FinTech firms can better understand their clients’ appetite for risk. Can this be appropriately determined by traditional surveys or is a more modern methodology, maybe immersive VR, better at this?

Hive Up Admin

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