Izza Lin, Recruiting Master (林于荃 / 招募輔導長)

Izza is a Recruiting Master responsible for advising AppWorks Startups on all talent acquisition matters. Before joining AppWorks, she built a successful early career in headhunting firms such as Rising Management Consulting and Recruit Express, where she specialized in recruiting quality talents for internet and e-commerce companies, guiding hundreds of engineers, product managers, marketers and general managers to fulfill key positions for her clients. In between Rising and RE, she headed Southeast Asia Market for an e-commerce startup, USO HK, where she found her passion for helping small guys break the status quo. Izza received her B.A. in Economics from Washington State University and spent 5 years of her childhood in Myanmar and Cambodia. This diverse background has inextricably contributed to her love for traveling and “wine tasting”.

Don’t be fooled by the title. I am actually a pretty fun person. Just recruiting isn’t something interesting in general for most founders, but represents one of the most serious growth challenges they eventually have to face. Let’s dig a little deeper on why founders normally don’t enjoy their office hours with me and why I decided to step into a recruiting career. 

I spent my early years in Southeast Asia. Many of you would’ve guessed Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand, but I am that of those few third culture kids that grew up in Myanmar and Cambodia. It definitely wasn’t easy, as the only Taiwanese and only Mandarin speaking girl in the entire international school. However, having a unique experience like this, made me more relatable to what founders are going through, where you need to constantly step out of your comfort zone and maximize your growth to even have the slimmest chance of success.

After graduating from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, I could’ve got a job that is more related to what I learned in school such as data analyst or business analyst roles, but I became intrigued by this random interview I had, which would require me to become a headhunter. 

As much as I was tempted to take on this challenge, moving back to Taiwan for it wasn’t an easy decision. Like many kids that just graduated college, I was young, naive and lost. I was accepted into an MBA program and almost ended up going without knowing how it would help my career. However, after analyzing the entire situation, and also being away from my motherland for so many years, I decided to move back first and see where the journey would take me. 

Well, reality is always cruel. Soon after I relocated myself back home I found out that not only did l take a job with much lower pay than I could have otherwise received as a data or business analyst, I also had very limited knowledge on how to excel at it. The only thing I had was a belief that the job would eventually bring bigger value to my career. At the same time, I overestimated my Mandarin speaking and  writing capabilities, and how it would limit my learning and performance while working in Taiwan. My Mandarin remained at a lower level, but that didn’t stop me from learning. I  dedicated  an hour everyday to speaking Mandarin, and took notes in Chuyin (Mandarin Phonetic Symbols) without fully understanding the meaning of each word. (Jokes aside, previous co-workers would call me Queen of Chuyin). While I quickly improved in Mandarin despite some bumps along the way, my knowledge in tech industries and engineering recruiting grew a lot.

As I got deeper into the field, I learned that recruiting for corporates is so much easier than for startups. Besides the limited resources startups have, it is really hard for them to recruit on their own. This reminds me of school days, when we’re on a difficult path, we love to have someone who understands us, and offers a hand to help. My journey would definitely be easier if I had someone to help me during my school days, but the experience of figuring out things on my own, made me who I am today, and how I reflect on work today.

Office hours with me aren’t the most fun time for founders. I am a typical Asian tiger mom,  teaching and guiding others how to do things the right way in a very hands-on fashion. Maybe the past experience made me bitter, but it has molded me into the  exact Asian tiger mom that every founder needs.

Jack An, Analyst (安良方 / 分析師)

Jack is an Analyst covering AppWorks Accelerator. Before joining the team, he was a co-founder and early team member at two InsurTech startups, where he developed a passion in user experience and product development. Previous to his startup journey he worked as a commercial property underwriter at Chubb Insurance in New Zealand. Jack graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Waikato University where he studied classical piano. He loves to cook, read and is a practicing stoic.

“Hi, my name is Jack.”

“What’s your real name?”

“An Liang Fang.” 

“What does that mean?”

This was a common exchange during my upbringing in New Zealand and probably very familiar to those that studied overseas. Out of curiosity, my classmates at middle school would often ask me to write my name out and explain the meaning behind each exotic character. 安良方 – 安 is my family name, and my father derived 良 from 善良 (kindness) and 方 from 大方 (generosity). I only learned the meaning myself when I “asked for a friend” and through it, I also learned that my dad chose these characters to give me an edge in standard tests because of how quickly my name can be written in Traditional Chinese – only 17 strokes! If you were to write Taiwan 台灣 in Traditional Chinese, the second letter 灣 alone has 25 strokes. 

Although the benefits of having minimal strokes in my name didn’t compound into great academic achievements – perhaps countered by the fact that everyone in New Zealand can write their English name in less than five seconds – but the values behind my name resonated with how Kiwis live on a day-to-day basis. 

People from New Zealand are generally quite diligent and genuine. Now looking back, I’m not entirely surprised that the #1 sport in New Zealand is Rugby Union, a highly-technical team-based game where no particular position is more important than any other. Everyone on the field must tackle their opponents and partake in rucks with players from both sides piling on top of each other fighting for the ball. 

These values of staying humble and working hard were particularly pronounced during my high school days at Tauranga Boys College where our school’s motto is “pergo et perago” – I persevere and I achieve. We were also encouraged to honor the past by creating the future. I think these ideas were derived during WWII where 41 students from my school sacrificed their studies and ultimately their lives protecting the peace we now enjoy. To this day, long groves of trees that provide shade for our sporting field were planted along the outer edge in memory of them. Together with strong Maori influences (the aboriginal people of NZ) such as respecting the land, those around us, and those that came before us, are recurring themes that reinforce the idea that building forward is the best way to give back and show appreciation to what we have today.

My classmates Kane Williamson and Sam Cane took these words to heart and went on to become the captain of the Black Caps (New Zealand’s national cricket team), and the All Blacks (New Zealand’s national rugby team), respectively. And as for myself, I had my first attempt at creating the future with my childhood hobby – music – when the band I started during my second year in university studying classical piano took me around NZ, playing alongside the biggest acts in the country like Six60, Katchafire, Dave Dobbyn, and Savage. 

I continued to practice these values when I transitioned into business. My first corporate job was an underwriter for commercial properties at Chubb Insurance NZ. Then I literally “worked two roles while getting paid for one” as I took up an additional role underwriting for Accident & Health. These experiences became the foundation for my startup when I moved back to Taiwan in 2016. Running a band taught me about branding, creating a product and experiences for the mass public, and my dual role at Chubb helped me accelerate my understanding of the insurance industry. After traveling and living abroad for so long, Taiwan is still #1 to me with endless fond memories and loving people, so of course I had to start a company and build forward to contribute to the country positively. Looking back and connecting the dots it seems natural that I eventually founded an insurance startup in Taiwan and later joined AppWorks to create a bigger impact.

My role at AppWorks has changed a lot in the past few years. From working in the accelerator helping experienced founders land in Taiwan and new founders iterate their launch, to learning the ropes of VC and investing in Southeast Asia, and now dedicating most of my time to build out the web3 arm of AppWorks so we can have the best resources to back founders building the decentralized future. Although the work is difficult and challenging most of the time, it has been an incredible adventure where I’m constantly exercising my founder muscles working within the small AppWorks team of 30, the cherry on top of it all is the valuable experiences I gain from supporting and working with founders across various stages of their entrepreneurial journey. It’s hard to summarize my experience as a founder and my time at AppWorks, but if I can only have two takeaways, it’s 1) learn and improve; 2) design and overcome.

So yeah, this is Jack 安良方 now, a third culture kid that loves to build and support others that are building too. So, if you are creating something valuable, I would love to chat with you to find out how I can help you either personally or through AppWorks. Let’s make a positive impact together!

Ching Tseng, Principal (曾意晴 / 協理)

Ching is a Principal leading the Web3 Arm at AppWorks. Ching interned at AppWorks when she was in college and returned as an Analyst after earning her B.B.A from National Chengchi University in 2015. Her keystone achievement as an Analyst was helping CHOCO TV’s journey from Series A to an eventual acquisition by LINE. Ching became our Associate in 2019, spearheading our foray into the blockchain industry by recruiting founders active in the space and effectively jumpstarting our web3 ecosystem, which has since grown into a thriving community. She’s also helped AppWorks participate in several prominent investments, including Dapper Labs / Flow, Animoca Brands, and Blocto. Ching was promoted to Principal in 2022. Off the clock, she likes to experience new things, travel, and drive in the mountains.

(漢文在下) It’s somewhat awkward to write a self-intro after joining AppWorks for almost seven years. To be frank, I probably wouldn’t have much to share if I had written this introduction in 2015. Back then, I had just graduated from college and was too fresh to tell you a good story. Over the past seven years, I connected a lot of “dots” and I can finally form it into a shape and share more about myself with you now.

My career path seems quite simple, but in fact is remarkable in its simplicity. I am someone who started as an intern at AppWorks and then became a full-time Analyst right after college. Gradually, I was promoted to Associate and now Principal. You might think my career path was “planned” and that I had a very clear goal since the beginning. Here’s the real story: 

When I was 20, I happened to see AppWorks while scrolling through Facebook and the intern recruitment post “looks rare”. Back then, I had a limited understanding about entrepreneurship and startups. My intuition led me to apply for the role. On the first day stepping into the AppWorks office, I found that I really connected with these offbeat and alien-like founders and wanted to help support them on their founder journeys.

A lot of people like to ask me: “How can you stay at AppWorks this long?” The only answer is: “It’s fun.” Jamie, the founding partner of AppWorks, once told me that I’m probably in the 99th percentile in terms of curiosity. Yes, I believe I am! If you have ever used my YouTube account then you can understand. My YouTube feed includes F1, dramas, aircraft, gaming, tech, musical instruments, and many other topics. Perhaps half of my life was spent on googling things that I didn’t need to know but wanted to know. AppWorks is a place full of unknown things and a company that’s always trying to embark on seemingly impossible missions. That’s why this place has retained someone like me who gets bored easily for so long. 

Over the past seven years serving AppWorks, I’ve seen many successful startups as well as some that didn’t quite make it. I count myself lucky as the company I joined became bigger as I aged a little bit. Most importantly, this journey has brought me a lot of friends that have battled side-by-side with me. 

I enjoy the time spent with founders; from brainstorming new business strategies and sorting out suitable fundraising structures, to sharing thoughts about the latest information and internet trends. 

As time flew by, our company grew a lot, and our mission became bigger. On the other hand, our North Star remains the same – making Taiwan a better place by helping founders to become better founders. To get there, we have accelerated institutionalization efforts at our firm, and within that plan, I became a Principal leading the web3 arm.

I believe in the beauty of blockchain and the impact protocols/DAOs/companies can bring to human society. Luckily, I can not only be an observer but also a participant together with web3 founders. This excitement was something I couldn’t feel when doing things in the web2/app era. If you are building on the blockchain, I’m ready to know more about your vision.

加入公司 7 年後才開始跟大家做自我介紹，是一件頗為弔詭的事情。但回頭想如果要我在 2015 年剛加入 AppWorks 時寫篇自我介紹文，可能也沒太多故事可以跟你分享，當時的我，也就是一個單純剛從大學畢業的菜鳥。在這過去 7 年來，我經歷了一些事情，也許終於可以跟大家分享關於我的一些事了。

往回看我的職涯，看起來很簡單但好像也蠻激勵人的。從一個負責打雜的 Intern、畢業後加入 AppWorks 成為正職的 Analyst，在 2019 年成為 Associate，接著在今年初成為了 Ｗeb3 Arm Principal。許多人以為這是我規劃好的職涯，又或者以為我心中有一個明確的職涯目標，讓我來分享一下這背後真正的故事。

當我 20 歲時，對於創業、新創還沒什麼概念，颱風夜沒事的我滑著手機，看到 AppWorks 正在招募 Intern，本來沒有打算要找 Internship 的我，突然覺得這篇貼文「挺特別」的。直覺告訴我：「你該去申請看看。」而後在我第一天踏入 AppWorks 的辦公室時，這群奇特的「創業者」深深的吸引我了。

很多人問過我，為何會在 AppWorks 待這麼多年。唯一不變的答案大概是：挺好玩的！Jamie 曾經說過我可能是 PR 99 的好奇寶寶。沒錯，如果你曾經用過我的 YouTube 帳號，你可能就會理解到為什麼。打開我的  YouTube，追蹤的頻道從 F1、飛機、遊戲、科技、戲劇、音樂等各種頻道都有。我的人生應該花了絕大多數的時間搜尋我不需要知道，但是我想要知道的資訊。

AppWorks 就是能得到許多未知的事情的地方，同時也是一間一直想要嘗試做一些不可能的任務的公司。這也是為何容易對事情感到無聊的我，能夠在這裡待上這麼久。

在這幾年陪伴與投資創業者的過程中，我看了許多成功的案例，同時也有許多結果不如人意。我想我是相對幸運的那一個，在我年齡增加過程中，AppWorks 這間公司也一起長大了。同時，這段旅程也讓我結交了許多一起經歷挑戰的戰友們，有些來掛「急診」的創業者，他們拿到了隔天、甚至當晚就要馬上回覆的併購機會，想跟我討論一下該不該接受，要注意哪些事情。在多數與創業者相處的這些夜晚裡，我是非常享受的，無論是一起煩惱公司的策略、討論募資的結構，又或者單純分享彼此對於業界最新消息的想法。

雖然公司想要挑戰的任務也越來越艱難，但與此同時 AppWorks 的北極星從來沒改變過，依舊透過幫助創業者讓台灣變成一個更好的地方。為了把這件事情做得更好，我們無法再像游擊隊一樣到處作戰，也得變成一支更有組織與戰法的正規軍。而我在這個計畫中，也變成了要帶領 Web3 領域的 Principal。

我真心喜歡並且相信 Blockchain 以及在這個圈子裡的組織們，能為人類社會帶來的改變。這次，也許我又是幸運的那一個人，能夠不只見證這一切改變的發生，同時也能與 Ｗeb3 的創業者一起參與其中。這種興奮感是比過去看著 Founder 們把產品與團隊逐漸建立起來，最終得到一個好結果還要更強烈的。如果你正在 Blockchain 上打造新產品，我非常期待聽聽你的計畫與目標！

Michelle Lin, Associate (林亭㚬 / 投資經理)

Michelle is an Associate covering AppWorks Accelerator and investments. Before joining the team, she worked as an assistant manager at Deloitte Financial Advisory, where she helped close various cross-border and local M&A deals successfully. Michelle graduated with a Bachelor’s in Accounting from National Taiwan University and received a Master of Management Studies Degree from Duke University. During college, she was the minister of student activities at College of Management Student Association and was active at the Pop Dance Club. Outside the office, she enjoys hiking amongst many outdoor activities, as well as exploring new things in life.

#EnglishBelow

加入 AppWorks 前？ 

在加入 AppWorks 前，我在 Deloitte Financial Adviosory 服務了 4 年多，參與過跨國製藥企業的組織重組及合資案、各式金融業併購案、台灣上市櫃企業公開收購案等。

我擔任過買方和賣方顧問，學習以不同的視角分析併購策略、設計條款、協助客戶進行談判。例如站在賣方的立場，希望打拚十幾年的事業能以合理價格出售；又或是站在買方的立場平衡風險和效益，協助管理階層說服董事會進行收購。日常工作就是分析財報、進入充滿上百個檔案的 Data Room 裡，大海撈針找到對交易案有影響的資訊，在買賣雙方間搭起有效的溝通橋樑，進一步促成交易。

為什麼想加入新創圈？

我的父親是位創業者，小時候的記憶就是每天放學和寒暑假都會到他的公司，那裡有許多和藹可親的叔叔阿姨們。和大多數的創業者一樣，父親總是很忙碌，思考著如何運用手上的資源打造更好的產品，常常週末一通電話就馬上出發到南部找供應商、客戶，和研發部門開會。創業的途中，父親從電腦代工，Pivot 到醫療器材研發、設計及製造，公司也從員工不到 10 人成長到 80 人。其中經歷了在 SARS 疫情期間，父親因為將公司的額溫槍，優先提供給台灣政府導致被國外客戶控吿 (但也同時成為抗疫英雄)，直到後來上市出場。長大後父親與我分享當初創業的過程，他說一直以來其實沒有想太多，只想把當下的事情做對，確保員工和家人能好好生活。

父親這份創業過程的酸甜苦辣陪伴著我長大。我了解到創業者的辛苦和孤獨，更敬佩創業者骨子裡想把事情做對做好的精神，因此萌生加入新創圈的念頭，希望自己不論是透過加速器或是創投投資，陪伴創業者，參與眾多不凡的故事。

除了工作，我還會？

我很喜歡爬山！很多人問為什麼？除了想要親自體會台灣這片土地的美，爬山更讓我真正認識自己、陪伴自己，激發更多的潛能。

登山的過程很累，3 至 4 天的旅途，要背著 11~15 公斤的裝備，一天步行約 8~10 公里，向上爬升 1,000 公尺左右，翻過一個個山頭才會抵達目的地。路途中會遇到各式的地形，有樹林、碎石坡、斷崖、溪流等，有時崎嶇有時溼滑，每一段陡坡、緩坡、高繞各有特色，這些未知和驚喜激發了我的好奇心，讓我努力想走下去，揭曉接下來每一段路會有的驚喜。

也正因為如此長途跋涉，才有機會和自己對話。

登山過程有時候也會遇到難以克服的困難，例如高山症發作，頭痛欲裂想吐；遇到冰雹來不及穿雨衣、搭營導致全部衣物濕掉，入夜全身冷得瑟瑟發抖；下山沒有調整好步伐，高估自己的肌力導致膝蓋急性發炎積水，深怕無法即時下山。面對每一次困難，我學習不斷與自我對話，提醒自己做得到，冷靜思考怎麼做更好，擬定配套措施，並時時調整呼吸、調整步伐，專注於自己的身體去克服困難。面臨挑戰的過程中，相信自己及面對自己才能超越自己。

對我來說，不管登山、創業或著人生，漫漫旅途中，充滿著許多艱鉅和意想不到的挑戰，但我期許自己像眾多創業者一樣，披荊斬棘，只為在黑暗中找尋迎接山頂日出的路。我是 Michelle，歡迎創業者們來和我聊聊，希望過去擔任財務顧問的專業能幫助到你，有機會也一起爬山吧！

Before AppWorks?

Before joining AppWorks, I worked at Deloitte Financial Advisory for over four years. I helped close various deals, including cross-border reorganization and joint venture deals for pharmaceutical companies, financial institution M&A, and tender offers of publicly-listed companies.  

Having the chance to work both buy-side and sell-side on different deals, I learned to analyze things from different perspectives, design terms/ea, and assist clients in negotiation. Sometimes I put myself in the seller’s shoes, persuading the buyer to purchase the company at a reasonable price as the seller put all their efforts into the business for decades. Sometimes I switch roles to think from the buyers’ perspective, balancing risks and benefits and assisting management in persuading the board to proceed with an acquisition. 

My daily tasks included analyzing financial reports and searching for every piece of information that might have an impact on the transaction in the data room across hundreds of files. I helped build an effective bridge between the buyer and seller and further facilitate the transaction.

Why did I join the startup community?

My father was an entrepreneur. When I was little, I stayed at my father’s company office most of the time. I witnessed all the ups and downs my father had gone through as a founder. I realized how difficult it is to establish a successful company and be responsible to the employees.

Like most founders, my father was always thinking about how to optimize resources on hand to build better products. Pivoting from computer ODM/OEM company to a biotech company that designed and manufactured ear thermometers, he started his company with less than 10 employees and grew further to around 80 employees. Luckily, he exited the company through IPO and further M&A. Things did not always come smoothly. I clearly remember during the SARS epidemic, my father provided forehead thermometers to the Taiwanese government prior to foreign clients, causing him to be sued by foreign clients (but also became an anti-epidemic hero). He also overcame the departure of a partner who collaborated with him  over years with trust but later made false accusations against my father in court. 

As I grew up, my father was more willing to share his founder journey. He said that he never overthinks. He just wanted to do the right things and ensure that employees and their families could live a good life.

I admire the spirit of entrepreneurs who always want to do the right thing and build great products. Encouraged by my father’s story, I wanted to pursue a career in the startup community. Either through accelerator or venture capital investment, I hope to accompany founders and join their extraordinary founder journey to inspire myself and others. 

What do you do outside of work?

I love hiking, especially hiking in Baiyue! Many people ask me why I like hiking in Baiyue so much. Besides enjoying experiencing the beauty of Taiwan in-person, hiking in Baiyue allows me to know myself better in terms of my weaknesses and potential. The long journey also allows me to talk and listen to myself and reflect.

Hiking in Baiyue can be very tiring. During the three to four day journey, we usually carried 11-to-15 kilograms of backpacking equipment, walked around 8-to-10 kilometers a day, and covered around 1,000m of elevation. We hiked hills over hills to reach the destination. 

During the trek, I often encounter various terrain, such as wooded areas, scree slopes, cliffs, and streams. Sometimes the path is rugged and sometimes it’s slippery. Each steep slope, gentle slope, and winding road has its own characteristics. I am drawn to these unknowns and always curious about what kind of surprises it will reveal ahead. This keeps me moving on no matter how tiring it is. 

There are insurmountable challenges during the trek as well such as experiencing altitude sickness with symptoms of headaches and nausea; unable to put on my raincoat and set up the tent in time before all of my clothes got wet amid a downpour. My whole body was shivering at night; I had failed to adjust my pace and overestimated my stamina, causing an acute inflammation and fluid in my knee. I was so scared that I could not get back to the trailhead in time. 

When facing these obstacles, I keep talking to myself, remind myself that I can do it, stay calm and think about alternative plans and how to make it better. I adjust my breathing and pace from time to time, and focus on my body to overcome challenges. I believe that facing yourself and believing in yourself is the true factor to surpass yourself through adversity. 

For me, either entrepreneurship or life is somewhat like trekking in that it is full of unexpected challenges. Along this journey, we are all searching in the dark to embrace the sunrise at the peak. I’m Michelle. Welcome to chat with me and if you have the chance, let’s go trekking together~