Shirney Huang, Head of AppWorks School (黃琇琳 / 之初學校校長)
負責 AppWorks School 校務規劃及營運。在加入 AppWorks 之前，有 8 年軟體研發相關工作經驗。除了曾在 IBM、Digital River 等跨國軟體公司任職，奠定軟體研發的基礎之外，也曾擔任台灣 FinTech 新創團隊的早期成員，建立及帶領工程團隊，也就此喜愛上創業中那股為目標勇往直前的衝勁。畢業於台大資管所，曾至瑞典皇家理工學院擔任交換學生，喜愛旅遊與美食。
「最近還好嗎？」這是我與 AppWorks School 學員間一對一聊天時通常的起手式，大約有九成的學員，回答會帶著苦笑的說「還好..」，那一絲的苦味代表了在 School 的辛苦，那一點的笑卻也代表著他們享受著這個辛苦。我是 AppWorks School 校長 Shirney，透過這個「補」自我介紹的機會，消化接手 School 三年來的點點滴滴，分享在目前職位的所見所得。
這三年來進入教育領域進行人才培訓，對從出社會就當軟體工程師的我來說，也是一條轉職之路。我的職涯前五年，在上市外商公司擔任軟體工程師，因為大公司環境分工細，工程師比較少接觸到使用者，一方面也希望給予自己更大的挑戰，所以轉換跑道進入約五人的小新創公司打拼，從一人工程師到帶領工程團隊，逐漸累積對市場、產品敏銳度以及團隊管理的經驗和能力。而後因緣際會得知有接手 AppWorks School 的機會，因為對教育一直有一定程度的興趣，以及更重要的，教育更有機會發揮對於社會的正面影響力，便轉身投入了科技教育的領域。
回首工作的這段時間，從軟體服務的開發工作到以人為本的教育業、從程式架構到課程規劃、從閱讀程式碼到閱讀人的狀態與動機，工作轉變為大量以人為核心，與 School 的同仁一起陪伴許多學員度過這段學習之旅。
當動機強烈，視目標為唯一選項時，就算是以前從來沒學過的新手，過程中一路落後，還是會一步一步堅持去完成目標；反之，對於許多起步能力不錯但表現卻平庸的學員，當我們去深究原因時，常常發現是因為早有其他規劃或是選項。也因為在 School 的學程，就如同魔鬼訓練營，在辛苦與高壓的環境中，就更會一再挑戰自我動機的堅定程度，學員們常常需要自省「這真的是我想要的嗎？」只要確認過自己心之所向，不選擇放棄，最後都會通過考驗。
2. 一定的要求是成長的必須
在與學員一對一的聊天中，常有學員會問到為什麼 AppWorks School 的學習步調要設計的這麼快，短時間要吸收的學習內容很多。老實說，在當初剛接手 School 時，我心中也有一樣的疑惑，同學們學得很辛苦，每每好像都快被逼到極限，這樣真的好嗎？但這個問題在隨著學員們一屆屆的完成學程後迎刃而解：一定程度的要求與挑戰，雖然讓過程更辛苦，但也成長更多，在最後完成的那一刻成就感與快樂也就更大。
總結來說，這三年在教育領域打滾，不僅僅是面對 School 本身快速規模化的成長挑戰，更多的是在經營 School 的過程中，學員們教會我的許多，在學員們感到困惑時，了解他們的狀態、輔助他們找尋解答，看似是我在擔任協助的角色，但其實在給予指導的同時，也都是在自我檢視，我有沒有真的從他們的角度出發？有沒有在對的時間、給對的人，最能真正幫助到他們變強的建議？在這條路上，我有沒有一樣的強烈動機？同時之間我也更了解自己，明確的知道我的動力來源，是來自於看著學員成長的驕傲，對我自己而言，也是一種成長。
我是 AppWorks School 校長 Shirney，很高興認識大家。未來，也希望可以繼續協助許多人成長。
Candice Su, Investor Relations Manager (蘇郁茹 / 投資人關係經理)
Candice keeps AppWorks Funds investors (LPs) up-to-date on how their investments are performing as well as making sure they derive the most strategic synergies out of the AppWorks Ecosystem. Prior to joining AppWorks, she was a deputy manager at Fubon Securities’ Investment Banking Department where she primarily focused on equity financing, IPO, and SPO related transactions and helped many companies gain better access to the capital markets by providing both financial and operational solutions. Candice received her B.A. in Accounting from Fu Jen Catholic University. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and experiencing different cultures through their cuisines and wine.
Before joining AppWorks, I worked at Fubon Securities’ investment banking department to assist companies with IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) and SPOs (Secondary Public Offerings). To recognize the true value of the company and act as the bridge between founders and the regulators , I was blessed to have the chance to learn directly from the founders and be inspired by them.
Why AppWorks
Generally speaking, companies that are preparing for an IPO have a relatively mature business model, so I wouldn’t be able to witness the 0 to 1 founder journey. This made me start to think about possible ways to observe founders from a different angle. That’s when I came across Jamie’s Post. Out of curiosity, I looked up more about AppWorks, and realized that AppWorks adhered to a spirit of “By founders, for founders.” While capital markets care more about the profitability of a company, AppWorks cares more about the delta of a founder and the problem they are trying to solve, which really resonated with me.
Why investor relations?
In contrast to investment associates or analysts that work directly with founders, IR engages more with investors in the fund, such as keeping AppWorks Funds investors (LPs) up-to-date on fund performance as well as making sure they enjoy strategic synergies from the AppWorks Ecosystem. Through synergies, I believe this is also a way to help founders from a different angle. Just like you need all supply chains to form an industry, I hope to help our founders succeed while unlocking advantages for AppWorks LPs.
Last but not least
There’s still a lot to learn and discover along the way, please don’t hesitate to share your story with me and inspire me with your founder journey!
對身為台灣第一批報導數位產業的記者，至今從未離開過這個產業的我來說，見證台灣過往 20 多年的發展，一定會有某種程度的「不甘心」。在 1990 年代後期，全球 Internet 第一波浪潮中，台灣曾經位居跑得很前面的領先集團，在入口網站 (Portal)、電子商務、搜尋引擎、通訊軟體或是其他不少垂直領域中，台灣都曾有很優秀的創業者，在當時的起跑點，寫下讓人非常驕傲的成績，但在 .com 泡沫後，劇情急轉直下，在隨後而來的 Mobile Internet 浪潮，我們卻只是擦身而過。
David is an Associate mainly focused on investments. He previously lived in the US, but was drawn to the Greater Southeast Asia region by the growth opportunities and the wonderful people here. He spent the first five years of his career as a consultant at IBM, where he became intimately familiar with the enterprise software and services needs of Fortune 500 companies. Later, he focused on building predictive models and solving optimization problems for large companies, and gained an appreciation for the role of data and algorithms in our lives. He joined AppWorks in 2020 after receiving his MBA from Columbia Business School, and also has a B.S. in Mathematics from the Ohio State University. In his free time, he tries to stay active and is always looking for opportunities to hike or trek, often seeking the trail less traveled.
People often ask me why I committed career suicide and came to Taiwan. When I accepted my return offer after my MBA summer internship here, some of my classmates at Columbia, who I love, were surprised. Some had assumed I just wanted a summer of fun in “Thailand” before resuming a serious career. Others gave me some encouraging words and reminded me that recruiting wasn’t over and I should stay open to other opportunities. One person literally thought I was joking (to be fair, most people can’t ever tell if I’m joking or not).
The main reason I came was for personal growth. Before my MBA I spent a year in Shijiazhuang, China only learning Mandarin (there wasn’t anything else to do there). Like most people who have lived in a different country, I really grew as a person from leaving my comfort zone, experiencing new things, and talking to different people. For this reason, I literally would have sooner taken a job as a kitchen hand in Asia than a white collar position in the US. Taiwan also happens to be a really pleasant place to live where the people are truly salt of the earth.
I’m also blessed to be a simple person from Ohio (US) and spent the first 25 years of my life there, so I don’t need much to be happy. Many “coastal elites” have lower expectations of Middle America, and we are generally misunderstood. But that’s just the way we like it. We block out the noise and worry about our own business, get down to honest work, and always end up surprising people. Maybe I also found that in Taiwan – a lot of smart, determined, overlooked people brewing up some special things. I think we’ll continue to surprise a lot of people.
In this way, I resonate with founders a lot. Many founders are viewed skeptically by society, but they don’t care, and they get down to work and end up surprising people. I will never forget enthusiastically describing to my friends a startup I encountered during my summer internship, when one friend remarked, “that’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard”. That company is now valued at close to $10 billion (not that stupid things can’t be worth $10 billion). Every day I have the privilege of believing in people, and few things are as fun as witnessing them create something from nothing.
Despite being known as “The Professor” at the office, my main job is to be a student. I work on the web3 arm at AppWorks, which brings me joy as it unites me with my college interests of math and computer science. Every day I’m uncomfortable, see new things, and talk with amazing founders. At times I feel like a college student again, stepping into a new world with humility and an open mind.
Besides working on investments and doubling as a host at Demo Day, I also run the college intern program here. Many people overlook interns as unskilled labor, but I see them as our future leaders who will surpass most of us faster than we think. I believe helping these bright young people at this juncture of their career will pay rich dividends for all of us. The intern program is just one of the many non-financial investments we make here to help better society, and I personally get a lot of fulfillment from coaching and teaching.
Lastly, I also run the MBA recruiting program. It’s a sales job, and I try to pitch MBAs on why they should come to Taiwan after they’ve just spent two years and $200K on their degree and are being wined and dined by consulting firms and big tech companies that people have actually heard of. It is a tough sell to start from the bottom. But I’ve always believed that the view from the top is more breathtaking after you’ve climbed from the bottom, arriving totally spent, after nobody thought you could. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
