Wen-Szu Lin: Lessons learnt from Franchise Failure to Scaling Uber in Asia - E696

About this episode

Wen-Szu Lin shares his journey from franchise failure to scaling Uber in Asia, discussing the lessons learned along the way.

In this episode of the BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast, Jeremy Au is joined by Wen-Szu Lin who opens up about the brutal reality of entrepreneurship, from securing the master franchise for Auntie Anne's in China just before the 2008 Olympics, to navigating massive business failure, and eventually scaling Uber's Community Operations across Asia. Wen-Szu shares the untaught lessons that propelled his corporate success after his startup collapsed. Discover the hidden challenges of operating a foreign food brand in Beijing, how strict local regulations stifled growth, and why a "growth mindset" is the ultimate tool for tech leaders and founders. Whether you are building a startup in Southeast Asia, exploring venture capital, or looking to growth hack your career, this candid conversation about bouncing back from a failed venture is essential listening. Check out Wen-Szu Lin’s books The China Twist and Deliver: The untaught lessons to growth hack your career at www.wenszulin.com 00:00 - Introduction 01:46 - Wen-Szu Lin's Background & Journey to China 04:55 - Securing the Auntie Anne's Master Franchise 07:23 - The Reality of Doing Business in Beijing (2008 Olympics) 11:42 - Why…

People in this episode

Host: Jeremy Au

Guest: Wen-Szu Lin

Topics covered

• entrepreneurship
• business failure
• scaling operations
• growth mindset
• startup challenges
• venture capital

Keywords

• entrepreneurship
• business failure
• Uber
• Auntie Anne's
• growth mindset
• scaling operations
• Southeast Asia
• startup
• venture capital

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Auntie Anne's, Uber

Books & works: The China Twist, Deliver

Places: China, Beijing, Philippines

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