5 questions with Annie...
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My proudest achievement to date is being able to build a small but fully operational ecommerce business during the COVID lockdown period. It started as something to satisfy my curiosity of wanting to better understand exactly how an ecommerce business worked from sourcing to marketing and to gain operational experience. It has made me a better investor by giving myself a founder / operator perspective when speaking with other founders and has allowed me to keep up to date with the latest trends in the consumer and ecommerce space.
Talk to me about…
I absolutely love the consumer retail space. As an avid consumer myself I find it so exciting because the industry is constantly changing and new trends are always emerging. In order to succeed, a business really needs to have their finger on the pulse and be ready to evolve and react quickly as the industry changes. It is also incredibly interesting from a strategy and marketing perspective to understand what are the best practices for customer acquisition and retention. I’m excited to work with the Glow team to identify, support and guide founders who have built strong businesses and are passionate about what they do.
If you could have three people at a dinner party, who would they be?
Charlie Munger (VC of Berkshire Hathaway) He is influential as a great investor with a unique sense of humour, and embodies principles that not only apply to investing but also broader life, such as always having a curious mind and learning from people from different walks of life.
Chris Xu (Founder and CEO of Shein) Despite the online retail landscape being hyper competitive and dominated by various incumbents, he has succeeded in creating a differentiated platform that captures the demand of a new wave of consumers and becoming a fully integrated retailer. Shein arguably is the gold standard when it comes to digital marketing and customer acquisition.
Chuck Feeney (Co-Founder of DFS Group, Founder of The Atlantic Philanthropies and General Atlantic) I have a lot of respect for his entrepreneurial nature and I find his extensive philanthropic efforts incredibly inspirational. Reading his story has given me an appreciation for the importance of giving back to others when you’re in the fortunate position of being able to do so.
Podcast I never miss?
The Acquired is one of my favourite podcast series. It is always very well researched and I enjoy listening to how some of the most successful businesses are built, both organically and through mergers and acquisitions. The podcast does in depth post-mortem evaluations of what went well and what didn't with historical deals of iconic companies, forming key learnings which I find really interesting as an investor.