We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Wen Zhang. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Wen below.
Wen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Wen Zhang is an entrepreneur and accomplished technology marketer who has succeeded in a fast-paced, technology business environment with startup companies and established corporations. Wen, who was born and raised in a rural mountain town in China dreamed of seeing the world. Over a span of four years, she taught herself English on cassette tapes, before journeying to the United States in 2011. A decade later, Wen holds now holds two Master’s degrees, while experiencing success in both corporate and startup environments. Today, Wen is living her “American Dream” to see and explore the world.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Wen has extensive experience in enterprise B2B business development, ranging from specialization in hardware, software, and service-based products and business models for small to large-cap businesses. She also managed a $320M yearly product portfolio and 400 sales members across the North American region at Dell Technologies.
Her strategic insight and knowledge in corporate marketing strategy as well as her startup journey have prompted utilizing her experience to contribute to the startup ecosystem and to support entrepreneurs in their business pursuits. Seeing the success of many of her clients, Wen founded the If Not Now Wen (INNW) Institute with a mission to help startup founders reach their dreams. Utilizing a tried and tested framework for investment pitches, INNW provides customized deliverables through the “Perfect Pitch Process”.
Wen holds an MA in Advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Duke University. She is the co-founder of EverGreener, www.myevergreener.com, which offers a goal-tracking calendar to help you achieve your goals and dreams. Wen also co-founded InternshipDesk, a service-based business, in 2012 and led a fintech software startup Evention’s international division in 2014.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Wen was born and raised in a mountain town in China, where girls are undesired and unempowered. She was taught to stay quiet and not to “make waves”. At 7 years old, she told her mother that she desired to be the Mayor of the town, and her mother immediately told her to quiet down and to never share that thought again or in public.
She never agreed with the environment she was raised in, and instead, she dreamed of venturing to the outside world, beyond her isolated mountain town. Her journey took 4 years and a cassette tape player to teach herself English. In 2011, this was how her “American Dream” began.
Today, because of what she has been through in life and as a woman business owner, she is fearless. She is empowered knowing that whatever challenge comes her way, she will always be able to overcome it.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Hundreds of thousands of start-ups sprawl each year only in the US, yet only a handful of them receive funding from angel investment or venture capital. Why? Because many communicate but few truly connect. When it comes to fundraising, early-stage tech founders are challenged with ways to articulate their business solutions. Wen and the INNW Institutes support founders through a unique pitch process, which includes crafting a compelling startup story, pitch deck, and customer presentation that connects and resonates with investors, partners, and customers.
Wen has worked as a startup strategist to support founders with their go-to-market strategy, especially on how to articulate their core value proposition and communicate effectively.
The goal most valued by Wen and her team is to take care of customers. Their goal is to create a win-win-win scenario. They don’t win unless their customers win, and their customers don’t win unless their businesses win. When clients served by INNW are provided value in the outcome of their partnership with INNW, they will refer others. Receiving new clients is based on 100% referral or word of mouth, which says a lot for their business and what they stand for. As long as individuals continue to dream big and see their ideas and business plans come to fruition, the INNW Institute will continue to grow and serve its clients for years to come.
Regarding growth opportunities, Wen also does training and workshops virtually, and the INNW Institute continues to serve clients globally. Additionally, the team is creating more professional digital solutions to scale, reach, and meet the global demand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ifnotnowwen.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifnotnow_wen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wen.zhang.3910
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innw-consulting/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEQX_4Y4tvSGPZ_Lk0umhvA