- Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Xiaolin Li, I’m a CPG product manager and developer, currently a co-founder and Chief Development Officer in Nannocare.
- In two sentences or less, describe how you participate in the startup ecosystem.
In Nannocare for example, my role was to take the idea of putting a nanotech material into a feminine pad, source and work with suppliers to make it into a mass production. I also actively research for new materials, new alternatives and takes in customer feedback for product improvement and expansion.
- What are you currently reading right now and would recommend to others?
I’m reading Contested Tastes: Foie Gras and the Politics of Food by Michaela DeSoucey. Very interesting book! I didn’t know much about gastropolotics until recent years. The current environment about being a “moral” eater is very complicated. It’s a fascinating read even though I didn’t care much about foie gras.
- What makes you stay in the startup ecosystem?
The energy, it’s so passionate and ambitious. I grew up in a family where my parents had a lot of ups and downs in business. I like how resilient they are and I like being in an environment and culture that people are actively looking for opportunities, creating new things, keep trying after failure.
- What drives your passion about the startup ecosystem?
Apart from influence from my family, I also enjoy creating new products. I like making an idea come true. I like connecting and working with people. I also like that people in startups often has multiple roles instead of just doing one thing. Being one of those people, I’m always learning something new and trying something new. It’s exciting.
- Where do you see the startup ecosystem in 5 years?
I see that nowadays new companies are taking market shares a lot quicker than big corporations used to take, which is good. But the environment is a little impetuous, many startups – at least in CPG – seem to be just following the trend and trying to get something big very fast and then exit, instead of trying to bring true innovations. Due to the pandemic the market gets a lot more unstable so I think the impetuousness may change in the next couple of years and companies who focus on what actually could make an impact would prevail.
- How has failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
I see life is a process of solving problems. So each failure is just crossing out the wrong answers and narrowing down the way to succeed.
- What is one of the best worthwhile investments you’ve ever made (could be financial, time, energy, etc.)?
A personal finance planning course, it’s an online course I took about 4 years ago. It saved me from zero savings and zero investment to being able to have passive income. It also helped me a lot in my career working in a startup.
- What do you do to refocus yourself when you feel overwhelmed or unfocused?
I would do a quick meditation, it only takes about 3 minutes. If my dog/cat’s next to me, I would just hug them when I’m meditating……they let me to just hold them without moving for 3 minutes and I found it very therapeutic.
- What’s one piece of advice you would give someone trying to break into the startup ecosystem?
I would suggest to be prepared for the risk and stress for sure! Always do a lot of research before getting into anything and choosing the right partner/supervisor would make a great difference.
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