Matilda Ho on Revolutionizing the Chinese Food Industry and Learning from Failure

Matilda Ho is the founder of Yimishiji, one of China's first online farmers markets to bring organic and local produce to families. She’s also the founder and managing director of Bits x Bites, China’s first accelerator and venture capital fund that invests in purpose-driven startups to shape the future of food. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Matilda filled leadership roles at IDEO and BCG (The Boston Consulting Group) in both Shanghai and Washington DC. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She currently serves as an advisor on the board of Shinho, China’s first and largest organic condiment company. Matilda and I discuss: What Matilda learned from working as Taiwan’s first female dove magician Why she enjoys jumping into danger and uncertainty How she decided to work on organic food in China, a country that’s had an epidemic of food safety issues Why finding an early investor for her company was a blessing and a curse The questions that she likes to ask in interviewing employees and startups How she creates an environment in her companies for encouraging her employees to share their mistakes and failures Why being a CEO is a lonely job, and the strategies that Matilda uses to cope with that challenge Resources mentioned: Bits x Bites Application Form - Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only). Don’t want to miss future episodes? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or Google Play. As always, thanks for listening.