TN67: From ex-banker and expat spouse to serial entrepreneur – Carol Rattray

Carol Rattray is originally from Japan but was raised in New York.  She studied and launched her career as an investment banker in the US before she and her husband started traveling in Asia for his job.  They lived in Tokyo where she continued to work in the finance industry.  Then, when they moved to Hong Kong, Carol decided to take a short break to spend more time with her two young children.  However, what she calls a sabbatical, as you will discover in this interview, turned out to be an exciting journey that led her to become a fascinating and successful serial entrepreneur. Carol is a private investor, investing in starts-ups in the US and China.  She is also a philanthropist, among many projects, she co-founded the Rattray Kimura Foundation with her husband mainly focused on education and conservation.  Lastly, Carol also founded her own start-up company called Zoomdojo.  Zoomdojo is a career resource designed to support students and recent graduates around the world with their entry into the employment market. To hear more from Carol, she was a guest speaker at Tandem Nomads’ first conference in New York. Glimpse on Carol’s insights in this episode: Dealing with a move abroad that she initially did not want to go through  “Be curious, listen and apply what you know to help someone else.” Balancing career and family  “Accept to be flexible and open minded to create a new career that fits your lifestyle.”  Transforming her career from a banker to a serial entrepreneur  “Figure out what fires you up and will keep you going through the ups and downs of a business.”  Launching a startup that is based on digital solutions with no technical background “Embrace technology as it gets a lot easier nowadays.” Tips to build a successful startup and become an entrepreneur “If our business closes because we solved the problem, it will be fantastic!” Her major lessons learned from her experience “Be patience and be fully committed to your business’s growth.” Carol’s book recommendation: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D Kristof A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity by Nicholas Kristof America Needs Talent: Attracting, Educating & Deploying the 21st-Century Workforce by Jamie Merisotis Carol’s online resources: Google docs: for storing and sharing documents Slack: for collaborating virtually with a team Mamp: for creating and managing a server for websites Drupal: for managing websites’ content SquareSpace: for creating a simple and easy to manage website or blog  Find Carol Rattray: Web: Zoomdojo Email: click here