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Hey STIMYers!
It’s been quite a week, hasn’t it?
The uncertainty over the US election seemed to last for forever as the electoral votes crawled in. But some unexpected heroes did emerge. One of them being MSNBC’s part human calculator, part energizer bunny & khaki-wearing Kornacki (who reportedly didn’t sleep more than 5 hours in the week just to keep viewers up to date on the latest results! And got a shoutout from Chrissy Teigen no less, lol).
That said, the Biden/Harris win is impactful in so many ways, not less because of how this was the first time a female, Black, South Asian woman just broke through the glass ceiling of the highest office in the world.
To which Kamala Harris’s sister, Maya Harris, tweeted:
A sentiment that was very reminiscent of STIMY’s latest guest, Sarah Chen, whose own parents actively encouraged both her and her brother to “dream big, aim high“.
This week’s STIMY guest, Sarah Chen, grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is currently the:
Sarah’s current mission is to empower female founders. A cause fueled in part by an incident that happened when she was 17 and applying for scholarships, where one of the senior leaders of the company commented:
“As a girl, I think you’re too ambitious.”
But did Sarah let that stop her? No!
We discussed many things in her episode, and some highlights included:
You can listen to Sarah’s episode in full on: STIMY Website, Spotify, Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Listen Notes.
Looking for past STIMY guests that exemplify women empowerment? Check out:
YouTube version of the STIMY interview with Joey Law – former Senior Inspector of the Hong Kong Police Force & Mother to 15-Year-Old Child Entrepreneur, Hillary Yip of Minor Mynas (who was STIMY’s Ep 13 guest!).
Joey shares her perspective as an amazing career woman & mother, including what it was like supervising Hillary as she built her company up from the age of 10.
In 1997, psychologist Dr Arthur Aron conducted a study at Stony Brook University, New York, to accelerate intimacy between two (preferably) total strangers.
An experiment that went viral in a Modern Love podcast episode.
The Premise: Verbally complete a set of 36 increasingly intimate questions, from “If you could invite anyone in the world to dinner, who would it be?” to “Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why?“, before ending with the couple staring into each other’s eyes for 4 minutes straight.
The Results: Polarising, ranging from couples who did the 36 questions & ended up getting married to each other, to ones where it didn’t quite work out.
Thoughts: A very interesting experiment & not one that has to be strictly romantic (maybe minus the eye staring 😅)!
At the very least, it gives you a chance to learn about another person in a way that you might not necessarily have!
If you’re on an awkward outing, bust these questions out.
If you haven’t heard of this sassy New Yorker, Stephanie Johnson aka Tattletales of Tanqueray, then are you in for a treat!
First off – what is Humans of New York?: An epic photography project launched by Brandon Stanton in November 2010. Every day, Brandon walks the streets of New York, stops complete strangers, and asks them for their photo & story, which are then uploaded onto Humans of New York. Its Instagram account now boasts 11 million followers.
Stephanie Johnson aka Tanqueray: A sassy, former burlesque dancer from New York (with a stage name of “Tanqueray”), who became one of Brandon’s most viral exports in 2020. Her story unfolds over 32 magnificent posts complete with pictures. It was originally meant to be released as a podcast but Stephanie had a terrible fall so Brandon decided to share her story over 32 posts while simultaneously running a GoFundMe page for Stephanie’s living expenses & long-term care. Within days, they raised $2.6 million!!
Thoughts: Stephanie’s story is so wild, it’s almost unreal. And I don’t think I can ever look at chocolate milk (🥛) & hotdogs (🌭) in the same way. I won’t spoil it for you, so just head over & give it a read! 😎
Emily Heyward: Co-founder & Chief Marketing Officer at Red Antler: a renowned brand company for startups & new ventures like Casper, Allbirds, Prose & Brandless. She was named the “Most Important Entrepreneur of the Decade” in 2019 & Top Female Founder in 2018 by Inc Magazine.
Why listen: learn how a branding expert approaches brand storytelling using real-life examples that include Soulcycle, Apple, Nike & Airbnb.
Most Interesting Takeaway:
Thoughts: I’ve always found it interesting to think about how people come up with their brand concepts & the way all of their creative decisions revolve around it, so I really enjoyed this episode!
Emily also discussed other things like how branding isn’t about consistency (Soulcycle’s entire brand is full of contradictions, e.g. it’s very costly despite holding itself out as inclusive space, adopts a kumbaya/spiritual approach v making its clients go through intense, hardcore workouts. But the brands we love most do weave in surprises so all that talk about staying consistent? Don’t take it too seriously. 😉
What is it:
At the 50th reunion of Harvard Business School’s Class of 1963, the class members jotted down their advice on a wide range of matters including on careers, business, leadership, wealth, marriage & family, growing older, charity & spirituality, happiness & success and more.
Favorite Takeaways:
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Until next week!
Ling Yah