How My LinkedIn Bio Will Look at The End of 2016

2015 was a tumultuous and transformative year for me. Halfway through the year, I left a design and development agency that I spent every minute of my time building for two and a half years. Not only did I lose my sense of purpose for a few months, but I lost a close friend and a mentor. Every truth that I held close to my heart was refuted, my mind was blown in the worst ways possible. However, I didn’t let myself regress for long and launched an Airbnb rental business and co-founded a passion project called SheWorx that has flourished beautifully with an incredible partner who has a complimentary set of skills. I’ve built a close circle of advisors and friends through Seth Godin’s altMBA program — a group of ruckus makers who seek to build the world that they want to see and will help me maintain my momentum to see through the vision that I’ve set for 2016. I’m grateful for every uncomfortable bump along the road this year and for the special people who’ve made the ride smoother this year. Below, I’ve laid out my plans for the new year by sharing how I’d like my LinkedIn bio to read at the end of 2016.

Lessons learned in 2015

• There is no such thing as the capital “T” truth. Everyone has their own version of the truth and it’s hard to dispute each person’s perspective. I learned this the hard way when I left a company this year because of co-founder disagreements. We each had our own versions of the truth that we weren’t willing to compromise on.
• Emotion is a powerful driver. It drives why I do what I do. When you no longer feel anything for what you spend most of your time doing, you should stop doing it.
• We can each write our own narrative and destiny. No one defines who you are, only you have the power to do that. I thought the last company I built was the best thing that ever happened to me and believed I would have a hard time building something better. I now know that that was a limiting belief that I had implanted into my head.
• Life is like a video game. Each level is a challenge with new surprises and opportunities. Any mistakes made along the way can only add to your repertoire of experiences and help inform how you approach similar situations in the future. Take any rejections with a grain of salt. If someone doesn’t respond to your email request for coffee, don’t fret there are people who will eventually say yes if you continue on your quest.
• While transparency and honesty are very simple concepts, they mean different things to different people. Being a leader means giving feedback frequently, but being too honest can be detrimental to your team’s overall morale and happiness level.
• Most successful people like to be part of a good growth story. Invest them in your progress by regularly sharing your challenges and asking for help. Update those who you want to build a relationship regularly and show them through your actions over time that you are a person with x, y, and z values and abilities.

Plans for next year— my LinkedIn bio pre and post 2016

My LinkedIn Bio at the End of 2015:

Tenacious entrepreneur. Independent thinker. Knowledge seeker.

I’m currently an Associate at Techstars. Always interested in connecting with ambitious entrepreneurs/investors especially those who run! I like to dive headfirst into anything I do and respect people who (really) get shit done.

My entrepreneurial spirit developed out of necessity at an early age when my family emigrated from a rural village in Fuzhou, China to the U.S. and started a restaurant. As one of two English speakers in my family, I was responsible for managing the day-to-day affairs of the business for over 8 years.

After two years as a Teach for America corps member teaching in a low income public school in Brooklyn, I partnered with my business partner to transform his side gig into a full scale design/strategy consulting firm, working with early-stage companies to build out their brand and technology at their most critical juncture (fundraising pitch decks, UI/UX design, MVP development). Clients that have leveraged our expertise have gone on to raise over $27M in funding.

I volunteer my time as a tutor and mentor a few of my former students. I enjoy bringing people together — the most interesting group I organize is sheworx.co. I’m an avid long distance runner (4x marathon runner) with plans to run a marathon on every continent (currently 2 for 7)!

My LinkedIn Bio at the End of 2016:

Tenacious entrepreneur. Independent thinker. Knowledge seeker.

I like to dive headfirst into anything I do. I’ve done this with teaching (taught special education grades 6–10 in a disadvantaged school district in Brooklyn), designing (built a close to mid six-figure design business within a year and a half after 3 months of intense guided self-learning), running (finished a marathon the first year I started running), swimming (learned how to swim within a year for my first triathlon), and even dating (went on 60 first dates during my first year in New York).

I’m the co-founder of SheWorx, a global collective for female entrepreneurs and changemakers redefining the next wave of leadership. Within a year, we’ve grown to 12 cities globally, have a community 15,000 strong, and hosted the largest conference for female entrepreneurs. We’re funded by Fortune 500 corporations, top tech companies, and selective government grants, and have advisors who are accomplished entrepreneurs and investors. On the side, I run a reclaimed wood furniture company.

I’m grateful to have both creative and financial freedom in my career. I advise ed tech startups and serve on the board of an educational nonprofit. I’m a 5x marathon runner with plans to run a marathon on every continent (currently 3 for 7)! I’m conversationally fluent in Mandarin and Fujianese (southeastern Chinese dialect) and plan to reach the next level of language proficiency within the next year.

Feel free to ping me at yin@sheworx.co if you want me to elaborate on any of these lessons. I’d especially love to hear from you if you’ve had similar lessons learned in 2015 or plans for 2016. Happy New Year!