Beyond Barriers Podcast

Sarah Chen-Spellings had the rare opportunity to know what it was like to be a success from a young age. By 9, she was already a TV host in Malaysia, and by 25, she was wise beyond her years and already part of teams writing multi-million investment checks. After her father died, she was called to manage the family business and quickly learned the art of grit, resilience, and the power of business from this experience. 

However, before her father died, he encouraged her to work in the corporate world. Through that experience, she learned to turn her convictions into her work and believes that having a strong community and positive mentors are important for success. She believes it is necessary to help other women and people of color move up the ladder and create opportunities for them to be a part of upper management that was once not possible. 

Even with all of her successes, Sarah can still feel like she’s failing sometimes. She honestly shares why and how she focuses on what’s possible to overcome these feelings. She also shares how she evaluates risks, manages her time, and puts family first. Referring to herself as an activated accidental feminist, “Go big or go home” is a motto for Sarah, and we learn how true that’s been for her life in this podcast.

Visit https://www.gobeyondbarriers.com where you will find show notes and links to all the resources in this episode, including the best way to get in touch with Sarah.

Highlights: 

[02:52] Sarah’s background

[11:59] Finding courage when you feel like you’re failing

[16:58] The importance of community 

[20:57] How to build authentic relationships

[24:55] Evaluating opportunities and rising to meet them

[28:48] Executing lofty goals and time hacks

[32:02] The toll of task switching

[34:12] Setting boundaries around time

[38:15] Joining passions with work

[45:02] Lightning round questions

Quotes:

“My style is to go big or go home always, and if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it well.” – Sarah Chen-Spellings

“Change, growth, and progress will cost a lot and I do it for my WHY. And that's what drives me is the fact that I know I just have something big here to be done.” – Sarah Chen-Spellings

“Choosing your partner is the most important career decision you can make.” – Sarah Chen-Spellings

Lightning Round Questions:

What book has greatly influenced you? 

• “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel

What is your favorite inspiring quote or saying? 

• “The most common way most people give up power is to believe they have none.”

What is one word or moniker you would use to describe yourself? 

• Audacious

What is one change you've implemented that made your life better? 

• Not waiting for the perfect time. 

What power song would you want playing as you walk out onto a stage? 

• “Haghame” by Golazin

About Sarah Chen-Spellings:

Based in Washington DC, investor & entrepreneur Sarah Chen-Spellings is Co-Founder of Beyond The Billion (launched as The Billion Dollar Fund for Women), the world's first and largest global consortium of over 100 venture funds and limited partner investors that have pledged to invest and are actively deploying beyond $1B towards women-founded companies. In under two years, the consortium has deployed $638M and counting into close to 800 female-founded companies, of which 11 have been recognized as unicorns. Previously, she was on the pioneer team of a corporate venture capital unit within a $13B publicly traded Asian conglomerate, investing in later-stage biotechnology companies. Since then, she has been at the forefront of multi-million cross border investments, structuring and executing commercialization plans with her portfolio companies.

Determined to see more women at the helm, she sits on multiple boards, including 131 & Counting, a bipartisan effort encouraging more women to run for office in the US; and Lean In Malaysia, which she co-founded, a platform accelerating women into leadership in Malaysia. Named Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and Forbes Under 30 VC, Chen-Spellings is a recognized speaker, strategist and commentator on venture capital, startups and women in leadership, having been featured on Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg, Der Spiegel, United Nations et al, and is a celebrated host on the show and podcast #BillionDollarMoves backed by the Hubspot Podcast Network. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Laws, LL.B (Hons.) from King’s College London.

Links:

Websites: https://beyondthebillion.com/ 

https://sarah-chen.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahChenGlobal/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahchenglobal/ 

https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebillion/

Twitter: sarahchenglobal, @beyondbillion