Paint & Pipette: The Art & Science of Innovation Ep 11: Creativity, Grit, and Defying Other Peoples’ Perception of Success with Vivian Shen
Throughout her life, Vivian Shen always wanted to do the thing that would help her learn the fastest. Eventually, she realized that the best way to do this would be by defying how her peers defined success and starting a business herself. Vivian channeled her passion for education into Juni Learning, an online platform that offers STEAM courses in real-world subjects we all wish we could have learned in school like coding, storytelling, investing, and more. Her vision is for every student to be prepared for the real world and have the tools to really make their mark. Today she joins us to share her story with us. Tuning in, you’ll hear how Vivian studied creative writing at Oxford, how this minor is often more useful than her engineering qualification, and why she believes in cultivating a breadth of interests. You’ll also hear what led Vivian to decide that she wanted to start a business, what the most challenging part of it was, what she wishes she had done differently, and what young women can do to assess their fit with the entrepreneurial life. To hear what it looks like for Vivian to always be learning, her advice for anyone who is going through any sort of failure trauma, and how to cultivate grit, tune in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
- A creative accomplishment that Vivian Shen is proud of: creative writing at Oxford.
- How her creative writing minor is often more useful than her engineering qualification.
- What it looks like for Vivian to always be learning.
- Why Vivian reads more fiction than non-fiction and how this helps her learn.
- The challenges of defying other peoples’ perceptions of success and starting Juni.
- Vivian’s advice for anyone who is going through any sort of failure trauma.
- Insight into what Juni is and Vivian’s goals for the company.
- How they work with a student on grit and what that looks like.
- How Juni helps parents and teachers to not step in and help kids when they feel stuck.
- What Vivian think's about David Epstein's argument: generalization versus specialization.
- What led Vivian to decide that she wanted to start a business.
- What made Vivian prioritize learning over other things such as generating income.
- Thoughts on how to convince more women to feel confident enough to start a company.
- The community or network that Vivian leans on for support when making decisions.
- What Vivian believes is the most challenging part of starting a company.
- At what point Vivian realized she was starting the company and there was no going back.
- Institutional versus angel money and what Vivian wishes she had done differently.
- What young women can do to assess their fit with the entrepreneurial life.
- Insight into the entrepreneurship class offered at Juni.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: