Decoding Digital

Huijin Kong is a beacon of inspiration and empowerment, making an enduring impact in the world of business leadership. A tenacious achiever, she earned her stripes graduating summa cum laude from Wharton and securing an M.B.A. with Highest Distinction from Harvard Business School. Driven by an unyielding faith in the inherent potential of every individual, she fearlessly carves her path, leaving a lasting impact in her wake.

Currently, as the Principal Counselor at LinHart Group and co-author of 'Positive Influence: The First and Last Mile of Leadership,' Huijin continues to inspire and empower.

In today’s episode, Huijin tells us how she was called to this career, sheds light on the challenges faced by higher-ups in maintaining their purpose, and how leaders can positively influence their teams.

Press play to hear Huijin’s thoughts on…

Taking the leap and trusting yourself 

“Success and our pride is very, very hard to let go. That was the most difficult thing for me in my own transition— to move on from one successful career to, frankly, what looked like a not very promising second career that I probably will fail at. So, do you dare to take the leap and then find the courage in yourself and in your company and your organization to do it?”

Being an influencer at your company

“The key as an influencer is to really understand the key goals that you have, that your company has. What's going to be difficult for people? Because our definition of influence and leadership, which is interrelated, is ‘Are you able to get someone to do something better, faster, or new that they wouldn't have otherwise done?'"

After winning her first Olympic medals for Canada in Turin (2006) and Vancouver (2010) and achieving the Guinness World Record for World Championship freestyle skiing gold medals, Jennifer Heil turned her athlete’s focus to founding RYA Health, and to becoming a policy developer of Safe Sport to address abuse and harassment. 

In today’s episode, Jennifer talks about how her Olympic career led her to a holistic approach to training that has translated to her work as an entrepreneur, especially the meditation practices that she started at a young age. She also dives into how technology is changing the future of women’s healthcare.

Press play to hear Jennifer’s thoughts on…

How to methodically approach each business deal

"When you're a hot funded startup with a bunch of money and investors behind you...there's a tendency to think, we can do it all at any given time. And that's just not possible."

Getting the most value out of your business deals

"So many companies play a superficial service level type of business. But why not go get 50% of this market? When I look at doing these deals, I say, I am gonna go after this and do this until I hit what I think is 50 or 60% of the value of what I'm doing here. And then I'm going to ignite something else."

Ever wonder where the term “Subscription Economy” came from? 

In a nutshell, it came from Tien Tzuo, CEO and founder of Zuora. Today, Tien is recognized as one of the thought leaders in the software-as-a-service industry. He founded Zuora in 2007, ultimately building one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies. Over the years, he’s evangelized the shift to subscription-based business models and the complex billing structures they inherit. 

In today’s episode, Tien talks about how his work at SalesForce—he was employee number 11—impacted the work he’s doing today with Zuora, the importance of customer relationships, the evolution of subscription-based services, and what the future of SaaS companies looks like.

How to view customers as subscribers

“We think less of the subscription and more of the subscriber, and our view is that the modern business starts with a customer and envisions a customer as a subscriber.”

Building subscriber relationships

“So it's a re-envisioning start with the relationship, build relationships...There's so many companies out there and so many ways of thinking that says, look, we're just trying to do a deal, versus we're trying to count how many relationships we have, and then find all sorts of ways to monetize those relationships."

The trend of ‘anything as a service’

"This whole SaaS thing that you and I live in and take for granted, it's going to evolve and take over the world. It's not software eats the world, right? It's really 'as a service' eats the world. And this whole idea of anything as a service is probably the biggest trend in the next 10, 20 years."

Kurt is a technology entrepreneur, world explorer, and expert in business development. The first 20 years of his career were spent between the San Francisco Bay Area and Asia working with technology startups in finance and business development roles. Today, Kurt is the CEO of the startup, Stealth Smiles. 

During this episode he talks about how to methodically pursue and land big deals. He breaks the process down into three parts: Chart Your Course, Galvanize Your Crew and Maneuver Strategically, and Land the Deal and Expand. Master these and you’ll be on your way to landing the lighthouses and building an enduring business.

How to methodically approach each business deal

"When you're a hot funded startup with a bunch of money and investors behind you...there's a tendency to think, we can do it all at any given time. And that's just not possible."

Getting the most value out of your business deals

"So many companies play a superficial service level type of business. But why not go get 50% of this market? When I look at doing these deals, I say, I am gonna go after this and do this until I hit what I think is 50 or 60% of the value of what I'm doing here. And then I'm going to ignite something else."

“No one ever gained a lot by risking next to nothing.” 

This is why Tim Prendergast is so successful in everything he does, from being a CEO to being a dad to his three daughters. Today, as the CEO of StrongDM, he and his team work to solve the problem of getting people access to infrastructure in a safe and sane way. 

Before working at StrongDM, Tim was the principal architect for Adobe's Cloud Team and became a seed investor in technologies he truly believes in. Tim is an expert in all things cloud security, cloud infrastructure, and building and scaling SaaS businesses.

In today's episode, Tim talks about how all great innovation starts with pushing the envelope of what's possible. He also talks about what he learned as a 'Chief Couch Officer' (COO), where he took a step back from a fast-paced career to play video games and, most importantly, teach his kids essential concepts, from entrepreneurship to security to computers.

Press play to hear Tim’s thoughts on…

Why Tim joined StrongDM

"A lot of people ask me like, what got you off the couch? The answer is amazing people and amazing technology. And I think that's a true statement for probably most founders who are passionate about tech."

The power of teamwork in a tech startup

"We're gonna unlock the power of what teamwork can actually do when we don't put the entire burden on either a sales team or an engineering team, but we actually have an entire company moving in a direction using their kind of digital infrastructure to power their business."