Before moving to the Bay Area, Trinh Wong did not know about the culture of techies and technology startups. However, once she began to see the ways in which tech’s culture of innovation was disrupting norms and solving problems — she realized that she had finally found her tribe.
On May 23, 2014, Trinh Wong will be holding Mentor Office Hours at Work In Progress. She says she channels her property and community building experience into startups that aim to improve people’s quality of life where they live.
“I’m taking this summer to work on a personal project that involves food and my 5 sisters, all of whom are entrepreneurs,” she explains. “I felt compelled to be in Vegas since all my experience mirrors almost everything that’s happening Downtown: mobility, co-working spaces, start-ups, and property/community development. I want to leverage from the energy of the Downtown Community and contribute to the community in various way– attracting more people to see what’s happening Downtown, supporting and collaborating with local startups/organizations, and make great relationships from my time here.”
Her experiences have given her the savvy to quickly pick up on the pulse of a community. She delights in making connections between disparate things, organizing chaos, making a company exude its brand, and seeing manuals that use minimal words and simple images.
At her office hours at Work In Progress, Trinh Wong says entrepreneurs can expect frank feedback, thoughtful listening and questioning to get a good understanding of situations and needs, and actionable advice tailored to each participant.
Also, she says she will speak to startups and entrepreneurs about the importance of messaging.
“I obsess over the usage and placement of words, and how statements are drafted,” she explains. “I drafted and reviewed lots of contracts from my work in real estate, a change in wording can make the terms of an agreement better or worse for a party on either side of the contract. Also in 2012, I helped sfciti canvass at tech bus stops (Google, Apple, Facebook). I had to get our message out to lines of tech folks as they boarded their buses. This process of repeating a message over and over again, and only having seconds to do it before your constituent disappears, is the face-to-face version of what happens on web pages. Now, whenever I review marketing and messaging stuff, images of people walking by and getting on the bus looms over my head. This serves a my reminder to pare things down to the most essential words/information. Without fail, I usually end up with something better than what I started with.
Trinh Wong shares simple, but powerful, advice with entrepreneurs.
“If you keep failing at what you do, and you have no support from friends or family, and you feel crappy about yourself– Stop. Re-evaluate what you are doing. Pivot– quick. If you keep failing, but you keep attracting support from friends and family and your sphere keeps growing, and you feel great about yourself– Don’t stop. Keep climbing!”
Sign up for office hours with Trinh Wong here. “Please stop by to visit! I’m just getting situated here in Vegas, so would love to learn about Vegas and Downtown through YOU,” she says.
