Shanshan Liu

I started my professional career in consulting at McKinsey, where I developed both hard and soft skills relating to running and growing a business. Everything starts with a deep understanding of a client’s mission and passion for the business. This requires a genuine connection and empathy, which ultimately serves to build a mutually successful relationship between consultant and client. Helping clients drive toward that mission is where hard skills come in, particularly in the form of problem-solving and analytical skills. During my time in consulting, I learned how to gather necessary insights in a very short amount of time. Both of these skill sets have been valuable in working with founders at SBIA.

I thrive on the dynamic nature of investing. Many might find a constantly evolving profession like this stressful, but I find it liberating and empowering. SBIA provides us the freedom to seek new ideas and better solutions. It’s also exciting to work with and learn from founders with different cultural backgrounds. I’m thrilled to be surrounded by sharp thinkers who have extensive knowledge of their specific industries.

I admire and respect their passion and tenacity. Being an entrepreneur is one of the toughest jobs. Founders spend a lot of their time worrying about their company, their employees, and how to execute. But despite the challenges and emotional toll, they boldly move forward because they truly believe their product will transform the world for the better.

We play many roles in our partnerships with founders. Every founder is unique, so their needs will be different. Whether it be collaborating on strategy, offering operations advice, or leveraging the power of our ecosystem, we determine our role based on the needs of the founder. We aim to be true partners in helping them navigate toward success. Additionally, I try my best to be as accessible as possible. I want founders to feel confident knowing that they can consistently rely on us.

Ever since I was young, I’ve valued honesty, transparency, and strong follow-through. I believe that telling the truth and keeping my word are fundamental principles to abide by. I think that is one of the main reasons I was drawn to working at SBIA. The organization shares these principles, and we actively seek them out in the founders we work with as well.