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YES MARCH MEETING

By Iris Lee


At the start of this meeting, we had an introduction by our president Kevin Su, who set the tone for the meeting and called up Brian. Brian then introduced our speaker, Helen Du, the chairman of USCCC. She began to talk about her journey in the corporate world, and how she got where she is today.



She started her journey in China, where she learned about the oil industry. But she decided to move to America for better opportunities. She joined GTE, later Verizon as an entry-level worker. However, she made sure to go above and beyond. For example, one time after a meeting, she sent her notes to higher-ups. Because of this, she was quickly promoted. She took every project head-on and completed them brilliantly, causing her to become a senior director within five years. The lessons she wants us to learn from these years are to be ambitious, have a can-do attitude, and create and take opportunities.

Later, she came back to the oil industry she was studying in her college days. She connected factories in China to people who ran oil rigs and needed equipment. Because of this, her company quickly grew and was acquired by JD rigs. She was paid a handsome amount in cash for the acquirements.



Using this money, she decided to become an investor to help other start-ups. She had 3Ts when it came to deciding who to invest in, Talent, Team, and Trends.

She also had 5 Key Factors: Creativity, Risk Tolerance, Response to opportunity, Leadership, and Resilience.

The 3Ts and 5 Key Factors helped her find start-ups that flourished in the future and made for a worthwhile investment, like Square and Pinterest.

In her life, Helen Du made a clear impact, first working hard in the corporate world even when she was carrying her children. Second, finding opportunities and taking them, using inventive strategies, and connecting the dots.



Helen never knew she would put her oil industry skills to use one day, just like Steve Jobs didn’t know his calligraphy would come into use.

However, both of them became successful because they connected their dots in life.

Third was using her newfound wealth to make an impact in the world, by investing in startups that could change life for people- like bio startups.



After Helen’s brilliant speech, YES members came up to talk about the First United Bank Tour. They learned about the workplace, the difference between commercial vs retail banking, and the environment. All the speakers agreed it was educational and interesting.

All in all, this meeting was an amazing experience!


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