Bybreen Samuels is in conversation with Xiaochen Zhang. Xiaochen is a firecracker who flew out of her mum's womb, carrying the fire in her belly, literally in her hand!

Currently, Xiaochen works on global public policy at ByteDance, a leading Chinese tech company. It's a content platform that enables audiences to enjoy content, powered by artificial intelligence. Before ByteDance, Xiaochen was a Software Engineer and Creative Technologist at Google. And she says, 'Joining Google made me strong. Leaving Google made me stronger.'

Xiaochen is also a Serial Entrepreneur and TedX Sydney Speaker.

Tune into this episode of The Smart Years to discover:

• Why when Xiaochen was 7 years old, she embraced a moment of shame, to shape her character 
• What the Chinese concept of Guanxi can teach you about contemporary business relationships
• How and why she became stronger by leaving her Google career
• The importance of keeping abreast of technological developments
• How you may be able to transition your non-technical background into the Internet of Things (IOT)
• What the Burning Man Festival taught Xiaochen about humanity
• Why knowing the fundamentals of computer science is still relevant even if you teach yourself how to code
• How to utilise your knowledge and expertise to become a content creator to help build your brand
• The key industry change that you must pay attention to
• Why the size of your ambition will determine how far you advance into the tech world.

Recommended Resource:

Book

The Most Human Human’ - What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive  -  Brian Christian

Quote of the Day - Anais Nin

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's couirage."