This is the only podcast episode I've recorded in 2021, but it is a culmination of the many lessons that I've learned at Stanford, specifically as we touch upon energy management and how do we cope with stress.

In this episode, we've covered how Gus came about becoming a venture capitalist, his big why that gets him to do what he does today, and the compassion he has for every person to be more mindful about brain, body and energy.

As we march into 2022, one of the key lessons i've picked up is around the topic of practicing different mental models to help drive better decision, to give myself more options between a protective mindset and a mindset that's more secure and is able to imagine new perspectives in life. We're all stressed by different things, and life will keep throwing curveballs at us, and it's never more important to learn about how we can better manage our energy to improve the choices we create in our brain that will ultimately lead to better decisions.

Hope you enjoy and wish you an amazing 2022 ahead.

More on Gus:

https://www.trinityventures.com/team/gus-tai

https://medium.com/@gustai

"To win the long game, I had to learn to separate the process from the result."

Today's episode is a lengthy one that's broken into 2 parts. I'm joined by Meng Chiang, a long time friend who's currently the wine director for Quality Branded, one of the top 50 restaurant groups in the US. Meng currently runs the wine program for 3 of its restaurants in New York City.

To me, Meng's career has always been impressive by all the different standards. He first quit his job at a prestigious law firm to become a professional poker player. Then a few years later, he did another 180 and entered the restaurant world as a sommelier.

In the first part, we'll hear about how Meng navigated his twenties between careers by exploring what he found fun and how he succeeded through ruthless self-discipline. We'll then zoom out and learn about how COVID has impacted restaurants in New York City.

In the 2nd part, we'll switch gears and dive deeper into why Meng picked wine, or the service industry, as his career and also discuss some of the recent scandals that have surfaced in the wine industry. As usual, we'll finish the podcast with Meng sharing his favorite failures, quotes to live by, book recommendations, as well as a few pointers on wines to enjoy across different price points.

Hope you enjoy!

"To win the long game, I had to learn to separate the process from the result."

Today's episode is a lengthy one that's broken into 2 parts. I'm joined by Meng Chiang, a long time friend who's currently the wine director for Quality Branded, one of the top 50 restaurant groups in the US. Meng currently runs the wine program for 3 of its restaurants in New York City.

To me, Meng's career has always been impressive by all the different standards. He first quit his job at a prestigious law firm to become a professional poker player. Then a few years later, he did another 180 and entered the restaurant world as a sommelier.

In the first part, we'll hear about how Meng navigated his twenties between careers by exploring what he found fun and how he succeeded through ruthless self-discipline. We'll then zoom out and learn about how COVID has impacted restaurants in New York City.

In the 2nd part, we'll switch gears and dive deeper into why Meng picked wine, or the service industry, as his career and also discuss some of the recent scandals that have surfaced in the wine industry. As usual, we'll finish the podcast with Meng sharing his favorite failures, quotes to live by, book recommendations, as well as a few pointers on wines to enjoy across different price points.

Hope you enjoy!

I am so excited to share this episode with you. I've got MISS KO on my show! She was one of the first female hip hop artists that had a major breakthrough in the music industry in Taiwan. In 2012, she won the best new artist award at The Golden Melody Awards which is equivalent to the Grammy's in the Greater China market, and I personally believe she paved the way for the rising hip hop scene in Taiwan today.

Christine has been back in New York for almost 2 years and has been pretty quiet on social media, so I'm ecstatic that I had the chance to catch up with her. In the episode, we'll get to learn about what she's been up to, and reflect back on her journey from a newcomer from New York into Taiwan's hip hop scene, as well as her current thoughts on creating music as an asian artist amidst the rise of K-Pop and other asian artists in the US. I loved that she offered a completely different perspective than what a label may want to pursue versus what the artist may want - that it's not so much about the race or where we came from, but recognizing the talent and artistry first. We ended the episode laughing about our favorite failures and a quote in Chinese to encourage us to stay foolish so we can keep learning. Hope you guys enjoy this!

From this episode I've had the privilege to connect with Jason Ve, the VP of Strategy and Business Development at 88rising. (They rep Rich Brian, Nikki, Joji!). Side plug: Please check out Joji's new album that was just released this week. You will be hooked by the song "Tick Tock". Guaranteed.

For the next 30 minutes, we'll hear more about what 88rising does as a music label, and then move to Jason to learn about some of the defining moments in his career in the music industry.

We've also discussed some of the challenges Jason went through as an Asian American gay male in the finance and the entertainment industry, and how there's still a lot of work to be done to increase representation and empower individuals from all backgrounds.

I truly admire how jason has been able to tie his personal beliefs and interests into his work, and it's a testament that having purposeful work is a key criteria in finding fulfillment and happiness in life.

Hope you guys enjoy the episode!

Learn more about Jason here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonve/

https://coldteacollective.com/how-embracing-identity-helped-jason-ve-land-jobs-at-google-disney-and-88rising/

https://podmailer.com/podcast/the-first-act-podcast/interview-with-music-technology-executive-jason-ve

From this episode I'm joined by Will Chang, the co-founder of PartingPro, a start-up that helps digitize the funeral home business.

I've known Will back in college from UCLA as an alum, so we never had a conversation beyond hi. Earlier this year, I started noticing that he's been posting a lot on instagram where he's sharing different learnings and experimentations that he's doing, from him doing the invisible stairs from a pull up bar, new tiktok dance videos, and influencers that he's been following to learn about the world. I thought, wow I need to reach out to talk to him.

Going into the interview, I had a lot of questions prepared for Will in trying to understand some of his pivotal moments and favorite failures in life, but we ended up spending a lot of time talking about relationships.

Will shared about his dating journey, from college, to a 10 year relationship, to learning about online dating. Along the way, he's shared what he's learned about attachment theories, what love is, and how to practice loving.

We also spent some time on health, habits and some hacksr to turn goals into reality. I've had a lot of fun, and also really appreciate how transparent will was about sharing his life, including some of his most vulnerable moments.

He's really shown me what being mature means, and he's a living example of continuous self-development.

Episode highlights

• How to hack yourself and keep experimenting? [7:06]
• How to get a 6 pack (it's not 1orking out your belly) [11:30]
• How your instagram profile says about your datability [19:13]
• How Will upped his dating game [22:06]
• What do "professional daters" instagram profiles looks like? [27:39]
• How quarantine was a rehab for love [37:36 ]
• Lessons learned from being in a 10 year relationship [43:16]
• Will's pivotal moments [45:37]
• Will's start-up and what being a co-founder means [57:13]