Ep 007 - Robin Li, Operating Partner at GGV Capital

**Robin Li** (0:01)
Ever since I've been in Venture, there has not been a single day where I've woken up and not wanted to go to work.
Things ebb and flow, and just trying to figure out from a global macro perspective, is this where the world is going. Some companies that you think are doing phenomenally well, could the next day disappear because of an entire market downturn or like COVID hits.

**Taiki Chung** (0:30)
Hi, everyone. I'm Tyke, and you're listening to New to Venture. It's the show that uncovers the secret world of Venture Capital, from the multi-billion dollar exits to the biggest company blowups. If you don't know that much about Venture Capital, you've come to the right place.
I am super excited for today's episode because the one and only Robin Li has joined us on the show today. I generally go over the guest's work history, but Robin has done so many things and had so many work experiences that I'd figured I'd just let her investment track record do all the talking. Robin is the operating partner at GGV Capital, one of the top VCs of all time, and has been with the firm for almost a decade now. She's invested in some of the biggest household names, like ByteDance, who owns TikTok, Peloton and Poshmark.
Robin is an absolute staple in the venture capital ecosystem, and I'm so excited to dive deep into the world that we both love and adore. Robin, welcome to the show.

**Robin Li** (1:38)
Hello, thank you so much for having me. Such a pleasure.

**Taiki Chung** (1:42)
Before we dive into the thick of it, I want to talk about your own show that you have Reimagined with Robin. So I absolutely loved the episode with Chang Kim talking about Korean pop culture and what it tells us about content creation. And it was perfectly fitting just because I was just in Korea.
So I think the show itself is super interesting and it's a concept really, really helpful with a lot of great takeaways. So how did it all start?

**Robin Li** (2:09)
You're talking about actually my favorite episode.
But, you know, just stepping back a bit, the show was something that I decided to do on a whim. We as a firm haven't done much traditionally on LinkedIn. And every VC in the world is on Twitter or now X. And I figured, hey, let's try something else. They have this new feature where you can go live and be on video and have an audience. And we decided to do it. So we started Reimagined with Robin about a year and a half ago now.
And it also has a newsletter. So we do a recap of our 15 to 30 minute episodes with a founder who is reimagining the world that we live in. We'll be doing another episode later this month and very relevant to this community actually, because it will be talking about personal growth early in your career.

**Taiki Chung** (3:06)
I really personally loved the episodes where you've talked with like Hans Tung about how to really stand out earlier in your career and how to like set the right goals and I guess like how to navigate this crazy world that we live in and some key lessons and learnings.
Really loved that episode. So you talked a little bit about how one of your favorite conversations was with Chang Kim. What were some of your other favorite episodes and conversations that you've had so far?

**Robin Li** (3:35)
Well, recently I had one with Amy Jin, which was, I felt like very, I guess like emblematic of what's happening, you know, in society right now and around the world, right? And, you know, in this episode, we really talk about empathy and empathy and EQ as a leader. And I think a lot of times you get caught up into the day-to-day and like, we have to hit our targets, we have to hit the KPIs. But it is at the end of the day, like about managing people, managing expectations, yourself and your team, and then ultimately also your customer.
And so I just loved her perspective, especially coming from a leader who herself was AAPI, and, you know, resonates a lot with both of us.

**Taiki Chung** (4:23)
Yeah, speaking of AAPI, you had been traveling all over the states for the Mid-Autumn Festival, right? Hosting events in LA and San Francisco. I was so fortunate to attend the one in New York, although we didn't bump into each other. I had met a bunch of your friends, and everyone just talked so highly of you, so I had to reach out and get you on the podcast. But now that it's all said and done, how did you enjoy the events?