Episode 102: ZhenFund in China with Anna Fang - Analyse Asia with Bernard Leong

**Bernard Leong** (0:00)
This podcast is sponsored by idealworkspace.com, which promotes a healthier way of working through their adjustable standing desk. Check out their latest smart adjustable standing desk at aspirus.co, a-s-p-i-r-u-s dot c-o. Welcome to Analyse Asia, the podcast dedicated to dissect the pulse of business, technology and media in Asia.
Hi, Anna.

**Anna Fang** (0:25)
Hi, Bernard.

**Bernard Leong** (0:26)
How are you doing?

**Anna Fang** (0:28)
I'm fine, thanks. How are you?

**Bernard Leong** (0:29)
I am well. And who am I talking to? Her name is Anna Fang, partner and CEO of ZhenFund. And if a lot of you do not know that ZhenFund is one of the most interesting angel investment funds in China. So, Anna, I wanted to get to know you better. How do you get started in your career?

**Anna Fang** (0:47)
Well, my career in angel investing, I would say, is a pure accident. It's an accident because I didn't want to do investing, but I had a classmate of mine from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
He was at Sequoia at the time, and he was, you know, ZhenFund was founded by China's leading angel investor, Xu Xiaoping, also known as Bob, Bob in Sequoia in 2011 And they needed someone to come run this fund, Bob. And so my classmate thought of me and he called me one day and said, you know, why don't you think about doing this? Like it was supposed to be a YC type of model. So why don't you come join and start this fund? And I said, look, I'm not interested in investing, but thank you.
I did want to get closer to start up. And then he said, well, you know, don't turn me down right away. Why don't you meet him? And so I met him. I met Xu Xiaoping and at first Xu Xiaoping's background. I mean, he's China's most prolific angel investor. Brilliant guy. Started New Oriental, the largest education company in China with two other guys. Studied as a musician before. So he was, you know, all my previous bosses were bankers. And I come from a family of bankers. So I was really used to someone sort of more disciplined in terms of my work experience. So I said, you know, I'm not sure. But then my classmates said, well, why don't you meet Neil Shen from Sequoia? Then I said, sure. So I met Neil, you know, famous investor. Why not? Recently listed on the Midas list as I don't remember what number seven or something very high. You know, he's a former banker and he was like, this is why we want to do Angel. And this is why Bob is the right person to do it. So it was from logic standpoint, very clear to me what the value proposition was.
And so I decided to join the next day and it's been the best decision I ever made in my life. And it was certainly a detour from any career plans I had and a risk that I took.
But I think I actually found a job that I'm absolutely in love with and I wouldn't change for the world.

**Bernard Leong** (2:35)
You originally came from the US. How do you move to China then?

**Anna Fang** (2:38)
Oh, I'm actually Chinese.
I grew up in China. I moved to the US first when I was seven because my mom was studying her masters in the US.
And then I moved back to China in middle school. My mom only stayed in the US for a few years and then we moved back with my dad. So I stayed in China for middle school, but then I went back for boarding school and college.
So I would say my home was pretty much always in China, but we always sort of always had a second home in the US. So I always traveled back and forth between the two.

**Bernard Leong** (3:06)
So you have a banking career with JP Morgan and subsequently with Jie in China, I guess even lead up to your current role leading an organization. What are the interesting career lessons you have learned so far?

**Anna Fang** (3:17)
I guess the main thing is I really didn't realize that a job could not feel like a job. I think I was always looking for, I always had goals, like I wanted to solve. One of the reasons I did Jie was because I wanted to solve the world's biggest problems, that's exactly what Jie's mission is, energy and health care. And I liked my time at Jie, but I knew it wasn't sort of a final place for me. And it wasn't until I joined ZhenFund and I started looking at deals and realizing that this is really what I love. Every day, I really don't feel like I have a job.