Umbrex is pleased to welcome Daiwei Zheng as Independent Consultant. Are you looking for an experienced problem solver who is not only strong in developing concept but also strong when it comes to implementation? Daiwei has practiced the consulting toolkit since 2012 and has worked for top strategy firms such as Strategy& and Bain & Company. His industry focus was in the Chemicals and Life Science industry. Since 2020, he has been a passionate independent consultant and entrepreneur. Daiwei combines…

Surbhee Grover shares an article that identifies how entrepreneurs can move forward after COVID-19. For entrepreneurs, coming out of COVID-19 isn’t the end of a crisis. It’s the beginning of a new way of thinking about their approach to product-market fit, financing, marketing and go-to-market strategies. And for some, will be a time to reflect on their personal approach to risk. The exponential pace of change to society will mean that only those entrepreneurs who have the greatest ability to…

Diane Mulcahy shares an article published in the Harvard Review that explores how the indicators of success in the gig economy are changing. The winners and losers in the U.S. economy have traditionally been easy to identify. If you had a full-time job, you won. A full-time job provided the steady income needed to support our traditional version of the American Dream: the highly leveraged, high-fixed-cost house; the cars; the latest consumer goods. A full-time job was also the only…

Peet van Biljon shares an article on managing risk and uncertainty for the entrepreneur.  Uncertainty in all its forms is a constant companion of the entrepreneur. How well entrepreneurs manage multiple risks and uncertainties determines the success or failure of their new offerings and businesses, and whether their investors will make or lose money. Good entrepreneurs understand the crucial interplay between risk, uncertainty and innovation, and use the best techniques to manage or even harness the inherent uncertainty involved in…

Indranil Ghosh has launched a new podcast where he unpacks the success stories from his network of champions in impact business. For over a decade, I have been working companies which have made a material impact on the environment, on human health, and on social equality—while also returning extraordinary financial returns to shareholders along the way. Each week starting August 10th, I will unpack the success stories of entrepreneurial champions from my network, digging deep to find the winning practices…

  Nicky Shah shares a Q&A post on Saint Aymes, a business startup that has successfully merged the worlds of art and chocolate. She interviews the two sisters behind Saint Aymes – Lois and Michela. Nicky: How old were you when you decided you would try to launch your own business?  Michela: We didn’t really have a “moment”. Our parents had been business owners when we were growing up so it seemed quite natural to want to also run a…

  Rahul Bhargava takes a look at thriving startups and shares the key factors that led to their success.  Recently, one of the startups I am working with, asked to ‘decode’ a post by Michael Stewart he had read about success factors for a startup. This post itself was a further assessment based on the TED talk by Bill Gross, founder of Idealab, given in March, 2015 on the topic. The talk and further assessment by Michael assessed 5 factors…

  Cheryl Lim Tam provides a post that explains the benefits of Tundra and highlights a few companies that are using the platform to sell their products.  Ever wonder what happened to that innovative company you once saw on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank? There’s a good chance it landed a deal, invested in more inventory to meet rising demand, and then went on to set up its wholesale storefront on Tundra. Tundra is rapidly becoming the number one wholesale…

  Diane Mulcahy provides valuable questions to help discern the compatibility of an investor before accepting funds for your next project.  In the race to get the check in hand, most entrepreneurs don’t do in-depth due diligence — or any due diligence — on the venture capital (VC) firms they pitch. Founding teams eager to raise capital to grow their companies enter into long-term partnerships with VC firms they don’t know well. It’s a risky strategy that can leave startup…