Hatch works with a series of experts across the sector who deliver sessions to our community of entrepreneurs on their areas of expertise, from business strategy to brand identity. These sessions consist of presentations and Q&A segments, allowing our founders to directly apply all learning to their own businesses and get advice relevant to them.
One of our current experts is Zoe Yu Tung Law. Zoe has been providing expert sessions to our founders covering the topic of product/market fit, looking at answering the crucial question: how do you know that there is a real, viable market for your business?
Previous Experience
Zoe has over ten years of experience launching new products and services for Fortune 500 companies and start-ups in the UK and Asia across tech, energy, consumer, healthcare, and finance.
She studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Manchester, and completed a Masters in the Political Economy of Late Development at the London School of Economics. Zoe strongly believes that economic structure change is the most important factor in development so chose to enter the enterprise sector to gain a better understanding of corporate mechanisms and to identify how to have the biggest social impact.
Her initial experience was in the charity and social impact sector, so pivoting into the corporate world was a big decision to make early on in her career. She then went on to accrue a huge range of experience in a variety of fields from alcohol anti-counterfeiting to precision farming, shipping to healthcare. The common vein throughout all of these experiences has been opportunity identification and innovation consulting, supporting start-ups and more established businesses to understand their markets and properly align their business model to fit the needs identified.
Zoe also has experience founding her own enterprises, co-founding Trailblazers: Women Leading Innovation, and then the app CoVis following on from her team’s win at the MIT COVID challenge. More recently she launched her first solo venture, Sourcery, which is a sustainable wholesale marketplace helping to connect businesses to eco-friendly brands.
After gathering experience from an impressive array of sectors Zoe is committing to really aligning her career with her values which is why she decided to work with Hatch.
“I really love it. I’ve stayed in touch with students after they’ve finished the programme, they inspire me. I like the idea of helping people to help themselves and I like being inspired by the different entrepreneurs that come through the programmes.”
Expert for Hatch
A key reason for choosing Hatch was the focus that we have on supporting underrepresented founders from ethnicities and genders who typically experience marginalisation and fewer opportunities. Promoting diversity is a key driver for Zoe, and she believes that it is incredibly important for disadvantaged groups to receive support to succeed and is mindful to take on projects that align with these values.
She said: “The entrepreneur narrative in our culture is wrong and unhelpful. I want potential founders to know that they don’t have to be a white guy who doesn’t have to worry about feeding a family. Also, start-ups aren’t just about tech companies, and there are lots of other businesses that serve smaller markets that are just as heroic.”
Zoe explains that senior positions in businesses often fit a certain profile which then skews the products and services that these businesses provide. Those involved can have compassion for different demographics in society and their needs, but no personal experience. We need people who understand and have experience of different markets to start businesses in these areas.
- Zoe’s key advice:
It’s a myth that you need huge resources to do the market research necessary for product/market fit. As long as you target the right areas, you can do it on a small budget and do a lot of the work through peer-to-peer conversations.
- Zoe’s key skills:
- Future Casting
- Growth Strategy/Opportunity identification
- Business Model Design
- Emerging Tech Commercialisation
- Customer & CX Strategy
- Partnership Strategy
- Startup Scouting
- Innovation Function Setup
- Training on Innovation
