Sam Waldo's guest appearances

Sam Waldo

Asia Tech Podcast

Ashley Dudarenok

Virginia Tan

Ankit Prasad

Jasen Wang

Fredrik Haren

Olga Oleinikova

Erik Cheong

Fransiska Hadiwidjana

Dan Waldschmidt

Nabomita Mazumdar

Amy Blaschka

Edith Yeung

Benjamin Joffe

Simon Dixon

Andrea Loubier

Daniel Fraser

OwlTail

In Episode 14, Ashley interviewed Sam Waldo, co-founder And CEO of Mantra, an eyewear brand whose mission is to provide vision care for under-resourced rural Chinese students. Sam helped establish and grow Education In Sight, a non-profit organisation which to date has conducted over 170,000 free eye screenings and donated over 23,000 pairs of glasses to Chinese students in need. Podcast Highlights T00:51 What’s your story? Why China? I studied Chinese at university, so it was obvious China was the place to be. T25:15 How would you define modern Chinese consumers? Young Chinese consumers are slowly moving in a more socially-conscious direction. Environmental awareness, health, and a desire for a cleaner, more simplistic lifestyle are completely brand new in China. T39:30 What has been your experience as a foreigner doing business in China? As a foreigner you have a ceiling. But at the same time Chinese people trust our motives more because we are foreigners. The post Episode 14: Running a socially responsible business: Vision care for under-resourced rural Chinese students – Sam Waldo appeared first on Ashley Talks.

In Episode 14, Ashley interviewed Sam Waldo, co-founder And CEO of Mantra, an eyewear brand whose mission is to provide vision care for under-resourced rural Chinese students. Sam helped establish and grow Education In Sight, a non-profit organisation which to date has conducted over 170,000 free eye screenings and donated over 23,000 pairs of glasses to Chinese students in need. Podcast Highlights T00:51 What’s your story? Why China? I studied Chinese at university, so it was obvious China was the place to be. T25:15 How would you define modern Chinese consumers? Young Chinese consumers are slowly moving in a more socially-conscious direction. Environmental awareness, health, and a desire for a cleaner, more simplistic lifestyle are completely brand new in China. T39:30 What has been your experience as a foreigner doing business in China? As a foreigner you have a ceiling. But at the same time Chinese people trust our motives more because we are foreigners. The post <a href="https://ashleytalks.com/podcasts/episode-14-sam-waldo/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 14: Running a socially responsible business: Vision care for under-resourced rural Chinese students – Sam Waldo</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ashleytalks.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ashley Talks</a>.

Episode 14: Running a socially responsible business: Vision care for under-resourced rural Chinese students – Sam Waldo

Mantra Eyewear

[00:51] What is your story? Why China? -- I studied Chinese at university, it seemed a very challenging thing to do. I came to China on a study-abroad and it was obvious China was the place to be. In 2010, I joined a non-profit called Teach for China (link to Chinese language website). What better way to plan for a long-term career in China than to start from the ground up?[25:15] How would you define modern Chinese consumers? -- Young Chinese consumers are slowly moving in a more socially-conscious direction. Things you already see are environmental awareness, health, and a desire for a cleaner, more simplistic lifestyle. This is completely brand new in China. One thing you see is companies who try to copy this model don't do too well because they lack the authenticity. This is really important if you are going to succeed in this space.[39:30] What has been your experience as a foreigner doing business in China? -- As a foreigner you have a ceiling. There are places you can't go and things you can't do. At the end of the day I'm not Chinese and I'm never going to be Chinese. This will always limit what you can achieve. But there are things you can tap into as a foreigner. Interestingly Chinese people have told us they trust our motives more because we are foreigners. There remains a strong suspicion that Chinese people doing charity work are trying to get rich and famous.

[00:51] What is your story? Why China? -- I studied Chinese at university, it seemed a very challenging thing to do. I came to China on a study-abroad and it was obvious China was the place to be. In 2010, I joined a non-profit called Teach for China (link to Chinese language website). What better way to plan for a long-term career in China than to start from the ground up? [25:15] How would you define modern Chinese consumers? -- Young Chinese consumers are slowly moving in a more socially-conscious direction. Things you already see are environmental awareness, health, and a desire for a cleaner, more simplistic lifestyle. This is completely brand new in China. One thing you see is companies who try to copy this model don't do too well because they lack the authenticity. This is really important if you are going to succeed in this space. [39:30] What has been your experience as a foreigner doing business in China? -- As a foreigner you have a ceiling. There are places you can't go and things you can't do. At the end of the day I'm not Chinese and I'm never going to be Chinese. This will always limit what you can achieve. But there are things you can tap into as a foreigner. Interestingly Chinese people have told us they trust our motives more because we are foreigners. There remains a strong suspicion that Chinese people doing charity work are trying to get rich and famous.

259: Sam Waldo - Co-Founder & CEO of Mantra Eyewear