hosted by Sheyi Oyename of Startup Grind Beihang University

The proverb “Curiosity killed a cat” is not always applicable. In entrepreneurship and leadership, curiosity fosters innovation and fresh ideas to prosper.

In a recent virtual fireside chat with Startup Grind Beihang University, Influence Matters’ MD & Founder – Simon Vericel shared his entrepreneurial story on how his curiosity has helped him in building his China PR career & Influence Matters, a strategic communication agency focused in B2B Technology.

If you happened to miss this intuitive event, you could tune in to watch the recap video on YouTube. Meanwhile, get inspired by reading our three key takeaways below!

1 | Curiosity feeds Entrepreneurship

Simon has always been interested in marketing/PR and bringing success in China to international companies. He would find himself monitoring over 1000 tech/startup news a day to feed his curious mind. Curiosity has supported Simon not only in navigating his decision to pursue his career in tech communication but also how Influence Matters operates today.

As a fast-growing medium-sized Tech PR agency, innovation is crucial to support the growth of the company and our clients. Since we started in 2015, our work culture has always been encouraging our team to be curious because only through asking questions and doing, one would learn.

2 | Managing Time and Curiosity

Although there are no such things as being too curious, however, the common pitfall of a curious mind tends to be leaving their curiosity unmanaged. This scenario could result in a less desired outcome, reduces productivity, distracted minds, and lack of clarity.

To stay on track developing in the right direction, Simon shared his entrepreneurial tips of having a transparent work culture to promote an active feedback loop. He also endorses the “Objective & Key Results” framework – a quarterly tracking method to make sure everyone in the company stay on track of company missions and goals.

“Learning point: Take step back regularly and downsize ideas when your curiosity takes you far from what’s important. Curiosity need to be well-managed to allow you stay on track.”

3 | China Tech PR Advice

For curious minds who are looking to thrive in the tech communication industry, leveraging your curiosity and energy by researching into the field would be advantageous. Often-times, people who are interested in starting a business or entering the China market would ask about the best practices to achieve China Success.

In short, the answer to that requires the companies to learn the communication code, as different countries would have different communication customs. Next, companies would need to identify their key stakeholders in China. As well as paying attention to the product or service one is offering – do you offer a solution or add value to the Chinese consumers and market?

Also, Simon encourages learning by doing, which could mean either working for other companies to gain insights into the characteristics of the industry or market to gain insights. Thus, one doesn’t have to be a techie to be working for a Tech PR, but communicators need to know the industry to tailor their clients’ messages for their key stakeholders.

What other questions do you have for Simon and Influence Matters’ Tech PR experts? Ask us anything, leave it down on the comment below, and we will get back to you shortly.

In the meantime, do the work that matters & stay curious!