Janelle Wang (she/her)

10 Questions with Janelle Wang (she/her), Co-Founder & CEO at ACTON

Edited by Clarissa Bukhan.

Janelle Wang is an Industrial Designer turned entrepreneur with over 10 years of Strategic Product Development, New Category Creation & Design Thinking for Fortune 500s to Start Ups, bringing breakthrough innovation and sustainability.

Janelle was selected as one of “19 Influential Women In Mobility” in 2019, she was awarded Female CEO of the Year in 2016, and has been featured in WSJ, FastCompany, CNN, VOGUE, BBC, and more. She holds over 30 utility patents in innovation and design.

1. When did you know that you wanted to work in tech?

I decided I wanted to be in the tech industry when I was a kid. My father is a physicist, so I got motors, battery packs, and soldering tool kits as gifts/toys from my father at a young age. I hand made a portable personal electric fan at age 6 and have enjoyed making and creating things with some type of tech in them ever since.

2. Who is a role model that you look up to?

I looked up to Marie Curie. She changed the world not once but twice. She founded the new science of radioactivity — even the word was invented by her — and her discoveries launched effective cures for cancer.

3. Where is your hometown?

I was born in Northern China and spent the other half my life in Los Angeles. Now, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

4. What is a struggle that you’ve faced and how did you handle it?

Years ago, when I had just come back to work from maternity leave, I had to travel to Germany for 2 weeks. As a young, first-time mom, leaving my couple-months-old baby behind for the sake of trying to achieve a goal for work left me feeling very confused and frustrated. It made me wonder whether work / life balance really existed or not. After that experience, I reached the conclusion that there isn’t such a sharp line between these two; you will always have to have a dashed line in between. I learned how to find my own personal balance and to enjoy the process.

5. What is something that you are immensely proud of?

I traveled to Africa by myself when I was in my early twenties. This is something I’m proud of because it gave me a chance to experience new cultures, meet totally new people, and explore a brand new continent. That trip changed how I look at and feel about the world. As a result, I have no fear. I’m optimistic and I believe everything is the best arrangement.

6. What’s something that’s been on your mind a lot lately?

I’ve been thinking seriously about how to solve traffic congestion issues and how make our cities better places to live.

7. Favorite food?

My mom’s dumplings.

8. Favorite book?

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.

9. If you could try another job for a day, what would it be?

I’m still designer at heart, so I would like to draw/design/research as a designer for a day.

10. If you could give your 18-year-old self a piece of advice, what would it be?

Enjoy the process.

Ethelia Lung (she/her)

Ethelia has an affinity for naps and tuna wraps. A designer primarily focused on the digital space, she’s a humble and conscientious learner aiming to imbue empathy and perspective through crafting helpful and meaningful experiences.

“Growing up, I was pretty introverted, and found solace in learning to code. I had a personal website running for the longest time, and it was my pride and joy because I was the only girl (in a class of five) who was taking computer science at a higher level in secondary school. Though it didn’t feel like it at the time, I was crushing stereotypes about the course in my culture. When it came time to apply to university, however, I had a change of heart. I wasn’t confident that computer science at a college level was what I wanted to do. I began to do some research and put together a last minute portfolio to apply for interactive design programmes instead.

Though my parents were supportive, they had their concerns. Design wasn’t seen to be a “good career” in the society that I grew up in, so they were worried about whether this path would be best for me. With that said, I was proud to be fighting for what I wanted, but I was also incredibly scared. What if they were right, and I was setting myself up for failure and disappointment? After I had been at university for about a year, one parent even said to me, “You’re so lucky that your parents let you study what you want, I was responsible and made my child go into econ.”

I worked my butt off in school, and fast forward to today, I’m proud of the opportunities that I’ve gotten, and the path that I’ve paved for myself. I’ve gained more confidence and self-esteem than I’ve ever had. While initially I was aiming to gain respect by “proving them all wrong”, I now try to do so by perfecting my craft and doing what I want to do really well.”

Tiffany Eaton (she/her)

Tiffany is an interaction designer at Google working on business messaging for the next billion users. She is also apart of the Asian Google Network, where she hosts events and volunteer opportunities to support the Asian community in the Bay Area. In her spare time, you can find her writing on Medium (@tiffanyeaton) and numerous design publications, such as Invision and Marvel.

“My team at work is mostly men. In meetings, I’m often one of the only women and it’s hard to speak up because someone else will talk over me, interrupt me, or simply ignore me. “Be more confident” and “speak up” only go so far. No matter how hard I’ve tried to do those things, it doesn’t change the fact that what I say vs. what a man says are taken differently. One day, I sought out my mentor and female co-workers to let them know how I was feeling, and I was surprised to learn everyone was experiencing, or had experienced, the same thing. It felt better knowing I wasn’t the only one.”

Lesley-Ann Noel (she/her)

Lesley-Ann is a 2018–2019 Ocean Design Teaching Fellows at the d.school at Stanford University, where she co-teaches a class in which students apply a design lens to address global ocean threats and propose sustainable solutions. She recently completed her PhD in Design at North Carolina State University. Her research focused on design thinking at a rural primary school in Trinidad and Tobago.

Lesley-Ann is a former Fulbright Scholar and also a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. In her professional practice, she draws on the fields of design, anthropology, business and education to create product development and business strategy with stakeholders. Her research practice is guided by an emancipatory philosophy. She focuses on developing design curriculum for non-traditional audiences and promoting the work of designers outside Europe and North America. She has exhibited work at design exhibitions in Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Brazil, Germany, France and the USA. She has presented peer-reviewed papers at design conferences in the Caribbean, the US, the UK and India.

What’s a challenge you’ve faced and how did you get through it?

Over the last few years, my biggest challenge was uprooting my life and moving to North Carolina with my son to pursue a PhD in Design. Work-life balance was hard to manage. Even though I’m well-travelled and have worked in different countries, I had to deal with the culture shock of adapting to a new university culture, a new elementary school culture, a new American work and pop culture. I got through it all by maintaining openness and being flexible. I’ve just uprooted us again by moving to California for a year, and at the end of this year, we’ll be moving again. It’s not as easy as it looks, but I know both me and my son have grown enormously over the last 3–4 years.

What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

I finished my PhD in just over three years. It’s not perfect, and it was hard work, but I’m extremely proud that I was able to complete it in the timeframe I set for myself. Before completing the PhD, I got a job as a teaching fellow at Stanford University. I see that as a really significant accomplishment.

Geronimo Carlo Ramos III (he/him)

Geronimo is a designer and social entrepreneur with a passion for building products, programs, and experiences that create more equitable communities. He is founder of Rooted Table (YC SS18) which creates economic opportunity for immigrants and disadvantaged communities through the sharing of home cooked meal experiences. Originally from Los Angeles, he has lived and worked on projects in Kenya, Panama, Spain, and Washington, D.C.

“At the beginning of 2017, I began the job hunt. I set out to apply to X companies and practice Y whiteboard design challenges per week. I was excited because my portfolio was impressing hiring managers and landing me interviews at both early-stage startups and large tech companies. I thought I was killing it, landing all these interviews. And then month 3 rolled by, and all I had collected was a pile of rejections and no offers. I was losing steam. Even more frightening, I was running out of money to pay for rent. I had been out of a full-time job for nearly a year. After sharing my fears with a loving group of friends, they reminded me that it wasn’t because I’m not a good designer or that I lack the skills; it just wasn’t a good fit. Month 6 rolled by, and it was my final stretch. After applying to 215+ companies, having 70+ interviews, 10+ design challenges, 7+ onsite white board design challenges, and 3+ companies exploiting my design skills, I FINALLY LANDED A FULL-TIME JOB THAT FIT. I joined a rocket ship marketplace startup that aligned with the marketplace startup I wanted to build.”

Marianne Abreu (she/her)

Marianne Abreu (she/her) is a UX designer at YouTube/Google. She has 15 years of experience working at startups, agencies and fortune 500 companies as a design lead. Prior to her current role, she was a product designer at Samsung. Her work has influenced multiple generations of Samsung TVs, smart displays, smart home products, and smartphones.

Outside of work, she has been involved in art projects and exhibitions from painting to interactive installations. She earned a Master’s Degree in Design Strategy and Management from Parsons School of Design and a Bachelor Degree in Industrial Design from the University of Brasilia.

1. When did you know that you wanted to work in tech?

As a child, I was fascinated by computer graphics. I remember being mesmerized by screensavers. At the age of 11, I learned about design as a profession in a magazine and two years later, I found myself building websites. I almost feel as if I was born for this job. My dad had an influence on this as well, I remember him telling me that computers were the future. He was right. I jumped into the tech industry and let it take me to new lands, including moving to Silicon Valley in 2012.

2. Who is a role model that you look up to?

So many people have influenced me throughout my life! If had to choose one person who affected my career the most, that would definitely be my dad. He taught me how to use computers and how to code when I was still a little girl. He encouraged me to explore and to not be afraid to try. I owe him so much for teaching me those early lessons.

3. Where is your hometown?

I grew up in Brasilia, Brazil and later moved to Rio. Now I have been living in San Francisco for 5 years.

4. What is a struggle that you’ve faced and how did you handle it?

What’s life without struggle? The first truth of Buddhism is: life is suffering. I can’t challenge Buddha on this one. Struggles have appeared in my life several times. I have had to learn to be feisty and resilient to continue on the journey. I have encountered struggles in almost every mile: as a woman in tech facing sexism, learning a new language and culture, facing discrimination as a person of color. I see myself as a warrior that fights no matter how blunt the sword is. My self-confidence has been challenged every time people discouraged me, “I don’t think you would be able to do this” or “You are not ready for that” or “This is too complex/difficult for you.” I’m so glad that I never let them stop me.

5. What is something that you are immensely proud of?

“Inspire to be inspired” is my motto. One of the things that inspire me the most are TED Talks. I can spend hours watching them. It is such an inspiration boost. In 2009, I was fortunate enough to meet a group of people that were as passionate about them as I was, and together we worked hard to bring TED to Brazil. In 2010, we organized the first TEDx in Rio. It was huge! We managed to get sponsorship, which allowed us to bring in some brilliant minds. The event was entirely free and livestreamed. We later brought that experience to the favelas in Rio. I was astonished. Bringing inspiration and education to my community made me feel immensely proud.

6. What’s something that’s been on your mind a lot lately?

I have been thinking a lot about how much we can bring our whole selves to work.

7. Favorite food?

Brazilian cheese bread and Açai bowl!

8. Favorite book?

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. Completely mind-blowing.

9. If you could try another job for a day, what would it be?

I would like to be a Yoga teacher for a day. Maybe I will do that one day.

10. If you could give your 18-year-old self a piece of advice, what would it be?

“Focus on systems, not goals.”