Asia Trek Update Week 2

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Greetings from Chiang Mai! Things just got interesting. We were originally scheduled to visit Bangkok, but cancelled and re-routed due to ongoing violence at the time. Things seem OK in Chiang Mai though, the only noticeable impact of martial law is a 12am curfew, after which we are not technically supposed to leave our hotel rooms until 4am. Not sure how hard that is enforced but we probably won’t be trying too hard to flout it. Anyway, I am super psyched because it is my first new Asian city in a while.

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5 destinations, 3 weeks, 1 goal

Korean sunglasses at PMQ, Central, Hong Kong.

One of the amazing things about pivoting ZAOZAO to a travel-inspired shopping site is the opportunity to travel on a regular basis. I split my time between New York, Singapore and Hong Kong, and travel to South East Asian countries every 6 months or so to scout new designers. Imagine jetting to exotic places that are just as breathtakingly beautiful in person as they are in photos, treating your tastes buds to interesting local flavors, losing yourself in local attractions, exploring the local design scene and meandering busy streets all in the name of work. Pretty sweet right?

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My transition summer essentials

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Upon returning from a brief city respite, it finally feels like summer has arrived in New York. Flowers blooming, daytime drinking, crazies coming out of the woodwork. For some, it means vacation-time; for those of us in the throes of startup land, little changes. Except for maybe a fresh batch of interns.

For this season, as part of eternal quest for efficiency and maximizing utility (in both my sartorial choices and in life in general), I’ve grown fond of two particular clothing items.

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Travel Beauty Survival

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After taking 6 flights in close succession between New York and Hong Kong last fall, I became a long-haul packing guru. I developed ways to strategically select items that minimized the bulk of my carry-on and maximized my limited luggage space. I had also mastered the skill of packing for short-haul trips from many a weekend-getaway in my previous life, cutting it down to a handbag and a single carry-on (expandable Longchamp tote, though usually unexpanded). Hell, even for week long trips I’ve gotten away with just that one tote. But now, I am faced with a new challenge: a week long trip to multiple destinations, each with vastly different packing needs (about a 30 degree F differential), at least sartorially speaking. I will share once I figure that out but for now I can at least take solace in the fact that my beauty survival kit will remain unchanged.

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That Oriental Stuff: Who Cares?


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Recently, team ZAO presented at a “shark tank inspired” demo night. For those unfamiliar with the reality TV show, it features business pitches by entrepreneurs to a panel of investors (“sharks”). Our version included a panel of New York City based VCs and a live audience of 200 with rolling cameras. Despite what was meant as a pressure test during the Q&A, Ling and I emerged relatively unscathed. We did receive one question that we’ve never had to address before, and I am going to expound on it here in greater detail in case others have been wondering the same.

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