I’m the CEO of Zola Shang-Ling Ma and This Is How I Work
Weddings are a project and they need a good project management tool. We spoke to the CEO of Zola , one of Lifehacker readers’ favorite wedding sites . Shang-Ling Ma co-founded Zola after experiencing the stress of buying wedding gifts for people; its co-founder Nobu Nakaguchi went through the stress of creating a wedding register. Ma spoke with Lifehacker about how to run a company, organize your life, and how to make yourself irrelevant.
Location: New York City Current place of work: CEO and co-founder of Zola One word that best describes how you work: Collaboration Current mobile device: iPhone X Current computer: Mac
First of all, tell us a little about your past and how you got where you are now.
I was born in Singapore but raised in Sydney Australia. I know most little girls grow up with the dream of being a teacher, doctor, or astronaut, but I read articles about Silicon Valley and at the time was in awe of American Internet companies like Yahoo. So I grew up wanting to be Jerry Yang. Back in Australia, I didn’t know anyone who immigrated to America, but I still dreamed of going there one day and working in technology.
I noticed that all the leaders I looked up to (like Jerry … we say by name) have one thing in common: Stanford Business School. I was lucky enough to go to Stanford and graduate, and then I got my first gig at – you guessed it – Yahoo. I worked there for about two years before moving to Gilt in New York, where I was hired as the startup’s first product specialist. I eventually became the general manager and founder of Gilt Taste, the food and beverage division of Gilt. It was an opportunity to be a mini founder at a much larger company. It was there that I first got a taste of entrepreneurship and also met my current co-founder Nobu Nakaguchi and our chairman, Kevin Ryan. After Gilt, I worked for Chloe + Isabel, another e-commerce company, for a while, before finally deciding to focus on building my own in 2013.
The idea for Zola was born out of personal need. I went to so many weddings and bought so many wedding gifts. I was frankly shocked at how horrible and impersonal the experience of buying wedding gifts was. I called Nobu to talk about the idea and he remembered how terrible the registration experience was from a couple’s perspective when he got married a few years ago. We always wanted to create a company together and we knew this was a huge opportunity. And after doing some research, we saw that the wedding market is HUGE and we can delve into it. Most people don’t realize that the wedding industry in the United States is valued at $ 90 billion, of which $ 19 billion is spent on wedding gifts. We knew that given our combined experience in product development and design, we were the right people to create the best solution.
Tell us about a recent work day.
Each day is different, but the same is that I often attend meetings most of the day. Here is my schedule from mid-February:
- 9 or 9:15 am: Arrive at work
- 10am: We had breakfast for a new employee. We used to do them about twice a year, but we had to increase the frequency because we are growing so fast! We now have 110 employees.
- 11:00: I had a 1×1 meeting with our Chief of Staff Manika. In fact, she is my right hand!
- 11:30 am: I had a 1×1 meeting with our Zola Weddings product leader, Jill.
- 12:30 pm: I went out to have lunch with Nobu, my co-founder. We try to spend at least 10 minutes together every day.
- 1:00 pm: I had a monthly forecast meeting with about twenty people from our growth, finance, marketing, and merchandising departments.
- 15:00: Finally, I had the rest of the day to sit down at my desk and answer a few emails.
- 6:00 pm: I left the office for dinner with colleagues from the NYC e-commerce industry.
What apps, gadgets or tools can’t you live without?
I use Slack more than email. I also use the Headspace app every (or nearly every) morning. And I’m currently obsessed with Noken , an app that makes it easy to plan a personalized travel itinerary. I recently used it to plan my upcoming trip to Iceland. Another thing I can’t live without is a sturdy pen and notepad. This is an old but good thing and it will never fail.
How is your workplace arranged?
Zola is a completely open office environment that encourages collaboration and communication. I sit next to our CMO, President, and Senior Vice President of Development — we came up with our little executive module area. My desk is a little organized chaos, just the way I like it. Then I have an Australian flag taped to my monitor, a plant that a good friend gave me, and lots of snacks.
What’s your best shortcut or life hack (no matter how small or niche)?
Meditation. Every morning I meditate for ten minutes before taking my dog Noe for a walk. I have found that it really goes a long way in determining the tone of the day.
Tell us about an interesting, unusual, or challenging process you have at work.
Every day that Nobu and I are in the office, we take a coffee break together. We have a very busy schedule, but we consider it our priority to spend time together. We always go to Blue Stone Lane in the Financial District which I like best because it is Australian. We often talk about a job or a new business idea, but sometimes we just talk about his children or my new apartment.
Who are the people who help you achieve results, and how do you rely on them?
I want to thank our President Rachel Jarrett. When we launched Zola, all functions were reported to me, and while it was doable when we were a small business, it quickly became unstable. Rachel and I worked together at Gilt, and she is the kind of person who is willing to do anything to make it work. Now I can focus on what I do best and let go of what I am not. Fortunately, she is in many ways the best!
How do you keep track of what you need to do?
My Google calendar is my lifeline. Not only are all my appointments and travel times scheduled, I also set aside time to answer emails every day and focus on big projects. Making time for yourself is just as important as it is for meeting other people.
How to recharge or take a break from work?
Lately, I’ve become much more conscious of taking time out for myself. It’s so easy to get bogged down in work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are always a million emails to take care of, articles to read, and more, but I am a much better job and leader when I take care of myself. But I’ve become a big fan of SoulCycle and go to at least one class every weekend. I also just moved into a new apartment in Red Hook, Brooklyn, so I spend a lot of time shopping online for home furnishings.
What’s your favorite side project?
This is a very boring answer, but invest. I am an angel investor in 13 companies including ADAY, Billie and Hawthorne. I like to support other founders who come up with innovative solutions.
What are you reading now or what do you recommend?
My favorite book is Inspired: How to Create Customer- Loved Products by Marty Kagan. I have read this many times. It’s about how to implement an idea and develop a product.
Fill in the blank: I would like _________ to answer these same questions.
Tim Ferris
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Make yourself out of place. Kevin Ryan, our chairman, once gave me this nugget, and then it confused me, but it couldn’t be more true. If you can hire people to take on more and do what you’ve always done on your own, then you’ve created something lasting that is bigger than yourself. Isn’t that the goal of every CEO?
What problem are you still trying to solve?
Zola is one of the five most visited wedding sites in the country. How are we going to become # 1?