Leading from the front with Helen Yu
Helen Yu, a partner and consultant to the world’s largest technology companies such as IBM, AT&T, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Vodafone among others, established Tigon Advisory in 2017 as a growth accelerator. Helen is a board advisor for fast growth SaaS companies. She also serves as Vice-Chair and Board Director at the Global Cybersecurity Association. She speaks regularly at conferences including SXSW, TiECon, Global AI and Big Data conference, DMS, and Money2020.
She has led multibillion-dollar revenue growth and profitability for pre-IPOs and Fortune 500 enterprises, including Oracle, Adobe, and Marketo. After watching many start-up technology founders rise and fail, Helen wrote the book Ascend Your Startup: Conquer the 5 Disconnects to Accelerate Growth so she could share proven strategies for scaling a business with more people. She has been named a Top 10 Global Influencer in Digital Transformation by IBM, Top 33 Women in Finance by Onalytica, Global Cloud Top 15 Thought Leader, Top 10 Cybersecurity Influencer, and Global Top 10 AI Thought Leader by Thinkers360. When not traveling the world or watching Iron Man, you can find Helen on Twitter @YuHelenYu where she connects with her 33.5K+ followers on diverse topics like AI, Cloud, IoT, Cybersecurity, 5G, Growth, FinTech, and Start-Ups.
We spoke with Helen to find out why she embarked on the entrepreneurial journey, how she deals with challenges, and what keeps her going. She also opened up about overcoming self-doubt and dwells on the importance of making equality a priority. She shows us all that leading with your values and empowering others is a winning game.
Aspioneer (A): Tigon Advisory was launched in 2017. What inspired you to start this company? What is the biggest problem you want to help solve through your service?
Helen Yu (H): “My journey began in my youth. I grew up as the youngest and only girl in a house with nine boys in a small town outside of Beijing, China. Being raised in a culture where males are revered taught me resilience and gave me a strong sense of courage to take on big challenges and not give up. In my career, I first learned to code as a Hyperion consultant and went on to design and implement 400+ financial planning applications working alongside CFOs. Then, I ran an Oracle BI consulting practice post-acquisition with the added pleasure of learning from then Oracle Executive Vice President of Sales Keith Block. Under his tutelage, I learned the nuances of Enterprise Solution Sales at Oracle. I then learned marketing and SAAS at Adobe and successfully led the startup to scale-up challenges at Marketo.
I started Tigon Advisory because I saw many companies – from start-ups to large enterprises – making the same mistakes. I felt there was a better way to scale organizations if they could torch the gaps, thereby growing more swiftly and delivering a better customer experience and company culture, both of which I am very passionate about. Tigon Advisory advises the largest technology companies in the world and drives growth for the fastest growing start-ups. We are the only strategic advisory firm that addresses five essential disconnects: The Product/Market Fit disconnect, the Define-Minimum Repeatability disconnect, the Measurement disconnect, the Customer Voice disconnect, the Process disconnect.”
“My curiosity and learning agility got me where I am today. Had I relied on only what I knew I could do, I never would have climbed the leadership ranks. So, be curious and embrace the joy of being a lifelong learner!”
(A): How do you see the intersection of tech and humanity?
(H): I believe growth comes at the crossroad of tech and humanity. There is where customer loyalty and growth thrive. Technology defeats its purpose if it does not serve the greater good of society and solve real problems. Before organizations embrace any technology, they must embrace humanity as an organization.
