Philosophy
How I think about decisions
These are not case studies.
They are moments where the wrong call would have cost everything.
Story 1
Designing the ability to scale
SUNMAI · Chief Revenue · Taiwan + International
When I joined SUNMAI as Vice President, the business had real momentum — strong product, growing brand recognition, and a founder ready to push harder.
The instinct was to scale fast. More SKUs, more channels, more markets.
That was the wrong sequence.
Before any of that could hold, the operating foundation needed to catch up. Decision rights were assumed, not assigned. Roles had outgrown their original definitions. The org was running on founder intuition — which works until it doesn't.
We built the structure first. Clarified accountability. Aligned the team around an operating model that could actually carry the weight of what was coming.
Then we scaled.
Revenue grew from USD 2M to USD 7M. Distribution expanded to over 12,000 retail locations. Partnerships with Four Seasons and AEON followed. 60+ international design and brand awards, including Red Dot.
None of it compounds without the foundation built before any of it is visible.
Story 2
When the numbers said go — and the market said not yet
SUNMAI · International Market Entry · Asia + Global
By 2018, SUNMAI had earned the right to go international. The product was award-winning. The domestic distribution was proven. The team was ready.
The instinct was to move quickly — replicate the Taiwan playbook, find a distributor, launch.
We slowed down instead.
International markets don't reward the best product. They reward the best-positioned product — the one that fits how buyers in that market think, how the channel actually works, and what relationships need to exist before a brand gets taken seriously.
We entered each market individually. Built distribution infrastructure before launch. Identified the right partners — not just available ones.
The brand entered new international markets positioned correctly from day one. No expensive pilots. No restarts.
Most people would have called it patience.
It wasn't.
It was doing the invisible work that makes visible results possible.
Story 3
The Wrong Question About AI
iNSPIRE STRATEGY · AI Implementation ·
2022–Present
When I began implementing AI workflows — in my own practice first, then with a client in the consumer tech space — the request was the same.
"We want to use AI to move faster. Where do we start?"
The typical answer is to pick a visible workflow and drop a tool on it.
We didn't do that.
The first step was mapping where time actually went — not where people thought it went.
In both cases, the real friction wasn't in execution. It was upstream: the preparation work that consumed hours before the real work could begin.
We automated what was repeatable.
We protected what required judgment.
The result: meaningful time reclaimed each week, redirected toward higher-value work.
In both cases. Without adding headcount.
The insight is always the same:
AI doesn't replace good judgment.
It creates the conditions for more of it.
The pattern across all three:
The presenting problem is rarely the real problem.
The instinct is usually to move faster.
The answer is almost always to get clearer first.
That's the work.
