Lisa Teh is what you’d describe as the perfect ‘all-rounder’ and serial entrepreneur. On top of running digital agencies Mooning and CODI, Teh is the co-founder of 101 Lifestyle, ‘the world’s sexiest toothpaste brand’; co-founder of Lisnic, a platform connecting business owners with mentors; the editor-in-chief of lifestyle website Contouring.com, and was named among the 40 Under 40 most Influential Asian-Australians. It’s an impressive lineup of achievements Teh has under her belt, so it’s only natural we wanted to ask how she gets it all done.
In Episode Three of The Flipside, hosted by Her Black Book co-founders Sali Sasi and Julie Stevanja, Teh gets candid on the realities of entrepreneurship, reveals the hacks that allow her to manage her time most efficiently, and hilariously shares how a LinkedIn stalk got her working for one of Netflix’s co-founders.
Here, four lessons we took from Lisa Teh in Episode Three of The Flipside, powered by Samsung Galaxy, presented by POPSUGAR Australia.
Sometimes, it can feel like successful people have more hours in the day than the rest of us — Teh, being one of them. But, according to the entrepreneur, maximising her time comes down to finding the ‘quick wins’ or hacks that help everything run smoothly.
To-do lists are crucial for a successful day, explains Teh, who likes to complete hers the day before, as well as planning her outfits a week ahead of time. Surprisingly too, Teh won’t check her emails first thing in the morning, and will only do so when she’s ready to knuckle down and start her day.
Key lesson? Find the hacks that set up your day for success.
Teh is an expert in all things digital and admittedly “obsessed” with consuming all kinds of content (so obsessed, in fact, she admits to listening to podcasts at 2 x speed to fit more into her day). That’s why it’s no surprise that the business owner’s two digital agencies deal with Web2 and Web3. But, what exactly does that mean for the less digital savvy? Teh breaks it down.
Web1: According to Teh, Web1 is seen as the ‘read form’ of the Internet. Basically, that means platforms where consumers can’t share content, but can consume it at scale.
Web2: This side of the Internet is referred to as the ‘read-write’ form, explains Teh, better known as social media. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn are all examples of Web2 platforms, which allow people to easily share and consume content.
Web3: Teh explains this next iteration of the Internet as the ‘read-write-own form’, which is where blockchain technology will become a more prominent factor of the Internet. “Blockchain technology is at the heart of it,” says Teh. “It’s a digital ledger. When you put something on blockchain — like a crypto transaction or an NFT — it’s what we call an ‘immutable’. It’s super powerful when you think of all the different user cases.”
Web3 allows users to start owning their digital assets, Teh explains.
Teh is clearly an entrepreneur unafraid to stand out, and that sentiment rings true even from the early days of her career. When looking to leave her role as a tax lawyer at KPMG, Teh knew it would take a lot to get herself into the world of fashion and beauty with little experience. When a position became available in the marketing team at Witchery, instead of bowing out, Teh got creative with her resume — of course, she got the job.
Teh, who is now responsible for hiring among her businesses, says: “It’s not that hard to stand out. If you’re going for a creative job, make sure you have a creative resume.”
Not many can say they’ve rubbed shoulders with Marc Randolph, one of the co-founders of streaming giant Netflix. But that’s not the case for Teh, who proved perseverance can lead to great things.
After listening to Randolph’s audiobook, That Will Never Work, Teh took to LinkedIn to share the takeaways she’d learnt, and to her surprise, Randolph gave the post a ‘like’. After a few more posts with interactions from Randolph, Teh decided to message him and ask for an interview (despite not yet having launched her podcast series). Despite Randolph visiting Australia, their timings were off, but in typical Teh fashion, she didn’t let that stop her.
Teh and Randolph eventually ended up speaking via Zoom, and the weeks following would continue to send him messages via LinkedIn (including giving him pointers on some of the posts he’d shared). What eventuated was Randolph asking Teh to manage his personal socials.
Years on, the pair still continue to work together. It’s a testament to Teh’s unwillingness to take no as an answer.
