HEAD OF THE DAY
Tan Hooi Ling is the co-founder of Grab, Southeast Asia’s super app with tens of millions of users.
The idea came from a very personal problem. She often felt unsafe in Malaysia’s taxis and used to text license plate numbers to her mother at night. Out of that everyday stress came MyTeksi in 2012, which later became Grab.
“I had to work twice as hard to be taken seriously.”
👆🏻 That is her experience as a woman in a tech scene dominated by testosterone.
At Grab she pushed for more women in leadership, introduced flexible models for parents and launched programs for micro-entrepreneurs.
💼 The “plumber” in the engine room
Hooi Ling is an engineer and former McKinsey consultant, but internally she called herself a “plumber.” She spent less time in conference rooms and more time on the back of a GrabBike or next to the sales team during pitches.
Her job: find bottlenecks, fix broken processes and keep reshaping the business model until it works for drivers, merchants and customers.
Today she advises startups in underrepresented markets.
The China Survival Guide for Western Businesses
Entity setup, WeChat strategy, hiring your first local team. 12+ years on the ground in Shanghai.
