Cover Lindsay Jang tells us her secrets of success (Photo: Affa Chan/ Tatler Hong Kong)

The food, marketing and fitness industry entrepreneur tells Tatler about her path to success in the new Secrets of Success series, an all-access pass to the city’s most exciting business leaders

We’re almost convinced the term ‘multi-hyphenate’ was created to describe Lindsay Jang. As the co-founder of Yardbird Hong Kong, Ronin, Sunday’s Spirits, Roti Tori, creative communications agency Hecho, and the mat-based body sculpting workout Family Form (for which she is also an instructor at The Upper House), Jang bestows her creativity and business nous across multiple industries.

She puts her success down to consistency and surrounding herself with people smarter than she is. Here, the entrepreneur and mother-of-two gives us insight into her flourishing career so far.

See also: Secrets Of Success With Yenn Wong, CEO And Founder Of JIA Group

Describe what you do in one sentence.

I build brands and execute creative ideas with the strong teams I’ve surrounded myself with.

How does your business make a difference?

We commit to fostering community and taking care of each other. For the restaurants, we decided to lower our profit goals in order to keep all our staff during the protests and pandemic. We have raised money through ticketed events to give to our food and beverage industry friends in New York who are struggling, as well as locally via the non-profit Impact HK, which feeds, homes and employs people in Hong Kong who are homeless or living in poverty.

What do you put your success down to?

The desire to consistently refine and progress, regardless of the industry or category.

What are the top three ingredients for a successful business?

People. Planning. Vision.

Do you have any mentors? If so, who are they and what is the best piece of advice they have given you?

I have a lot of people and peers that I consider to be mentors. All of them share common qualities of humility and generosity. Nicolas Jammet, co-founder of Sweetgreen and someone I consider to be a close friend and mentor, said, “Always seek out people smarter than you to work with and learn from.”

What qualities do you look for in a potential employee?

Someone without ego who can integrate and work with our team. They need to be OK with not knowing everything and come in with an open mind.

What has been your biggest career obstacle to date? How did you overcome it?

Pivoting local and international business plans during Covid-19. I think we can face anything now. We turned Yardbird and Ronin into takeout venues, we opened for lunch, we started taking reservations - all things we swore we’d never do. We had to wrap up our dream Los Angeles project because it was not only impossible to travel, but downtown LA was hit hard by Covid-19, and there were so many unknowns that couldn’t be solved remotely. That was heart-breaking.

Do you have any business regrets? If so, what?

No regrets. Only lessons.

How do you plan to develop your business over the next five years?

I have lots of plans but I’m not a big “x-year plan” kind of person. I like to let my intuition lead without my head getting in the way.

What is one surprising thing about you that most people don’t know?

I wish I could sing.

See also: Secrets Of Success with Kevin Poon, CEO Of All Things Cool

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