Shirley Wu is the VP of Commercial at Rainforest, a company that acquires brands around the world to better scale and grow their operations. 

Focused on buying e-commerce companies, they’ve acquired baby sleepwear companies Baby Deedee and Millennial Enterprises. Oh, and they also raised $45M in June of last year. 

‍

👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

In a nutshell, we acquire brands that are specialized in some area(s) already. Our mission is to take the brands to the next level by having a synergized integration of operations.

For brand owners who are seeking exit opportunities due to various reasons, we assess their foundations and ours, and if we find synergies with our targeted markets (which are mom and baby and home and living categories and current portfolio which could create a multiplier effect), we will pursue the deal and aim to grow the brands we acquire by leveraging the strong foundations and capabilities from the 2 parties.

For example, if a mom and baby brand we have on hand is focusing on online sales through various e-commerce platforms such as Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, the targeted brand profile we’re looking to acquire will be another mom and baby brand, a complementary product portfolio to ours which may be focusing ONLY on Amazon.com.

The multiplier effect will happen when the complementary products are added to our portfolio. 

From there, we can leverage our current infrastructures such as the supplier network, supply chain operations, marketing capabilities, brand management, and experiences in geographical and channel expansion to add in more growth fuels such as adding new products, new channels, or new geos. 

We can also optimize costs with lower shipping rates due to more consolidated shipments and lower COGS due to bigger order quantities. The multiplier effect will translate into a synergized economy of scale which further optimizes the efficiency and efficacy of the brand operations and results in bigger growth. 

‍

🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

There was one major career path change before I joined Rainforest which was joining a company named “FranklinCovey.” The company specializes in helping companies transform their organizations by building exceptional leaders, teams, and cultures that get results. And one of the popular books from their founder is “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

I’ve been in the corporate sales and marketing world since my first job. Being coached or to coach people is what I experience in every job, so I recognize how leadership matters to the company and the people working with the leaders.

This shift actually offered me a chance to reflect on myself as a leader, a friend, or a family member. The mindset and easy practices set a good foundation for my next move to Rainforest.

‍

🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Joining Rainforest, being able to utilize the experiences I had in company management, brand management, channel management, business development, and account management, and elevating my team’s capabilities along the way is the biggest highlight of my career so far.

I’ve been in management roles for all the functions mentioned above and those skill sets and knowledge are important for our business. Because each brand is an entity, it’s important to have a CEO level of knowledge and mindset to run the business and own the P&L. 

There are various ways to take the brands to the next level based on different brand positioning and market needs. You have to choose the right way to grow the brands. Brand management, business development, and channel/client management experiences thus kicks in to create key growth drivers.

At the same time, it’s great that we have very agile supporting teams to create both centralized and decentralized approaches to support each brand. 

And for each brand, we have a senior leader to oversee brand management and be the hub of every decision-making based on the data supported by other teams. 

‍

🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?‍

The industry we’re in was booming during COVID and it was easier to get funding. Nowadays we only see a few M&As in this industry due to relatively weaker demands and more cautious spending from customers which make it more challenging for the business.

On the other hand, never waste a good crisis. This also exposes a good chance for the company to examine a company’s fundamentals, such as product portfolio, profitability, and cash flow, and act to optimize them to ensure a healthier foundation for further growth.

‍

💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry? 

Be open to new ideas, be humble when receiving opinions, and be eager to learn new things.

This industry is evolving in many ways, whether it’s about AI and automation, data-driven decision-making, or business intelligence systems and reporting, there are also platform policy changes, shipping rate fluctuations, and many other changes. 

The interesting thing about this industry is that we never feel bored as there are a lot of new things to learn almost every day. 

‍

🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours? 

Effective communication is what I can talk about for hours. The reason for that is that no matter what kind of job we have or what kind of life we are in, effective communication is always the key to ensure great teamwork as well as personal satisfaction and happiness.  

I’ve seen the effect of bad communication, how that demotivates the team, creates misunderstanding, and delays projects. 

At the same time, I’ve also witnessed the power of good communication, how that adds fuel to more cohesive teamwork, encourages people to speak up and share ideas, and results in satisfying business results. 

‍

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show? 

My favorite movie is “The Pursuit of Happyness.”  I’ve watched this movie several times and am touched by the never-give-up spirits of Chris every time I watch it.  

This “never-give-up” thinking can apply to every aspect of life, especially when we’re fighting for something we know it’s the most important thing in life/work. And we know if we could survive through the process, we can only become stronger and have no regret in not continuing it earlier.

‍

🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?‍

Chocolate is my favorite flavor, basic, simple, and timeless. 

‍

FYI. We've edited this interview for clarity.