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Masters of ScaleDisrupting the wedding industry, with Zola’s Shan-Lyn Ma | Masters of Scale
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EPISODE INFO
- Released
- October 24, 2024
- Duration
- 34m
- Channel
- Masters of Scale
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Shan-Lyn Ma, co-founder and co-CEO of Zola, joins host Jeff Berman to share how intrapreneurship prepared her to build a business that’s transformed the wedding industry with online tools. From weathering the Covid pandemic to scaling a better experience for millions of couples, including a focus on underserved markets, Shan’s resilience and leadership have fueled Zola’s remarkable growth to a $600 million valuation, with more plans ahead. Chapters: 00:00 The wedding that inspired Zola 02:06 What drove Shan-Lyn Ma to entrepreneurship 04:13 The entrepreneur who motivated Shan 07:13 Lessons from Gilt 08:49 The moment of frustration that led to Zola 11:11 What Zola got right — and wrong — early on 12:30 When to expand to other product lines 13:25 Inside Shan-Lyn Ma’s fundraising journey 17:18 Inclusivity around same sex marriages 21:19 How a near-death experience fueled Shan 23:32 How Zola survived the pandemic 28:37 Zola’s growth strategy 29:54 The wedding gift that every couple wants 30:56 How Zola is leveraging AI 32:34 Shan-Lyn Ma’s favorite part of her job 📫 THE MASTERS OF SCALE NEWSLETTER 35,000+ read our free weekly newsletter packed with insights from the world’s most iconic business leaders. Sign up: https://hubs.la/Q01RPQH-0 🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts: https://mastersofscale.com/ApplePodcasts Spotify: https://mastersofscale.com/Spotify 💻 LEARN MORE Our website: https://mastersofscale.com 🚀 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/showcase/11096326 Facebook: https://facebook.com/mastersofscale Instagram: https://instagram.com/mastersofscale X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/mastersofscale TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mastersofscale 💡ABOUT US On Masters of Scale, iconic business leaders share lessons and strategies that have helped them grow the world's most fascinating companies. Founders, CEOs, and dynamic innovators (from companies like Uber, Airbnb, Apple, and Disney) join candid conversations about their triumphs and challenges with a set of luminary hosts, including founding host Reid Hoffman — LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock partner. From navigating early prototypes to expanding brands globally, Masters of Scale provides priceless insights to help anyone grow their dream enterprise. #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #businesslessons #business #businessleadership #mastersofscale #summit #leadership #leadershiplessons #scalingup #scalingyourbusiness #founder #buildingabusiness #ai #artificialintelligence #artificialintelligencetechnology #artificialintelligenceforbusiness #entrepreneur #wedding #zola #weddingplanning #weddingregistry
SPEAKERS
Shan-Lyn Ma
guestCo-founder and CEO of wedding-planning and registry platform Zola.
Jeff Berman
hostHost of Masters of Scale.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Masters of Scale, featuring Shan-Lyn Ma and Jeff Berman, Disrupting the wedding industry, with Zola’s Shan-Lyn Ma | Masters of Scale explores Zola's Shan-Lyn Ma on Building a Modern Wedding Company Shan-Lyn Ma traces her entrepreneurial drive from selling stress balls as a child in Australia, through Yahoo and an early product role at Gilt, to founding Zola with co-founder Nobu.
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