Jean Shi

About Jean Shi

Corporate innovation professional who is immersed in Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem and bridges startups and large organizations, bringing value to both. Career highlights:STARTUP and INCUBATOR/ACCELERATOR/VC• Launched and run startup incubator/accelerator programs• Led corporate innovations to bridge and add value to startups and large organizations• Value-add to startups through facilitating technical advisory, mentorship, fundraising, business development, and market entry strategy• Conducted early stage startup sourcing and due diligence • Founding member of an early-stage startup with deep understanding of entrepreneurs• Focused verticals: Cyber Security, Blockchain, Insurtech, Mobility, FoodTech, and B2BSTRATEGY, OPERATIONS and PARTNERSHIP• Drove market and industry research, financial modeling and valuation, business plan development to make strategic business decisions with management• Spearheaded end to end joint venture deal negotiations and execution• Led business development efforts and successfully closed service contracts, joint ventures projects, investment deals• Extensive experience in partnership development including top Japanese OEMs and universities and research institutesFINANCE, INVESTMENT and PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT• Investment project execution: financial modeling and valuation, due diligence, deal structure negotiation, deal execution and deal exit• Portfolio development: value-add to portfolios through financial analysis, business development, fundraising and recruitingCROSS-BORDER BUSINESS and GLOBAL LEADER• Trilingual: English, Japanese and Mandarin• Deep understanding of Japanese and Chinese corporates and culture

Experience

1. Director

   Wil World Innovation Lab

   Nov 2020 — Present · Palo Alto, CA, US

   World Innovation Lab (WiL) is a US & Japan-based VC with capital from governments and leading global corporations in Japan and throughout Asia - including Sony, Nissan, NTT, KDDI, 7-Eleven & others. WiL invests in companies that are ready to scale and enter new markets. The firm helps US startups expand to Japan and Asia, and Japanese startups expand worldwide. Recent direct company investments include Asana, Automation Anywhere, Auth0, DataRobot, Kong, Mercari, MURAL, TransferWise, and Unqork. In addition to direct investment, WiL invests in exceptional venture funds - both established and emerging.WiL also works with its corporate investors on evolving their own innovation capabilities through new business creation, partnerships with leading startups, and organizational culture change. WiL acts as the bridge between startups and corporates across key innovation hubs around the globe in driving growth - starting with Japan and the US.

Education

• The University of Tokyo

  Master’s Degree, Master of Public Policy

• The Wharton School

  Master of Business Administration - MBA

• Tianjin University of Finance and Economics

  Bachelor’s Degree, Economics and Japanese Language Study