Jennifer Zhu Scott, one of Forbes’ World’s Top 50 Women in Tech in 2018, on success: ‘It’s not just a number’
- Founding partner of investment platform IN. Capital says we need a healthy mental and physical well-being to enjoy achievements
- In her free time she loves to run or hike on city’s scenic trails, and if stressed puts away her phone to listen to her heartbeat
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Success is not just a number, says prominent tech investor Jennifer Zhu Scott
Jennifer Zhu Scott, founding partner of the digital-forward investment platform, IN. Capital, has achieved many things during her life, but she has never forgotten the extreme poverty she endured as a child in Sichuan, China.
“Sometimes we even struggled to have sufficient food and basic necessities in life,” says Scott, a prominent figure in the tech industry, who was named one of Forbes magazine’s “World’s Top 50 Women in Tech” in 2018 and Fortune China’s “Most Influential Business Women in China” in 2021. “The contrast between my upbringing and my life now couldn’t be further apart.”
Yet perhaps it was this hardship that instilled in her a determined character trait, which has led her to where she is today. After studying for a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and computer science at Sichuan University, she went to Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester, in England, where she gained a master of business administration degree in finance.
Scott runs her company from Hong Kong, which has been her home for 22 years. Her business identifies post-product start-ups with high potential and provides them with guidance, connections and expertise alongside traditional capital to help them grow.
“This is a knowledge-driven field with a tremendously high potential upside, so many parties are interested in pushing for the maximised return and rushing for it,” she says.
“High-quality, intelligent advice, both in terms of tech investment and tech development, is extremely important. [Otherwise] you may end up falling to the majority who don’t make it, or creating something that might not be the best for society.”
While her professional life is about helping companies grow, Scott is not consumed by material wealth – of how much things cost.
