Stephanie Sy, founder of data science company Thinking Machines, started her career in Silicon Valley after graduating from Stanford.
- She decided to start her own company in the Philippines because she felt unmotivated by her job in the Bay area and wanted to move closer to family.
- Thinking Machines aids organizations and leaders in making more informed decisions by helping them understand significant information and data.
- Her advice for those looking to start their own company or land a leadership position: Perfect the art of storytelling.
- When hiring for her startup, she looks for people with a positive attitude, an ability to grow, and an eagerness to learn.
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Stephanie Sy founded data science startup Thinking Machines in 2015 and was honored on the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2018 list for enterprise technology. Having worked with companies like Google in the San Francisco Bay area after graduating from Stanford, Stephanie decided to return home to the Philippines to start Thinking Machines. In this interview with HBR Ascend, Stephanie talks about why she started the company, how she put together her team in a country scarce in tech resources, and why she has no regrets. Here are the edited excerpts.
