Lunar New Year interview with Mae Yip

Happy Lunar New Year! Please start by introducing yourself and telling us about your heritage!

Hey everyone, my name is Mae, and I'm one of the founders of ERIC. I’m SUPER excited to share my personal and career journey to celebrate the Lunar New Year!

My dad is originally from Hong Kong, and my mom is from Burma, but I was born here in the UK. My parents both came to the UK for university and decided to stay and start a family.

Growing up in the western world and looking different from others was always something  I noticed. When I was younger, I wanted to look like everyone else and had a bit of an identity crisis, but today I’m proud of my heritage and have learnt to accept and love who I am.

I was the only Chinese girl in my school, so I didn’t have many friends who could relate to me. I always felt embarrassed bringing friends back to my house because of the smell of rice or Chinese ornaments around the house. My dad also owned a Chinese Takeaway which I thought people would look down on.

For a long time, I didn’t embrace my uniqueness and qualities. After university and moving to London, I met more British-born Asians and was amazed to see how many there were. 

So during the pandemic, I started a podcast called ‘Phenomenal & Asian’ where I interview Asians doing phenomenal things. I’ve had some incredible guests, including Nigel Ng, AKA Uncle Roger, Kim Adis, a rising star in the acting world, and my two brothers!

It’s been amazing to meet other people like me, and many are also takeaway kids too. You can check out the podcast here if you’re interested in learning more.

Tell us about your career journey and how you became an entrepreneur?

I used to be an accountant and studied finance at university. My parents wanted me to have a stable career, so my only career options were doctor, lawyer, or accountant. 

Because I was good at maths and maths came naturally to me, I chose accountancy. I ended up studying that as a degree and went on to work for PwC, a huge company, but I was always a very creative person. I never felt I had the opportunity to explore a creative career, and this was when the idea for ERIC came about.

Sam and I were both very creative individuals but never got a chance to explore our passions and interests, and both ended up in non-creative roles. We decided to start ERIC to help young people get a career in the creative industries. 

The creative industries are often not spoken about; people often think there’s no money, no jobs, or it's a declining industry. But, actually, it's one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, and there are so many new jobs being created by the combination of technology & creativity.

ERIC started in the event space, turning dull career fairs into fun career festivals. Last year, we launched our app to connect young people to early career opportunities in the creative industries. There are so many opportunities that young people don't know about. We make it easier for young people to find that first career step.

I never thought I’d be an entrepreneur. I stumbled into it because I wanted to solve a problem.  I absolutely love it, and the best part is doing it with my best friend by my side.

What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?

My first piece of advice would be to start a business with someone. I couldn’t have made this journey by myself, and it's so nice to be able to share the journey with Sam.

I’m biased and recommend working with one of your friends, but you must pick that person carefully. Sam and I have qualities that complement each other, so it works, but I don't think I could work with all of my friends.

My second piece of advice is that you need to be solving a problem. I suggest always starting with a problem you want to solve instead of ‘I want to start a business to make money’. You are working on your business every single day, every single second. You need to keep the ‘why’ with you at all times because there are high times, low times, and awful times.  You will want to quit, but what drives you is the mission and the problem you're trying to solve, so make sure it's a huge problem and a problem you're passionate about. 

Lastly, anyone can start a business. Anyone can be an entrepreneur.

You must be mentally committed and resilient and know there’s a long journey ahead. If you want it that badly, I think anyone can become an entrepreneur, and so many amazing people are there to support you along the way.

No entrepreneur has had an easy ride, so it's surrounding you with the right people, but ultimately anyone can do it.

What communities are you a part of that you can recommend to creatives or founders

My top communities would be Founderland, besea.n, Female Founders Rise and ERIC of course! There are so many great communities out there where you can find your tribe and grow your network. They each offer different things and there’s no limit to how many communities you can be a part of!