People often ask where my ambition comes from. Here is my answer.
I was born in Sydney the day after Christmas 2002, but almost immediately found myself at a boarding school in Hangzhou, where I spent my childhood. It was a happy childhood, though one that taught me self-reliance early as I was raised by nannies and teachers who came and went, instead of permanent caregivers.
Ten years later, I returned to Australia speaking no English. I remember feeling confused 24/7. My hometown was a strange place I struggled to navigate. High school eventually brought structure. I became the archetypal Asian girl with math as my favourite subject, chess competitions, hours of piano practice, and competitive dancing. My dream was to become an astronomer and work for NASA.
When I was 15, that life collapsed. Family issues forced me to move out and survive on government welfare. I haven’t seen my dad since the day I moved out. Suddenly, I was completely alone and left to my own. I was given total agency over my life at a young age - and with it, an overwhelming questioning of everything I’d been taught to value. In particular, I struggled with nihilism, I stopped seeing the point in doing anything. School became an elaborate act I could no longer perform. My grades plummeted from A+ to failure across nearly every subject. The following couple of years were a struggle. I have so many stories here, which I might share someday.
By late 2019, I received an official warning from the school that I’d need to repeat grade 11 due to poor attendance. This was a wake up call for me. I saw my future going down this trajectory and I was scared. Around the same time, I had a lightbulb moment regarding nihilism - while life has no inherent purpose, we have the ability to construct our own. I decided then that my purpose would be to maximise societal impact. Something scalable, something that could reach billions of people. Building technology companies felt like the most direct route.
Everything I’ve done ever since has been towards this goal.
I picked up school, and managed to go from near‑failing grade 11 to top 1.15 % statewide in one year. At graduation, my math teacher - who saw the whole thing, told me she was proud and that I deserved everything. It remains one of my favourite memories. Later, I taught myself programming, pursued computer science at university, and gained experience as a software engineer. All so I can become a better founder. Now at 22, I’m still guided by that North Star - maximising impact through technology.