Member spotlight is a series that showcases the entrepreneurs behind emerging companies. In this edition, we recently chatted with Samantha Trinh, startup advisor and founder of Ennovae & Company.
Ennovae & Co. is a New York-based digital agency and strategy consulting firm that partners with scalable startups to develop go-to-market strategies for new product launches and corporate ventures. She’s always eager to help a broad range of clients, from polar explorers to former colleagues who helped launch Verizon FiOS nationwide, to scale their businesses.
When she’s not busy jet setting all around the world (she currently holds 18 stamps to the Caribbean in her passport), Samantha is keeping up with technology trends and serving as a mentor at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship and City Director at House of Genius. Read ahead to find out what she shared for this Member Spotlight feature.
I grew up in a very transient family. We moved so many times that I’ve had a chance to live in the Midwest, Texas, and all over the West Coast — from Santa Monica to Seattle. With over 20 businesses spanning three family generations, I was encouraged at a very young age to position myself to pursue entrepreneurial ventures.
After I left the corporate “intrapreneurial” fast track three years ago, I flew all over the world with a JetBlue All-You-Can-Jet Pass and reward miles to immerse myself in different startup communities and to work with early-stage companies. I founded Ennovae & Co. in 2011 to help launch tech, travel, and lifestyle brands from market entry to scale.
I find that I’m most inspired when I experience extremes. My favorite place to recharge is in the Turks & Caicos Islands because the beauty and tranquility there energizes me. There’s no other place where I’ve spent as much quality time both on my own and with a range of amazing adventure seekers, entrepreneurs, and athletes. I launched the brand J’adore Turks & Caicos while living there.
I’m an optimist at heart, so I don’t live with regrets. Sure, often times we realize we could have pivoted sooner or allocated resources differently, but we remained resilient through the struggles. With our first client, I billed based on my time, and I learned very quickly that it limits perception and collaboration. I changed our pricing structure from that moment on.
Here are a few lessons I learned from building a business:
- The quality of your network can slow you down or propel you forward. Some of my most influential industry mentors were introduced to me through my extended global alumni networks. Through them and others, I’ve learned the importance of building meaningful relationships with humility, valuing diversity, and contributing to other people’s success.
- How to run a company isn’t something that can be taught. It’s a discovery process and you acquire those skills through experience. What you will learn in any school of hard knocks is that at the end of the day, business is personal — play fair, express gratitude, give back to the greater good, and have fun along the way!
- Book smarts without street smarts won’t help you do well in business. Your ability to create, iterate and innovate trumps credentials. Structure and frameworks are just the rails. You have to figure out how to take the reins, learn to lead, and be good at it.
There are some exciting developments in the works for Ennovae & Co. We’re creating a series of immersive events and building a residency program for entrepreneurs, thought-leaders, and athletes beginning in Turks & Caicos. We’ll be launching the venture with a team of 18 brand curators from New York, Colorado, London, Seattle and the Caribbean. Our global community and media platform will be launching worldwide in 2014.
Samantha and fellow WeWork Meatpacking member Joshua Siegel of Rubicon Venture Capital
Photographs by Lauren Kallen