🤖 AI product leader -- her story, in her own words.

TalentGeist Newsletter

Immediately-actionable career insights for ambitious individuals.

Follow us on LinkedIn! Examples of what we’ve been up to:

• Work simulation program (backed by the Singapore government)

• In-depth panel sessions at unis

• …..and more! Stay tuned. We’re testing out new formats of 1) posting snappy career insights, and 2) launching a career podcast series with elite professionals.

Today’s mini-interview with Erica: 10-min read

Check out our previous mini-interviews here. Today, we’re super excited to bring you our chat with Erica Ding, a seasoned AI Product Leader at Shopee who recently launched her very own AI relationship-matching company.

➡️ Tell us a bit about yourself!

Will do!

Hi everyone – I’m Erica, currently an AI Solution Lead at Shopee, where I spent the last 6 years of my career. Concurrently, I run a side passion project called Cup of Tea, which is an AI super connector to build meaningful connections for working professionals (mostly focused on relationship / dating now). 

I also love contributing back to communities I’m a part of, and previously served as the VP at the Berkeley Club of Singapore for 3+ years 🙂.

➡️ Fantastic. Now, I noticed you moved from product management (at Baidu) to consulting (at EY), and back to product (at Shopee). How did your consulting experience shape your approach to product management?

Consulting gave me a broader perspective on business strategy. I learned how to approach a wide variety of different business problems (and I mean a WIDE variety – literally front-row seat to the dozens of different scenarios that put corporate leadership under pressure).

Through it all, I’ve built a toolkit that serves as the foundation of my problem-solving in product management. Any problems that come up these days, chances are I’ve seen a similar problem in the past and can rely on ‘pattern-recognition’ to get me started on the solutions.

Additionally, in consulting, you focus on driving results quickly with a lot of external stakeholders – this has exponentially sharpened my ability to influence cross-functional teams, and align product decisions with larger business goals.

➡️ So, a common question a lot of young professionals think through – should I start my career in consulting or corporate (including product management)?

Ah, tough question! Sorry, but I have to go with ‘depends on what you’re looking for’ 😅.

For example – if you just care about exposure to different business problems, consulting is great. The actual impact as a consultant, however, is theoretically limited / unverified – chances are, the company you’re consulting might take years (or never) take up on the strategy you provide them with. Plus – the hours, especially with all the traveling, can be quite brutal. I’ve also heard traditional management consulting companies are facing a lot of pressure on the revenue end – ROI for clients is becoming increasingly important, and it’s hard for many companies these days to justify spending millions on a single on-paper strategy.

For corporate roles (referring to those that have a strategic bend – product management, BizOps, product marketing, etc.) – the problems you tackle are of course limited to the company you’re in. But, you can still learn to pick up the core foundations of problem-solving, with the added benefit of 1) creating tangible impact / putting actual $ behind your strategy to implement it, and 2) less brutal/stressful hours (on average).

I feel blessed to have gotten both types of experiences, but I also have friends who have just done one and loved it & stuck with it (typically n on the corporate role side).

➡️ What’s it like to work in AI? Must be like riding a massive wave!

I know AI is all the craze right now, but the fundamentals are still super important! 

It’s not just about using AI - it’s about clearly understanding the business problem you’re solving and where AI can add real value. If your foundation is strong, new tech like AI can amplify your impact in really exciting ways.

Always think of AI as a copilot, not an almighty decision-maker. If you don’t understand something well enough to do it manually, AI won’t be that big of a help. For example, if you just rely on AI to write your resume without understanding ‘what makes a great resume’ (or able to write a great resume manually), chances are AI — at least in the present state — will make all sorts of odd mistakes that could actually lower your chances of landing jobs.

Anyways……in corporate these days, sure flaunting some AI knowledge may help, but the core fundamentals of what makes you STANDOUT still remains the same – 

1. Ability to solve problems, especially in the face of ambiguity. You’re NEVER going to have perfect information or data; this scares many people away, but if you stay cool as a cucumber and solve problems methodically, you WILL be regarded as a top performer.

2. Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders, especially those who you do not have authority over (or even stakeholders who are much more senior than you).

3. Ability to get things done – everyone can talk or speak about ideas, but execution is 100X harder. You want to build the next big AI product and influence millions of people? We all do – let’s see who actually makes it happen (the 0.01%).

Of course, HOW we achieve the 3 above is a whole another ball-game. Vincent, I know you do a lot of deep-dive career workshops with Singapore unis, maybe you can go over these topics on this newsletter for those who are not lucky enough to attend your in-person workshops 😇.

➡️ Haha, we’ll see about that. Speaking of AI – tell us more about your passion project Cup of Tea – it’s effectively an AI app for relationship building and matching, is that right?

Yes! For me, it comes down to one thing – user pain point. I kept hearing the same thing from friends and professionals in my network: despite being accomplished, they struggle to find meaningful relationships. Swiping endlessly on apps or paying thousands to agencies with little success just isn't cutting it.

So I built Echo, an AI super connector under Cup of Tea. She learns about you over time and introduces you to the right person from her network - like a smart, thoughtful friend who just gets you.

We combine AI with real-life experience to truly solve the problem at its core. Our in-person events are thoughtfully designed - we study each attendee, pair them with people they’re likely to connect with, and create engaging experiences. 

To celebrate our product launch, we’re kicking off an Explore Singapore series  - new sign-ups will receive a complimentary introduction after chatting with our AI super connector Echo! Check it out here 🙂

➡️ Ah, super interesting! Thank you so much for your time Erica. Now, where can our readers find you on social media?

Connect with me on LinkedIn! I love meeting new people :)

Until next time,

Vincent (LinkedIn)