Em (00:01.56)
Hi Sam, how are you doing?

Samantha YAP (00:02.749)
Hello. Good, how are you?

Em (00:05.42)
I'm really good thanks. We were just chatting about ECC and how much it was, how much work it was. How are you feeling afterwards?

Samantha YAP (00:14.587)
Yeah, so it was a lot of work because we were the official PR partners, so we were managing a team, but that we've done for five consecutive years. But the difference this year was I brought my baby. And so that was a challenging variable, but I've come out on the other end of it and happily survived. Thanks in part to ECC having a baby nursery. So that helped.

Also that I worked with my partner and well my husband and we were able to tag team with the baby. So happy that we survived

Em (00:56.845)
That's brilliant. I had no idea they had childcare. That's awesome. Is that normal for most events?

Samantha YAP (01:02.577)
No, I think it was their first year that they invested in having a nursery. I don't think many people know about it, but now we're talking about it. And I think next year I'm going to advocate for them to expand it. I also know that In the Space, ETH Denver, which happens in Denver, Colorado at start of each year, February this year, they also put money into having a daycare at a conference.

And I think it's great, I think we should normalise bringing children to work conferences because it could be like a family trip.

Em (01:41.727)
Yeah, that's true because it really is, it's really tiring in general, isn't it? To be at an event and to be on all the time. And then to have a baby to have to think about their needs as well. It's like a lot of stuff to do on your

Samantha YAP (01:56.029)
Yes, so I am breastfeeding and I had to feed her, I basically feed her like six times a day. So I had to feed her in between meetings. So I had to like time it for when I could go and you know, meet clients and journalists and do business development and then like have to check the time and be like, okay, I've to be back by like 1 .30 to do her next feed.

It's a lot of organization and coordination, but all things that you can schedule and be on top

Em (02:37.779)
That is like ninja moves. That takes so much brain space. Like how do you, how did you even start to think about this kind of planning? Because I'm sure lots of listeners who have got babies are like, how did she do this?

Samantha YAP (02:52.347)
Yeah, so the first thing is, well with babies, we feed our baby on a schedule because there is this method by this book called Babywise and thanks to that book we were able to have our baby on a routine because we thrive on routine and we need routine and especially if you're running a business or even just working you would need routine as well. So we had our baby on this routine and then

it's just a matter of planning around it. So we did a lot of planning and a lot of thinking actually before ECC. I'm lucky and fortunate that I have an EA, Executive Assistant, and we even just scheduled in my calendar when I needed to feed the baby so that I had it all lined up and then I could like work around it. So yeah, it's a lot of planning but you can make it happen with strong organization skills.

Em (03:50.76)
That is incredible. Like I have not heard of this, but maybe because I don't have a baby. But I love being exposed to this and seeing how women manage to do all this stuff because one of my favourite phrases is like, it doesn't have to be either or it can just be and. And that's what you're really embodying here, I think. Wonderful. Now, yeah, continue.

Samantha YAP (04:08.079)
Yes, and you know, I do think there is importance in spending time with your baby and you know, should... women and mothers should give their baby and themselves the time that they need to look after their babies, but you could just continue... like life will continue anyway and it doesn't have to get in the way or anything. It actually adds on to it, so like you said, it's yes and...

Em (04:41.786)
Definitely. There's a tiny delay here, by the way. So I'm just, that's why I'm pausing when you're answering. It was good. Okay, fabulous. Thank you so much. And Mike, who's editing this, he will remove this. Amazing. So we've jumped ahead as usual because I always do, but we're starting all of our, actually, this is the first time we're doing it because we had a different kind of thing for bubbling out. But I wanted to bring,

Samantha YAP (04:45.519)
I know, I can, it's okay. Yeah, and I'm pausing too, so don't worry.

Em (05:11.509)
more of a continuing topic or question to each episode that people can kind of relate to. So Mike can also remove that by the way. But what makes you bubble with joy and purpose when it comes to your work life?

Samantha YAP (05:29.501)
So I enjoy growing a team and building leaders and so that actually makes me bubble with joy and purpose. It is challenging though, is hard work managing people, people with different personalities, people with different wants and needs but it does bring me joy when I get to see people thrive and grow in their professional careers but also their personal.

lives as well. We are, so I run a PR agency in the Web3 space and I strongly believe that what we're doing is we're building the Web3 communicators of the future. So we're building a generation of Web3 PR and comms professionals and I have seen people who've left my company go on to, you know, be heads of comms

key crypto projects as well as staying in the industry. that is rewarding for me to see. We're not just focusing on my own company's business goals and targets. We're seeing a generation of communicators spread into the Web3 space.

Em (06:55.574)
Yeah. that's incredible. I love it because it's like you're putting your, you're starting with your impact and it's rippling out into the industry and you're able to then help those other people ripple out even further and further and further. And that really aligns with why I am so obsessed with what I do. So I very much resonate with this. It's being able to just have this small impact, however, however long that period of time will be. And to be able to just like, I've done this, I've done this. I've been able to like catalyst change.

Samantha YAP (07:26.375)
Yes, exactly.

Em (07:31.932)
It's fab, I love it. So it's really interesting because so many people that I speak to, founders especially, actually are scared of the mentorship and the building leaders. What has worked for you? what do you feel like, actually I'm gonna rephrase that, what do you feel like helped you to start to enjoy it? Because at first it's really difficult.

Samantha YAP (07:55.395)
Yeah, I think the first thing is to ensure that what you pour into someone is not for you to keep per se. So for example, when I invest in team members and I train them up, the hope is that they'll stay in the company, but

they would go on and want other opportunities and want to move on. And so I think that's the most important thing that when you're impacting someone's life, it's not just for you, it's not your own, it's for them and it's also for the industry around them. So I think it's that mindset shift that helps me. But also it's just enjoying watching someone

develop and grow and seeing someone who didn't have a certain skill now be able to thrive and grow in their role. yeah, that's what excites me. it's just, again, it's about watching someone get promoted is the most rewarding thing for me. It's more rewarding than winning a new client or executing on a strong PR campaign. It's one of those things

Yeah, I like to see people grow and I like to see them develop and I want them to and that actually is also more lasting. It's more lasting of an impact than just, you know, hitting a target or winning a new client because I always say to my team, clients can come and go, but the team is there for the long term.

Em (09:39.719)
That's so beautiful. And honestly, this is so, I wouldn't say it's a rare perspective, but it's just, I don't hear this enough and it's just so lovely to hear. And I hope that everybody listening to this can be like, okay, like we have amazing women building businesses who want to build their teams. It's not just all about the money, especially in our industry. How do you mentor and support these people? Like what has worked for you?

Samantha YAP (10:07.899)
Yeah, the most important thing is to consider what they want. it's easy to run a company and be like focus on our own business targets and our own business objectives. But at the end of the day, people will only be motivated if they also get something out of it too. So it's finding out what they...

want out of their role what they want to achieve and giving them the opportunity to do so because there's no point forcing someone to do something that they don't like. With that being said, of course a job is a job. Sometimes you have to do stuff that you know isn't fun and sometimes you have to you know put in the long hours to commit to something but long -term wise you you want to be able to like leverage I guess

on what people are motivated by. The other thing that we focus on in our team is embodying and facilitating strong team values. I'll share two, but one of our values that I like is that we always strive for excellence. So we always want to level up and we want everyone to...

to be a better version of themselves than the day before or even with the work that they execute. So there's a saying in journalism when I used to work as a journalist is you're only as good as your last story. So same in PR, same in comms, you're only as good as your last PR campaign or you're only as good as your last client call, for example. So you're always striving to be excellent. And then the other value is to always add

So to always bring something to the table and never be complacent with what you've you know What you're working on or what you can bring always find ways to add value to the work that you're doing So these are two values that I see has worked with our team, but also with that being said Also ensuring that we remain sustainable in our approach. So Yeah, we work in the crypto industry and it's very common for people to work

Samantha YAP (12:21.711)
crazy hours, even on weekends, but we also place an emphasis on making sure people take their breaks, they log off on time and then they have their weekends because if we really want to stay here for the long term, we need to be sustainable and also live sustainable lives. yeah, trying to really encourage this work -life balance is also important to us.

Em (12:47.682)
Definitely.

Definitely, yeah, I'm just going to unpack that. So the first part that you speaking about was very much focused on how do you get people to do what you need them to do, but not force it, not expect them to do things that you want them to do just because it kind of fits with your agenda, enable them, motivate them. In my experience in the past and the way I've did it in a terrible way is expect the things that I need from the wrong person.

And that all comes back down to hiring. And how do you feel like in your hiring process, for example, how do you know that a person, and this is something that comes up all the time, how do you know that this person will fit with what you really need? How do you assess their strengths and skills?

Samantha YAP (13:35.741)
Yeah, so I run a team of currently as we speak 25 people and so beyond just me, I have to see that we need to work with the team. So it's actually about building a system like a vetting system of when we hire people. So we do have a process where, know, whenever we hire someone new, they will speak to at least three of us so that we have a good cultural

know, vibe check basically and whether that person's a good cultural fit. Because sometimes we see candidates that may be strong in the work that they do, but they don't have that cultural fit. And so we make sure we filter that out. So I think the focus is on building a system and a vetting system when you're inviting the right person. But yes, what I mentioned before, culture is a big piece of that because

You can always train someone to level up on their skills and you know,

Yeah, I think you can always train someone on more practical things, but it's harder to change culture. It's also harder to change someone's attitude. So we also look at behaviors of people and in our team, we want to attract people who are ambitious and who, you know, like taking ownership and are passionate about what they do and also are accepting of people. we look at all those things. So, so just to summarize what I said.

You can train someone to improve on their skills, but it's harder to change someone's attitude and behaviours and we look out for that more in our interview process.

Em (15:23.964)
Interesting. Now, you might not have the answer for this right now. Hopefully you do. But what kind of questions, just off the top of your head if you can, would you use to identify someone who won't be a good

Samantha YAP (15:39.726)
So who won't be a good fit? Well, I mean just the question that I often ask is where you see yourself in five years and it's one of those big picture thinking questions that I love asking everyone because it just helps me know where they want to they want to head and whenever someone responds with I'm not sure then then I

I mean, I just assume, maybe this is wrong, you know, maybe they're not as ambitious, maybe they don't really have that long term plan. But for those who answer with like, in five years, I know I want to achieve this and I want to do that, then that says to me that they are really driven and ambitious and have, and are set

the direction that they want to head in. And I would rather work with people who have that direction and that purpose and are going somewhere because then we can always align our paths. But for the people who don't know where they're going and are unsure, then yeah, I would say perhaps it's not the right fit for our team. So I like people who are sure of where they're heading and know what they want.

Em (16:51.634)
That's a brilliant question. I think many people, especially if they're not going through a hiring process, even if they're not, even if they're founders, whoever they are, many people don't stop to think about where do I want to be in five years time, right?

It's a big question for a lot of people and we're so caught up in our everyday lives that sometimes we just forget that we have a future ahead of us. I mean, it's good. like the whole being present and mindful, but we also do need to plan ahead and being able to articulate that really well is huge.

Samantha YAP (17:15.964)
Yeah.

Samantha YAP (17:23.975)
Yeah and also I'm a big believer in setting goals because goals, even if you don't hit them, they get you further along than if you didn't set them at all. And the five year plan, you could

something personal or professional. So you know for people who maybe want to start a family or think about children in the future like it's okay to share that in five years if you don't have kids and you want to have kids or if you want to have x number of children like that all comes into your plan and it shows that you like have a direction. Of course things don't go to plan but it's good to have an idea of where you want to go. So yeah that's what I would say.

Em (18:11.606)
Exactly. Yeah, and I think by asking that as well, you're showing them that you care about their progression, which is so important for so many people. And my past experience in my career life was that I didn't, kind of air dropped into a lot of things. And so the career progression was on me. I'd never felt like I had the support from the employer. so YAP sounds like an amazing place to work,

Samantha YAP (18:38.631)
Thanks, we'll always try. But yeah, always trying because it's about... Again, we also have to think about the purpose of the company too because if the company's purpose was just to develop on its own and get the profits and just think about itself, then we wouldn't also survive and we wouldn't stand where we are today. It has to have meaning and a purpose beyond itself and I think that's what I...

figured out early on because yeah, when it gets to the point where I say I am not able to contribute to Yahoo! Well, hopefully it will grow beyond me, you know?

Em (19:26.22)
Yeah. And going back to your values, striving for excellence and what was the other

Samantha YAP (19:34.883)
So, adding value. yeah. Stripe vs. adding value.

Em (19:39.873)
and in value, that was it. I'm curious.

Got it. I'm curious, where were those values instilled for you? Who did you learn these values from?

Samantha YAP (19:53.255)
So I was going to share this at the end of, know, how do you prioritize yourself, but for me it's my faith and so my faith in God and I guess it, yeah, that's kind of how those values are instilled in me because it is about, you know, growing what you have and it's always about, yeah, bringing something to the table, bringing...

yeah, value everywhere you go. So that's where it comes from.

Em (20:32.618)
lovely and was that something that you grew up with? Did you have any influential people in your life who helped you to carry that value?

Samantha YAP (20:40.081)
Yeah, I mean it's something that I grew up with. I had leaders in my life, not just at work but at church and so I had pastors and I guess just people that I look up to and it's beyond just a professional career. I really admire how they live their lives and how they build their families and so that does leave an impact on me and

I'm very blessed that I have people around me that I can look up to and learn from, but at the same time I also hope that I'm also contributing and helping other people and inspiring other people to live their fulfilling lives too.

Em (21:30.151)
It's lovely. It's very much a community based approach, supporting others. it's, it's this, I like to believe that the more we put out, the more we get back. But in an easier way, it doesn't have to be hard. We don't have to give out in a hard way. We don't have to feel anxious. We don't have to feel like everything is difficult. If we just give out in the most aligned way possible, it'll just come back to us in the most aligned way possible.

Samantha YAP (21:43.27)
No.

Samantha YAP (21:53.145)
Yeah, I agree and I think it's about seeing that your life is not your own because I think once you think that it's once you think that what you're giving away you need something back it can be quite stifling and you know so if you think that your life is not your own and you're giving and you're freely giving you will be surprised how much you'll really receive as well.

Em (22:22.375)
Exactly. It's like Thich Nhat Hanh. He said that separateness is an illusion. We're all connected. Everything we do has an impact on everything. And so I think that really, really is reflected in what you're doing.

Em (22:42.932)
Love it. So I'm going to zoom out for a minute because we always go off on tangents on this podcast, but I promise we will stick to the allotted time. So I really wanted to know what has been the most transformative moment in Yap Global? Your journey.

Samantha YAP (23:01.213)
the most transformative moment? Well I guess I'll share being a mother.

So from being a CEO to being a mom, it has really challenged me to let go. So I think a founder's challenge is to let go and to not be so in the weeds and in the details. And so when I had a baby, it really forced me to let go because I had no choice but to let go. Because usually when I didn't have a baby, I'd go on a holiday, but I could always log on. I could always check my messages.

check my emails but you know with a baby your hands are so tied and so full in the first few months that you're forced to really log off and I was very surprised because I

I let go, I trust my team and they ended up growing really well. I mean there was minimal hiccups, course there would be challenges here and there, but my team went on to hire people without me and win business without me and I couldn't ask for anything more. was surprising to see, but on the other hand not surprising because I have a great team.

Em (24:21.663)
Wow, that's incredible to be able to be like, okay, I'm out. I cannot be online right now. I cannot be working right now. And to just know that your team have got their shit together. Like you can do this again now. Amazing.

Samantha YAP (24:32.923)
Well, yeah, I know. I'm so happy. Like, I was so surprised, but I'm like, I have nothing to complain about because they have thrived and I'm seeing people like level up. And I think it's one of those things

When a leader either takes time off or leaves or have to, you even go on holiday, it does give room for other people in the team to step up and they did step it up so I'm very proud about that. The other thing I would say is, yeah, investing in people and investing in your team is worth it. It can be challenging at times, sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes you invest in people and they just don't work out. But I think building a process and a system

allows for things like this to happen because I put in the time to build this system, it was able to grow beyond me. But if I had kept everything through me, if I was the bottleneck for a lot of decisions and a lot of the work, then me being on maternity leave would have had a different outcome.

Em (25:44.255)
Interesting. It's, you a fan of Natalie Ellis from Boss Babe?

Samantha YAP (25:50.833)
No, I don't know her. I mean, not that I'm not a fan, I just don't know her. That's my illness.

Em (25:55.812)
she's fab and she's all about having like she went through a similar process like she was she put everything in place to go on maternity leave and she was able to and it was great and it grew. But you would be a perfect example of this done so well, like she would love you. But it's really knowing that your future like, yeah, she's fab and

Samantha YAP (26:15.237)
Nice, I'll have to look her up. Yeah.

Em (26:22.652)
Something that she really advocates for is recording everything in Loom. So every small thing that needs to be outsourced or you need your team to do or your team are doing, you get them to just record a Loom and put it in like a SLP database. Did you have any kind of systems like that in place that helped you to just step away?

Samantha YAP (26:40.975)
Yeah, we have, we love Notion. So we created a Notion central office for everything, because we have a remote team and we have a global team and for everything that we, you know, that we do and everything that we want to track and everything in the company, we keep on this database. And then in terms of like SOPs and yeah, like checklists, we have a lot of them. So.

you know whenever we do an event or whenever we do a PR campaign everything has a checklist and so it just yeah basically prevents a lot of room a lot of errors and

also encourages the team to think about the details. So we have a lot of this and we have what we call a YAP Wiki. We have like a Wikipedia page for the company. it also answers a lot of questions without me or even my managers needing to step in.

Em (27:45.818)
It sounds amazing. Like I love all this kind of stuff, especially the Wiki. It's like if you want to know anything about us, it's all here. Don't worry. Now the thing that will come up and you've probably seen this, but I mean, I don't know if this comes up in your team because I feel like you've got it dialed in, but you can provide as many processes as you want, as many checklists as you want, but sometimes people do not follow the process. When that's happening, how do you, especially if it's within your teams and you've got your managers looking after

How do you support them in making sure that processes are followed?

Samantha YAP (28:19.473)
I mean, it's not perfect and you're right, there could be amazing checklists and not everyone follows it. So how do you make sure? Well, I think that also comes with, you know, a performance review process. So we have that in place every six months. And so there are goals that we set with the team. And then there's also a performance review period. And that's when we actually measure performance. And if someone is not delivering or doing tasks to a certain level and standard, they

No, and we have you know peer review feedback system. I think all of this

Most companies have, maybe those who are growing teams do. I think that's all ingredients of growing teams, high performing teams. So yeah, performance reprocess allows that. We also have a strong line management system where we encourage the managers to also give feedback frequently. I believe in frequent feedback. I think that people shouldn't have surprises after three months and they just

that they need to improve in an area. think it's about steadily improving the quality of someone's work and development.

Em (29:41.574)
And by having frameworks around that, you're allowing your line managers to be able to deliver that information in a compassionate way and a structured way. So it's easier to communicate and it's easier to apply.

Em (29:59.596)
Awesome. The reason I ask these questions is because so many people listening are in so many different varying levels of leadership. Maybe they're aspiring to be leaders and they just, this stuff is so valuable for them to know. And this is why I like to really dig into how everybody does it because everyone does it so differently. Now, we've talked about work stuff, but what I also want to know really is you've had a baby, you've built your business. How many years has the business been running now?

Samantha YAP (30:29.489)
six years.

Em (30:33.7)
So six years. Has it been full on all the time or have you had any kind of, apart from having a baby, have you had any of the kind of time out or has it just been full on building?

Samantha YAP (30:48.477)
So in the early years it was full on building, but I do emphasize taking breaks. So I've had holidays, I take two weeks off here and there, we have our Christmas breaks. Again, to build a sustainable business, you also need to have a sustainable life too. So I'm very mindful of burnout, I'm very sensitive towards when I'm about to, when I've hit my limit. So I think it's very healthy to take breaks and we encourage that in our team as well.

Again, as I said, we don't like to drive people to work crazy hours or overnight or weekends because we don't see that that produces work, quality work. And so yeah, I've had breaks. But yeah, think with, I think, you know, like to say reputation and trust and credibility takes years to build, but it could take seconds to ruin. So I...

Actually every year that we grow, our reputation grows, there's actually more of a burden and a responsibility to ensure that we're keeping the quality of our work strong. And in doing that, we need breaks and we need to rest as well. I believe in rest.

Em (32:09.972)
Yeah, exactly. And I actually went on a retreat in April, I think it was in the south of France, and it was focused on rest. And there was so many mothers there who have not rested for such a long time. And it was just full permission to rest. And it's so important. And I think it's fantastic that you as the leader are the one setting that example, because it's not always the case, right?

Being able to show that, being able to show the boundaries and give an example of what is okay for everybody else is amazing. So well done. And there's one thing that I wanted to ask and you mentioned, you know when you've hit your limits, what happens?

Samantha YAP (32:53.607)
Well, think it's... So, I don't like to hit my limits. So I guess when I start feeling like I am hitting my limits, so I'm starting to feel a bit tired and maybe not enjoying my work, that's when I get a little bit irritated or frustrated, then I ensure that I take a breather or take a break or do something for me. So, and I make sure that I don't ever cross that because once I cross that, like...

capacity or over capacity then that leads to burnout. So yeah, being sensitive towards that.

Em (33:35.005)
Yeah, knowing your limits and not just brushing them off like I'm just tired today.

Em (33:45.245)
Awesome. Amazing. Well, is there anything else that you would like to share? Because it's been fabulous. I could speak to you all day about so many things, but I'll try and keep it in this time frame today.

Samantha YAP (33:57.125)
anything else? Well, I think you have a question here on like, how do I prioritize you while managing, you know, being mom and also managing like being CEO and yeah, bringing it back to like my faith again, that actually helps keep me grounded. And I do think that it's like the secret to how I'm able to do what I do. And yeah, I think I think I just would want to share that because I do encourage anyone

Em (34:08.073)
Mm -hmm.

Samantha YAP (34:25.851)
Yeah, is open to hearing and wants kind of hope in their lives. It really does change things. And also I just, believe in there's work and there's your work life, but there's also your life in general, your personal life. And that's more important. And so yeah, being a mom as well, I do stress that having a family, it really gives you meaning and even more purpose because it challenges you. Now that I'm a mother,

challenge to do what I do. Now I'm not saying everyone should have children if they don't want children they don't have to have children but I just do encourage it because it's actually a beautiful journey but yes it's a lot of work too I'm not gonna lie

Em (35:13.381)
Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. I think on the faith topic, it's very interesting. So I'm very spiritual. I don't have a religion, but I am hugely spiritual. I use all my clairs. I do lots of channeled poetry and channeled art and stuff. But it's the acknowledging that we are just living in the 3D right now, but there is a 5D. It's like something much bigger than us. And we

capable of tapping into that anytime we want, we just have to be open to it. And I hope that the more we talk about this kind of stuff, the more people will start to think about it. And that's it. You can't ever pressure anyone into anything or any beliefs, but it's more just like, this is possible for me, so it's possible for you too.

Samantha YAP (35:56.049)
Yes.

Samantha YAP (36:03.515)
Yes, and it's only out of love and out of the hope that other people can live and thrive in their lives too because what's the point if we don't have that?

Em (36:22.01)
Exactly. I just like to believe that we've lived like 50 million different lives and there's many different versions of us somewhere in the quantum field.

Samantha YAP (36:30.191)
Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, this has been great. Thank you for having me.

Em (36:35.5)
It's fab. love that. I love all this stuff.

Em (36:40.908)
You too. Thank you so much. And I'm sure we'll come. I'll invite you on to talk about different things

Samantha YAP (36:47.227)
Yes, I would love that.

Em (36:51.448)
Yay, thank you so much, Sam.

Samantha YAP (36:53.465)
Awesome, thank you! This was fun, I hope it was good. You like edited, right?

Em (36:57.231)
Bye!