Ever since she was young, Cheryl Sue Hui always knew she wanted to run her own business.
“When the teachers asked what your ambition was … and a lot of kids wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer. That was my ambition. [to be] He told CNBC Make It.
That childhood dream is now a reality for the 39-year-old serial entrepreneur, whose ventures include Reclip.It, a consumer software startup that was acquired by Walmart Labs in 2013.
Now she runs Tiny Health, a health tech startup that sells at-home gut health tests for moms and babies ages 0-3. The CEO and founder said that this test can help in early detection of intestinal imbalance and prevention of chronic diseases.
Just last week, the company raised $4.5 million in seed funding and said backers include US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Google’s X and Dropbox.
Cheryl de Hoy (center) with her mother and 4-year-old daughter Charlize.
little health
Sew Hoy, a Malaysian now based in Austin, Texas, attributes his success to his mother, who was also a businesswoman who ran her own marketing business in Malaysia.
“my mother He owned his own business and he was the boss. “She used to work from home before it became popular, and I’ve always had that pattern.”
Everything has come “full circle” for Sew Hoy, who is now a mother to two children, ages 2 and 4, as he begins to pass on the lessons he has learned to them.
What tips does he have for raising entrepreneurial children? CNBC Make It finds out.
Engage in storytelling
Sew Hoy said it’s hard to teach kids at a young age what businesses they can create, but kids “remember stories” — and that’s the best way to expose them to entrepreneurship.
While imitating his mother Du Hoy made the simple observation that she wants to be more “intentional” about talking to her children about running a business.
For example, he explains to his children about his job as CEO, the “story” of why he started Tiny Health.
I teach them why I work hard. Yes, it’s to make money, but not just to buy food or spend it.
Cheryl de Hoy
CEO and founder of Tiny Health
“Talk to them like adults, even if you think they’re too young to understand. The more you talk to them like adults, [you’ll realize] They actually understand a lot and learn a lot from it.”
Explaining what he does to his children, Du Hui said he also teaches them the value of money.
“I teach them why I work hard. Yes, it’s to make money, but it’s not just to buy food or spend it. While you’re making money, you have to make something of value to people. What problems do you face?” will you solve. in the world?”
Create adversity
Hoy said entrepreneurship is all about problem solving, and that’s something kids can learn through adversity.
Sew Hoy says, “There’s a difference between great entrepreneurs and good entrepreneurs. Great entrepreneurs are the ones who constantly bounce back because running a company every day is really hard.”
He added that children will never learn this value if they only have “quiet trips” where problems are always solved for them.
Children will never learn about adversity if they only have “quiet trips” where problems are always solved for them, said Cheryl Soo-Hui, pictured here with her family.
little health
“It takes a lot of patience. My daughter would moan and say, ‘Mom, I can’t do this.’ I would encourage her to try again and maybe give her a little help.”
“If he succeeds — especially if he succeeds alone — he learns the lesson that ‘if you’d given up before, you wouldn’t have done it.’
After experiencing the same scenario several times, Du Hui said, she noticed a “spark” in her 4-year-old daughter.
“I know he’s learning because next time [she tries to do something], he tells me, “Mom, I can do this.” I am strong.'”
“So if our lives become too easy, I’ll make it difficult [for my kids]”
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