Sakuranna Chen: From VC and cloud computing to consulting

What was your work experience prior to pursuing an MBA? 

Prior to an MBA, I had 7 years of working experience. I started out in a local VC in China, in Beijing, and I quickly moved on to a cloud computing startup. So I specialise in corporate strategy, global expansion and business operations. And later on, 7 years, and you sort of reached this point where I want acceleration and I’ve been working in startups for so long, I want something more than… How should I put it? Doing a single function in one organisation. And also during that I realised I really want to join consulting because I like working on different projects, perhaps for different companies and different industries, because working for one company sometimes could be limited. So yeah, I’m like, “Oh, MBA seems to be a great opportunity.” The highlight of this programme, I would say it’s the people for sure, getting to know such great people in such short amount of time.

What is the biggest highlight of the MBA programme for you?

I don’t think you can do this anywhere else. And the friendship, and the knowledge you gain from your different culture perspective, are just amazing. So I would say, that would be the biggest highlight of the whole programme. So even for me, it’s a good personal growth experience. I’ve learned how to work with people from different background, cultural customs and the way they talk, that they communicate. I think this programme really gives you the opportunity to do that. We’ve been given so many choices and opportunities to have hands-on experience of different industries. It’s more about exploring what’s possible, what’s out there and what you really… At least it helped me to figure out what I want to do next and allow you to try different things, not just passively receiving other people’s experience, but you can explore it in a practical way. I think that’s more important because job is a job and you’re going to work for the rest of your life, but then this programme is something, it’s once in a lifetime. 

How was your experience transitioning from a big city to Cambridge?

 Cambridge feels like this unreal bubble to me because I’m a city girl. I’ve grown up in big cities my whole life, working in them too, so coming to Cambridge has been such a different experience. There’s also this special connection between Cambridge and China that really resonates with me. Most Chinese people know Xu Zhimo, a famous poet, wrote a poem about Cambridge, and it’s been my favourite since I was little. But I didn’t know it was about Cambridge until I found out that ‘Kāngqiáo’ in Chinese actually means Cambridge. I guess some things are just meant to be. 

During our GCP (Global Consulting Project), we worked on a sustainability topic. We were working with IBM, and it was real consulting and analytical work. IBM is such a big name, and this experience was exactly what I was looking for after my MBA. I wanted to gain some local working experience and get a taste of what tech consulting is like, and working with IBM was the perfect opportunity.

What advice do you have for people with big ambitions?

I’ll say if you always want to achieve something big in your life, and now is the time, and don’t get stopped by other people’s expectation and social pressures. And just do it, if that’s what you wanted to do. What about a year which allow you to learn new skills, to get perspectives from different people, from different countries, like outside of your circle and the community that you’re familiar with. Consider things like an MBA where you can consolidate, regroup, and rethink your priorities. And really self-explore, I would say, it’s a great opportunity to do that.