#314: Vivian Chen, Founder and CEO of Rise, on Building the Next Generation Professional Social Network by Crafting Authentic Connections

Just Go Grind

Vivian is the Founder and CEO of Rise (joinrise.co), a professional social network that enables companies to proactively build relationships with people. Rise connects members with the world’s most innovative and forward-thinking companies across roles and industries. They are a data-driven tech platform that provides access to impactful opportunities to those who want purpose, advancement, and equity.

Prior to starting Rise, Vivian was an operator who built brands and products for high-impact businesses, Fortune 500 companies, high-growth startups, as well as leading VCs, PE firms, and global institutions. She has advised and worked with companies such as L'Oreal, Greenhouse Software, Glamsquad, Klarna, Bain Capital, the AARP, and more.

Vivian has been featured in Business Insider, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Bustle, and other media outlets for her work in championing women. Her work has been recognized by Forbes as a Next 1000 company, Cartier as a Top 10 Female Founded Company in North America, JP Morgan as a Woman on the Move, and Barclays as a leader for the Future of Work.

Vivian is on the board of Wharton Alumnae Founders & Funders Association (hellowaffa.org), a 501c3 non-profit organization with the mission to accelerate the success of Penn Wharton female founders and investors.

Topics Covered by Vivian Chen in this Episode

• What Rise is and the belief system it’s built on
• Combating “the great resignation”
• Rise’s origin story
• Leaving her job to become an entrepreneur before she had a business idea
• Using consulting as a strategy to leapfrog her career
• How COVID affected Rise and its iterations, resulting in an early pivot and “Rise 2.0”
• The UX and business model for Rise
• The strategy to onboard companies to the Rise platform
• How Vivian built out the product herself
• How she has approached early outreach and growth
• Embracing “the great re-hiring” and onboarding big tech companies
• How they’re differentiating themselves in the now booming virtual recruitment industry
• The recent fundraising experience for Rise
• Joining the founder program Day One and how that led to the first investments in Rise before Vivian had a formal pitch deck
• The unique questions she was asked by investors who truly believed in her
• The importance of investors getting to know founders on a personal level
• What’s next for Rise

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