Jen Weedn, VP of Business Development @ LinkedIn
Jen Weedn is the Vice President of Business Development at Linkedin, where her team is responsible for partnerships with Samsung, Google, the New York Times, and many more. Jen’s career has spanned many of the biggest names in tech, where she’s seen the rise and fall of companies like AOL, Myspace, and Glam Media.
In this podcast, we spoke with Jen about:
Her love for creating movies while growing up in Chicago “Tawainese-American” style
Why people consider her one of the best negotiators at LinkedIn
The intersectionality of being a woman of color in a high powered career
… and so much more!
You can listen to her below or wherever else you get to your podcasts.
On Jen’s interests in movies
“Since I was a young kid, I have been a huge movie fan. When I was young and somebody asked me, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I think I said, I wanted to be a movie star. I think I was just fascinated by the process of how movies were made. Even though my entire adult professional life I've worked in the business world, kind of on the side as a hobby, I have taken acting classes for fun.
I’m totally not talented, but I’m really into it. I think I like it so much because it is exercising a side of my brain that is so far away from what I do in the day job. That’s it; it's just really fun.”
Jen’s appreciation for her parents
“I have to give my parents credit. They were a kinder, more flexible version of Asian-American tiger parenting. They allowed me to take certain freedoms. For example, I insisted on playing sports despite my parents telling me that sports are not a priority. They told me as long as I get A’s I could play. I could hang out with my friends on the weekend as a teenager. I didn't feel like it then to be honest, but as I grew up and developed my perspective, I feel like it was more balanced than I originally thought it was. I appreciated that balance.”
On how parental pressure can have both positive and negative implications
“I feel like there were both good and bad implications of my parents having high expectations of me. Let's start with the good. My parents had high expectations of both me and my brother. They wanted me to do just as well as my brother, there was no difference because I was a girl. I learned that if you’re going to do something, do it well. I think that was great because I grew up with the idea of oh just because I’m a girl, doesn't mean there are any limits on my success.
The downside is you may get too achievement orientated. Always focused on perfection. I think that's a dangerous thing. I was essentially a workaholic in my 20’s and 30’s. You get the feeling that is never enough. As I’ve mentioned, finding the balance is important.”
On joining MTV at 25
“When I was on Wall Street, I looked at the Managing Directors and asked ‘do I want to be them’? For me, the answer was no. So after five years, I left. I then went into a phase of like, okay, I worked so hard now I'm just going to do what I want to do. As you guys know I was fascinated with entertainment and media.
So I did a 180 and went to work for MTV. I was 25 years old living in New York City and I was like, what is the most fun job I could do? I somehow got myself a job doing business development at MTV. It was really crazy. Really fun. They paid you almost nothing. We used to joke that they would pay you for free concert tickets and t-shirts. Those are priceless, right?”
Being one of the best negotiators at LinkedIn
“When you're a small Asian woman, I think sometimes people underestimate you. People are sometimes surprised when they’re deal-making with me. I think that I'm a tough negotiator. What I mean by that is that I’m the same person doing deals as I am talking to you guys. I’m very prepared. I ask for what I want on behalf of my company. I negotiate very hard for those things.
I think people are sometimes surprised that this small Asian woman is a super tough negotiator. I don't give up easily. I try to be smart and analytical, but don't just look at the analysis. I read the situation, understand the relationships, and pay a lot of attention to who I'm negotiating against and what kind of person they are.”
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Until next time,
Jay and Angie