grIP Pitch Night Director Christine Li-AuYeung presented on Key Issues Faced by Early-Stage Employees of Start-Ups to Defense Entrepreneurs Forum Cornerstone Series in February 2021

grIP Pitch Night Director Christine Li-AuYeung gave a presentation to the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum (DEF) Cornerstone Series titled “Learn how to be an early employee at a startup” on February 25, 2021.

Christine drew on her own experience as both an employee and employer at young firms. She spent eight years as an early-stage employee working in financial technology, before starting her own management consulting company where she became an early-stage employer. In her presentation, Christine demystified the glamour of working at startups lower starting salaries are common, and the risk of losing the time and effort put into the startup, without that eventual IPO payoff, if the startup fails. She also gave tips on how to navigate such a risky, but potentially lucrative venture, from what to consider before joining a startup, to who to hire and when.

Christine has held multiple senior roles within the FinTech industry. She is currently an independent COO & FinTech advisor at AdvisoryCloud, and an executive board member of the Oxford Entrepreneurs Network. Christine was most recently COO of Elevoro, where she directed daily global operations for a startup management consultancy focused on innovations in FinTech. Previously, Christine was senior vice president of strategic initiatives and product management at StoneCastle Partners, LLC, a New York-based fintech firm specializing in the community banking sector. Christine also worked in the Risk Assurance practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP and the Global Credit Risk Management division at JPMorgan Chase.