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Kevin Yien
@kevinyien
product @stripe • thinking out loud • made of 🍦 • random ideas (#sparkfile)
Austin, TX
kevinyien.com
Joined February 2012
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12.3K
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Aug 25, 2020
    Your career is not a ladder, it's a game. Those who treat it like ladder will make linear progress at best and let their fear hold them back. Those who treat it like a game will collect the resources, find the people, and build the skills that compound — and have fun doing it!
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Jun 19, 2025
    recently spent two weeks in china for a family vacation. got to see everything from the rural mountain regions to booming "small towns" to the urban centers. it's been 15 years since i last visited and it's wild how much has changed. some random notes i took along the way...
    1M
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Oct 29, 2021
    I still hold the strong opinion that every company should have a team that teaches new hires how to be experts in the primary tools used at the company (e.g. Gmail, Slack, Docs, Jira, Notion). And I'm not talking a few keyboard shortcuts here and there. I'm talking top 1%.
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Dec 6, 2022
    Timing is everything. I ran a 100-person product team at Square and believe fintech was the best place to be in the last decade. When I decided to leave, I evaluated 20+ industries. To my surprise, I landed in martech. Here's why martech is about to have its "fintech moment":
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Apr 5, 2022
    Sometimes the internet can be a really neat and kind place
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Jun 19, 2025
    Replying to @kevinyien
    everything runs through wechat — truly everything is a mini app (and actual app). messaging, shopping, ridesharing, banking — it's all there.
    88K
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Jun 19, 2025
    Replying to @kevinyien
    overall, it's amazing how advanced china is in many ways (including in rural areas). yet it's clear that the average life quality has not caught up with the visual progress of the country.
    59K
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Jun 19, 2025
    Replying to @kevinyien
    cash is accepted but penalized. while in america you see signs "pay cash, no sales tax", in china you see "pay cash, get 20% surcharge".
    88K
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Jun 19, 2025
    Replying to @kevinyien
    there is very little crime / violence (especially in more populated areas) due to the surveillance. it's kind of wild. people don't even bother locking their bikes because they know it's not worth stealing. but this comes at the obvious cost of privacy.
    74K
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Jun 19, 2025
    Replying to @kevinyien
    wechat mini apps (especially food ordering) all have the same layout. it creates a very helpful muscle memory (even if the format doesn't always "fit" the menu). this sort of 80/20 design approach is prominent everywhere.
    86K
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Jun 19, 2025
    Replying to @kevinyien
    the younger generation has a saying that literally translates into "lying flat", which rejects the traditional mentality of working hard (996, 9am-9pm 6 days a week). wild for me as a child of chinese immigrants.
    61K
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Jun 19, 2025
    Replying to @kevinyien
    there are so many luxury hotels. but they are all empty. i got the feeling that every hotel we went to, we were the only guests on the entire floor. china built a lot (too much?). and the tourism hasn't caught up.
    67K
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Jun 19, 2025
    Replying to @kevinyien
    the average college graduate can't get a job. they have to go to grad school, and even then it's tough. and the starting salaries are $22k usd. the best jobs (for money and power) are all still in the gov.
    64K
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    Kevin Yien
    @kevinyien
    Jun 19, 2025
    Replying to @kevinyien
    every app has a "translate" feature that scans the screen and automatically changes all text to your language of choice (including images!). it's pretty bad at chinese > english. but again, it's "good enough" and its real value prop is that it's omnipresent.
    79K