Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Dr Ai Addyson-Zhangin the ‘Entrepreneur of the Month’ show at Womenlines! Dr Ai Addyson-Zhang is an Adobe Education Leader and Forbes featured entrepreneur. Ai is also the founder of Classroom Without Walls, which is to humanize online learning and to accelerate personal and professional transformation.
Listen and read about her interesting journey in her own words-
1. Please share with our reader’s little bit about yourself!
Dr Ai Addyson-Zhang is an educator and an entrepreneur. She received her MA and PhD in Communication from Syracuse University and the University of Maryland. Ai is the founder of Classroom Without Walls, an alternative school for entrepreneurship. As an Adobe Education Leader, Ai is passionate about incorporating social media and creative technologies to enhance student learning and to acquire skills that help them become future-ready. Ai’s work has been featured in Forbes, Inside Higher Education, Pearson Education, and Mark Schafer’s book among others. Ai hosts a weekly live streaming show, in which she interviews leading social media and digital marketers such as Seth Godin. Ai additionally contributes to Entrepreneur and Thrive Global. Ai worked closely with Crystal King to develop a workbook for HubSpot Academy’s Social Media Certification. Ai frequently speaks at academic and industry conferences including VidCon, Social Media Week Lima (the largest social media marketing conference in the midwest, and others.
2. So when did you started working and what inspired or motivated you to take a plunge into your present venture?
I started teaching in 2005. I want to make a difference in education because of how I much suffered through the traditional educational system.
3. Can you share with us some of the challenges you faced during your initial days?
Balance my full-time job and side hustle. Have no idea what I was doing.
4. So how do you balance your personal and professional life?
I integrate the two. It is like having children. Once you are a mom, you are a mom regardless of where you go and what you do. Your mom identity is a part of you. For me, being an entrepreneur is the same. It is a part of me.
5. What would you suggest to other aspiring women who want to venture out on their own?
Work with a mentor or hire a coach. They can offer you so much support and give you so much advice that can shorten your learning curve.
6. Is there any person who has mentored/supported/inspired you?
It is hard to list one. There are so many. If I have to choose one. It will be Mark Schaefer.
7. What do you have in the pipeline for your venture’s future development?
My Entrepreneurship Immersion in Singapore.
To know details about the Entrepreneurship Immersion programme in Singapore in Dec 2019 click https://www.classroomwithoutwalls.ai/
Follow Womenlines on Social Media
