Curious about the incredible individuals who lead our one-on-one sessions, workshops, and help shape our innovative programmes? Meet Kaitlin Zhang as she shares her experience as an Entrepreneur in Residence at UAL!
Kaitlin Zhang is the CEO of Oval Branding, a London-based full-service branding and marketing agency focused on tech, financial services, gaming and cross-border brands. Kaitlin is also an award-winning speaker, with experience speaking in English and Mandarin for corporates, government and various universities around the world.
Kaitlin also specialises in personal branding to help her clients actively craft their brand niche and build their reputation. Her list of private clients include UK government officials, venture capitalists, business leaders and creative entrepreneurs.
Kaitlin holds a BFA from the University of British Columbia, a BA Business Management with Marketing from London South Bank University and an Associate’s Degree in Graphic Design from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Tell us about your role as the Entrepreneur in Residence
As the Entrepreneur in Residence, I ran an online workshop on ‘How to Set-up Your Business’, teaching students and graduates the practical steps and considerations for setting up a creative business in the UK.
I also ran another online workshop on personal branding, teaching students my signature workshop on the ‘5 Steps To Build Your Personal Brand’, so they can gain more visibility and land better opportunities.
In my role, I also did multiple one-to-ones, coached at the Creative Hack, and organised a wellbeing panel event at the Chelsea College of Art.
What did you think was valuable about the Creative Hack for students and graduates?
As a coach for the Creative Hack, I was impressed with the students’ solutions to improve London through a sustainable business or a social enterprise. What is really valuable from the hack is that the students were encouraged to consider business strategies like customer pain points, product-market fit, target audience segmentation and marketing strategies. They’re learning more about how to think from diverse perspectives, such as those of the customer, investor, partner, the public and the planet. In addition, the skills they’ve gain in team work, pitch deck preparation and presentation are invaluable for their future work.
How do you feel your work with students and graduates had an impact on the development of their creative practice, business or enterprise idea?
It is crucial for students and graduates to connect with existing entrepreneurs to learn about industry trends and the realities of running a business day to day. I was glad to share my successes and failures of building my agency, Oval Branding, since 2016. Some practical tips include being protective of your personal information online, setting up an effective CRM system to keep track of all the contacts you make, and learning to self-promote online and at networking events. More importantly, I wanted to encourage the students to believe in themselves and all the skills they’ve learned in their prestigious UAL education, to know that building a successful creative business is an achievable goal.
Have you personally benefitted from this experience, and if so, in what ways?
The mental health wellbeing panel for self-employed creatives was especially impactful for me because the content was everything I wish someone had told me when I started my business. It is an essential skill to learn how to take care of ourselves as founders, CEOs or self-employed creatives. In some ways, I felt like I was taking care of my younger self by taking care of the young creatives now.
The attendees were incredibly engaged in our conversation about redefining success, dealing with challenges and building a supportive community. I am so thankful for the support of my fellow panelists and the UAL team for an impactful event.
What was your overall experience like as an Entrepreneur in Residence at UAL?
Thank you for this wonderful experience. I had the privilege to meet many talented students and graduates and to hear their ambitions for the future. I’m so excited to see where this leads them!
If you’re interested in being an Entrepreneur in Residence, email us here.