How To Sell Overseas With Pinkoi

Peter Yen

Peter had worked in Silicon Valley for 7 years, and was the Senior Engineer Lead of the Social Search Group at Yahoo Global HQ for 4 years. There, he had led the R&D of many products and services, including the development of “Yahoo! Answers.” It was during his time in the States that he started frequenting craft fairs. He would visit small design boutiques in San Francisco, and listen to the designers’ stories of how they tried to get their designs to the world.
Peter is the CEO and a co-founder of Pinkoi. Having seen how entrepreneurs pursue their dreams and the importance attached to human resources in Silicon Valley, Peter founded Pinkoi with two fellow entrepreneurs. His mission is to put the spotlight on Asia’s independent design industry: to create a design ecosystem that promotes “lifestyles with good designs.” When Peter’s not cooking up ideas for Pinkoi, he’s cooking delicious meals for his family.

How To Sell Overseas With Pinkoi

Organised by the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Malaysia and produced by INXO Arts & Culture (L) Foundation, Tea Philo is a series of sharing sessions revolving around the discussion of philosophies and humanities. Luminaries from Taiwan are invited to share their experiences and engage with the Malaysian audience to encourage cultural exchange.

The latest Tea Philo E-talk titled “How To Sell Your Design Overseas WithPinkoi” features speaker Peter Yen, CEO and Co-founder of Pinkoi. The E-Talk was broadcast through Tea Philo’s Facebook page from 3pm-5pm on 14th August 2021 (Saturday) and was moderated by Luk Chee Chew, Co-founder of Main-main.

Pinkoi is Asia’s leading online marketplace and platform for original design goods. It features talented international creators and helps them sell their brands and designs to fans and consumers all over the world. With the slogan “Design the way you are”, Pinkoi describes their hope for everyone, designers and consumers alike, to discover and express their true selves through great designs.

Prior to the founding of Pinkoi, Peter Yen had worked in Silicon Valley for 7 years, and was the Senior Engineer Lead of the Social Search Group at Yahoo Global HQ for 4 years, leading the R&D of many projects, including the development of “Yahoo! Answers.” During his time in the US, Yen frequented arts and crafts markets and design boutiques and listened to many designers’ stories of trying to get their designs into the world. Yen founded Pinkoi with two fellow entrepreneurs with the mission of bringing Asian independent design talents to the spotlight and to create a design ecosystem that promotes lifestyles with good designs.

Yen describes the journey of internationalising a design brand as mountain climbing. Once someone reaches the peak, it proves to the other challengers that it is not mission impossible, and inspires more to follow suit. “We at Pinkoi provide support and guidance for designers and creators, from helping them sell their very first product, to brand building, to internationalising their brands,” Yen said.

Since Pinkoi’s inception in 2011, it has operated in Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Canada and other international markets, showcasing exquisite designs by Asian talents to the world. Yen also mentioned that Pinkoi is not only an online marketplace but also a platform that encourages exchanges of ideas and experiences among artists, designers, and brand managers with regularly organised conferences, forums, exhibitions, brand managing workshops, cross-boundary projects, and other events.

Yen stated that brands online nowadays only have less than 3 seconds to catch the attention of consumers. From product image selection, product name, to search keywords, brand managers have to pay attention to all details so that their great designs leave a strong and attractive first impression.

Yen also illustrated the importance of data analysis in international marketing of designer brands. He showed examples of how Pinkoi collects data to help designers understand the demands of consumers from different regions. “If you can only make blind guesses about what people like, your income will also become a mystery. Our data helps designers distribute their capital, time, and energy more wisely, so that they can worry less about sales and concentrate more on designing,” Yen added.

Luk Chee Chew (Co-founder of Main-main)

14th August 2021 (SAT)

3pm-5pm