Embracing the Failures, with Dao Jensen

Dao Jensen is the Founder of Kaizen Technology — the first 100% female minority-owned Cloud Focused SI/VAR in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her career in tech spans more than twenty years helping Fortune 500 Enterprise clients optimize, strategize, and procure cloud technologies. In this episode of the Intentional Greatness® podcast, Dao shares her incredible journey of building her company from $0 to $10 million in less than five years.

Before launching Kaizen, Dao ran sales nationally and internationally at large corporations such as Symantec, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems. She was raised in Minnesota by entrepreneurial parents who immigrated to the United States from Vietnam. Dao is a community activist and mother of four. She enjoys reading, traveling, cooking food, and sharing meals with friends and family. She loves helping others achieve their dreams, promoting living every day as if it was our last, and fostering an environment where everyone can become an entrepreneur. Since the company's inception, Kaizen has taken one female applicant a year and trained them in the Cloud IT industry to find a career in the cloud ecosystem.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How Dao helped low-income families gain internet access during the pandemic
• Why your failures are the best lessons you have
• How asking questions can help you have a career in tech
• The importance of finding the right partners
• Why Dao knew she was destined to "do her own thing"

Resources:

• Text Dao at 415-515-1909
• Website: https://www.kaizentp.com/
• LinkedIn:
  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/daojensen/
  • https://www.linkedin.com/company/kaizen-technology-partners/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaizenTechPartners/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DaoKaizentech

Rapid Growth

Dao Jensen is the Founder of Kaizen Technology — the first 100% female minority-owned Born in the Cloud Focused SI/VAR in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her career in tech spans more than twenty years helping Fortune 500 Enterprise clients optimize, strategize, and procure cloud technologies. In this episode of the Intentional Greatness® podcast, Dao shares her incredible journey of building her company from $0 to $10 million in less than five years.

Embracing Differences

Dao immigrated from Vietnam at four years old. While growing up as a minority in Minnesota, Dao knew that she looked different than other kids. During our conversation, she explains that she felt "like a banana," she may have been Asian on the outside, but she felt really white. Dao explains how she steered away from the beliefs of her family, and eventually learned to embrace being different when starting her own company.

Asking Questions

Many people believe that they cannot have a career in the technology industry because they don't know much about tech. Dao shares how she landed in the tech world by "accident" and how she was able to build success. She explains that asking questions is a key part of success — sharing that understanding why is the most important part. In this episode, Dao discusses the importance of learning lessons from failures and finding the right partners and connections in business.