Rising Star Peony Li

Star Ri ing

Peony Li

Meet Peony Li, self-professed rebel and founder of Jude, who is on a mission to spark conversations about taboo subjects, while supporting thousands of women across the globe

oving to the UK alone from Hong Kong when she was just 15 years old, Peony Li, founder of Jude, could barely speak three consecutive sentences in English. After having a hard time creating her new life, Peony developed a deep sense of empathy, which sparked her passion to help others. She has since led a number of successful initiatives serving underrepresented communities but has now focused her efforts raising awareness of bladder care – an issue affecting one in three women.

Hi Peony! Please start us off by telling us a little about yourself and your journey?

My first career was in the financial sector, and I quickly realised it wasn’t something I enjoyed. I wanted to start a mission-driven business, so I went to the Founder’s Factory to learn different types of business models. During my time, I invested in over 60 different companies and fell in love with consumer healthcare, because it’s a sector that directly impacts peoples lives.

From there, I joined DAYE as Head of Operations, where I helped the company scale and launch their pain-soothing tampon. Women would contact us to share how we’d changed their lives, which really inspired me and cemented my love for the healthcare industry.

We then entered the pandemic, where I distributed over 6 million pieces of protective equipment to frontline workers in care homes, charities and distribution hubs. Through doing so, I met a lot of women in their 50s who began to share their healthcare problems with me. Bladder care was a recurring theme, not just for people in care homes, but for staff, too. I later found out that 2.3 billion people suffer from overactive bladders worldwide.

So that’s when I started Jude, aiming to tackle and smash body taboos, while equipping people to understand the more awkward body parts and allowing them to live their fullest life while being super confident.

We want to know more about Jude – what’s your journey been like so far?

It’s been amazing. We launched earlier this year in January, and we’ve already served over 5,000 customers. Our mission is to turn bladder weakness into bladder care and incontinence into a conversation, by representing a community of women who are often overlooked.

Why is it important to encourage more women to discuss these taboo topics?

I read an article the other day, explaining that issues such as menopause get too much media coverage, which is consequently terrifying young women about an issue that won’t affect them for years. But I believe that if there is an issue that impacts people, it needs to be spoken about. If we don’t speak about taboo subjects, how do we find solutions? How do we equip ourselves

mentally and physically? Because we saw topics such as periods, menopause and bladder health as taboo subjects, we’re now seeing the consequences, decades on.

You’ve obviously achieved a number of milestones throughout your career. What particularly stands out to you?

Jude is definitely a great achievement because it’s helped me develop my mission in life, which is helping underserved communities. I’ve found myself doing this unintentionally throughout my career, as I love being a rebel and speaking about taboo topics that others are either too afraid to or don’t necessarily agree with. Jude has therefore been a way for me to consolidate my skill sets, while being able to demonstrate why this industry is important to me.

On the flip side of that, what would you say has been your biggest challenge?

Doing something that others don’t agree with requires a lot of courage, so I guess it’s been a challenge trying to know which feedback to take on-board and which to ignore. For example, when I was fundraising

for Jude, some investors told me that the target market didn’t have enough spending power, that it “wasn’t the time” to prioritise bladder care, or that it wasn’t a “sexy enough” issue. I had to evaluate which feedback I wanted to listen to, and I came to my own conclusion that I didn’t care whether it was a sexy issue – I cared that it needed bringing up. After that, I continued to be a rebel and ensured that I wouldn’t get beaten down by feedback.

So what advice would you give to other women who are facing these challenges but are too afraid to talk about it or don’t know how to start the conversation?

Join a community. The power of people coming together in a non-judgmental community is so important. So find one that makes you feel heard and supported. That was actually one of the first things we did at Jude; now we have around 700 women who have shared their stories and tips on how to cope with bladder leaks.

So what does the future look like, for both you and Jude?

Jude is on a mission to bring science and conversations into body taboos we don't talk about. From leaks, urge to go, UTI to prostate, Jude is creating a "below the waist, above the knees" health category.

I want to keep the conversation going and find other taboo health areas to talk about. We want to crack the code, to encourage more women to talk about these topics to make positive change, while still having fun. So everything from low libidos to sleep issues – we want to tackle the stigma around health issues to bring a new perspective to the table.

BEHIND THE SCENES Emma Herman WITH LUXURY REALTOR, IMAGE CREDITS © DJ ZEDD HOUSE: THE OPPENHEIM GROUP EMMA: JASON KENT

Emma Herman

Infinity pools, cinema rooms and chefs’ kitchens are just the start of luxury on reality TV show Selling Sunset. To help us understand what life’s really like as a Los Angeles realtor, we spoke to Emma Hernan, who gave us an exclusive insight behind the champagne and empanadas

he Hollywood Hills are home to the rich, the famous, and some of the most expensive houses on the planet – and Selling Sunset’s Emma Hernan has the pleasure of selling them through The Oppenheim Group. As a business woman and real estate agent, Emma has built an impressive portfolio of milliondollar homes that ooze luxury and overlook spectacular views of LA. Speaking to Emma, we discussed what it’s really like to be a realtor, while enjoying a sneak peak of the home of one of her most recent clients, DJ Zedd.

Hi Emma! Please tell me about yourself and your career so far?

My entire life I have been interested in business and investments, always knowing that I wanted to use my head to create a great future for myself and my family. When I purchased my first property in Los Angeles, I worked with Jason Oppenheim, co-founder of The Oppenheim Group, who encouraged me to get my real estate licence. So, I did, and I have been with The Oppenheim Group ever since! As I started investing in start-ups and the stock market from a young age, real estate was the perfect field to get involved with next.

To feed my passion for business, I also own my own plant-based frozen food company, Emma Leigh and Co., based in Boston. The food industry has always been in my blood as I grew up in it, so I took my passion to cook and create and started my company, which is 100% women-owned and run by my family. Family means everything to me.

I love being an entrepreneur, and I am always looking for new business opportunities and ways to expand my portfolio to grow as a female executive.

What do you love about working in real estate?

I am so lucky to work in luxury real estate in Los Angeles, especially as it’s home to some of the most amazing properties in the world. I love being able to help find people a place to call a home, or help someone find an investment property and run numbers to show them what that investment will mean in their portfolio in five, 10 or even 15 years. Helping others has always been a passion of mine, so being in the space of real estate allows me to make a difference to my clients, while I thoroughly enjoy the process!

What is the most challenging aspect of working in real estate?

Selling high-end real estate is of course very challenging. There is a lot of competition, as any realtor would love to be able to sell million-dollar homes, and of course, once you have the listing, you have the challenge of finding the right buyer, too. Managing client expectations while also being realistic and honest about the market is a hard balance, which is why it’s so important to really know and understand the market.

DID YOU KNOW?

Single women are twice as likely to buy a home than single men ◆

In fact, single women are the second largest demographic of homebuyers ◆

65% of all realtors are women, but women are less represented in leadership

There is less pay inequality in residential real estate, compared to commercial real estate

For instance, if your client is selling a property and wants to list it for higher than market value, explaining the various risks can be tricky, so you have to have strong communication skills to make sure you’re on the same page.

Other than viewing some of the world’s most luxurious homes, what are the most rewarding aspects of being a realtor?

I have great clients, and I work very closely with both my buyers and sellers to make their real-estate dreams come true. The most rewarding aspects are either selling a home for a client really fast and above listing price, or finding a buyer for the home that has everything they ever wanted. I put a lot of time into my deals and I am very hands-on by forming personal relationships, because I truly care about finding them everything they’ve ever dreamed of and more. So when we close the deal and I see the smiles on their faces, it truly warms my heart.

Selling Sunset portrays real estate as filled with glitz and glamour, but what hard work goes on behind the scenes?

Behind the scenes, there is a lot of not-soglamorous work, but I love everything that goes into selling real estate. On Selling Sunset, you often see me in full glam once the home is ready to sell, but I am super involved in the entire process, from landing a listing and pricing it, to staging the home and having open houses.

That part of the process is very demanding, and, as I am a perfectionist, I want to make sure everything is just so. Recently, I listed DJ Zedd’s house in Los Angeles for US$23mn – in order to sell a home at such a price point,

everything has to be spotless and the staging has to speak to buyers, so I spend a lot of time on the property making sure it is ready to sell.

Most viewers may not know that I am present at all showings in person, and very often, my colleagues from The Oppenheim Group will stop by – we see each other a lot when the cameras are not rolling.

Putting all the drama aside, it’s clear to see that there are some great friendships at the brokerage. Is there ever a sense of competition?

In general, I try to focus on my own work and abilities. I know I have a great eye for real estate and I trust my own judgement, so I really try not to feel pressure or allow myself to feel stressed. Having confidence is necessary in a competitive industry, but it's also super important to be a kind, good person.

At The Oppenheim Group, we are supportive of each other and excited for each other’s listings, so it is a great environment to work in. I have the same motto in real estate as I do in life: everything happens for a reason and how we navigate through those things will affect the overall outcome.

And finally, could you share the secret to your success?

Now you've sold us on real estate, what advice would you pass on to girls and women starting their career in the industry?

For women looking to get into the industry, I would recommend going to a lot of open houses. Look at properties, listen to the agents and learn about the market – really just soak in information. It takes a lot more than getting a real-estate licence to become a successful agent. It’s a great career – you get to be your own boss and create your own fortune, but you also have to be a really focused hard worker. Working really hard! My life is definitely not all champagne and empanadas – it is a lot of really hard work. My factory in Boston has more than 40 employees so I have a great responsibility to them. I am hands-on and I develop all my food recipes myself. I split my time between Boston and Los Angeles, and I am always working. From the outside, it may seem very fun and glamorous, but I put in a lot of hours. I have put together a team of great people who support my mission, and together, we work hard on creating success – teamwork makes the dream work.

How Kaltura and Vodafone joined forces and brought TV to the Cloud

The future of television is called 'Cloud TV'. Think about Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Apple TV+. It's the way most consume our content now – no matter what device.

This is how Nuno Sanches, General Manager of Media and Telecom at Kaltura, begins to 'unbox' his vision of TV content delivery from now on.

Two years of Covid constraints and living at home have played their part in the explosive demand for streaming services. But according to Sanches, this seismic change in how we consume video was inevitable. It just needed the industry to break free from the chains of linear programming.

Kaltura's long-standing and ever-deepening relationship with the telecoms giant Vodafone was instrumental in forcing the video industry to embrace the change.

'Vodafone had a revolutionary vision of becoming a global and multi-device Cloud TV provider,' says Sanches. 'It was an advanced product concept, especially since Vodafone came from a fragmented TV user experience and a costly and unwieldy environment to manage, built through a collection of legacy infrastructures and technology solutions.'

Kaltura re-invented Vodafone's TV service. Subscribers now use a far more streamlined video platform to watch any content on any device anywhere. As for Vodafone, it no longer needs to run its own data centers and be wrapped up in a complex array of platforms to distribute content. Kaltura's solution takes the hard work out for them.

Kaltura's robust Cloud TV platform – fine-tuned with astonishing success at Vodafone – is now used by millions of users worldwide and available to any video content provider, whether telecom, media company, or publisher.

'Our customers no longer need to worry about infrastructure or scalability servers or networks. We take on that responsibility,' says Sanches. 'They can experiment with all the content aggregation, delivery, and analytical capabilities we provide – without any "heavy lifting."