Who are you?
My name is Shurong Li. I’m from a small city, Kaiyuan (Yunnan), located in the southwest of China. After I graduated from university, I worked as a software engineer for over a year. I came to the realisation that the business sector interests me more than the technical side, so I came to France to study for a Master’s Degree in Management. Since I was a kid, I’ve always liked recommending and sharing fabulous stuff with my friends. I often ended up giving away all of my favorite candy to my friends back then because I also wanted them to experience the joy! And that is exactly what marketing does in business, and I take great pleasure in doing it. So here I am, I became a marketer sharing the joy of excellent and innovative products to those that need them.
How did you land at Tokeny Solutions?
I was looking for a six-month end-of-studies internship in 2018. As I have an engineering background, I was keen on looking for an opportunity to work in a company that involves new technology – blockchain was something that caught my eye. I came across Tokeny Solutions, a small team of eight people back at the time. I reached out to Luc, our CEO, on LinkedIn for the opportunity. Following a few interviews, luckily I got hired as an Intern!
There was one thing that held me back: I would need to work remotely from day one. Today, it sounds normal but a few years ago it was against the norm and I had never worked remotely before. I was worried if I would be able to do so. My family and friends were even telling me to be careful. “It wouldn’t be a fraud, would it?” one of my friends said.
I decided to ask an employee about how it feels working remotely, so I called Mathieu, our Business Developer. He immediately made me feel more comfortable with it. Not because he told me how good it is working remotely, but because he is the kind of colleague you would want to work with. Then I joined the team, and my intuition was right, not just Mathieu, everyone in the team is friendly and motivated. After my internship, I gladly received a long-term employment contract offer. And now it’s been almost three years since I started working at Tokeny. The only change is we grow much bigger, we have over 30 coworkers in the team, four times bigger than I joined, a truly international team with 13 nationalities.
How would you describe working at Tokeny Solutions?
Challenging, exciting and fun. The thing I like the most about working at Tokeny is that you can be creative and bold to try new ideas and constantly learn new skills and knowledge, with a group of talented and smart people. When an issue arises, everyone works together effectively to solve it. As a result, you don’t feel alone as you know the team has got your back. Remote work requires more efficient communication digitally, so for those who work remotely we regularly organize virtual meetings to keep track of what is going on in the team. In addition to this, there are virtual coffee breaks where we can casually catch up with colleagues, which allows us to get to know each other.
What are you most passionate about in life?
I’m passionate about photography and art. My grandpa was a photographer and a filmmaker and he took me to work when I was a child. He taught me how to take good photos and videos. After a few training sessions with him, I was able to take some good pictures and videos, and since then I fell in love with photography. I find it tremendously exciting to be able to capture a beautiful and meaningful moment. I also love art and creative design, as your imagination can be visualised through paper or digital devices. Yet, I like the process of learning how to bring your imagination to life. For me, it’s a way to understand myself a bit more, and I enjoy the sense of accomplishment when I finish it.
What is your ultimate dream?
Have a great career, a happy family and to travel the world.
What would you change in the world if you could?
I’ve learned from The World Counts that around 9 million people die every year from hunger and hunger-related diseases. If I could, I would provide sufficient food to those who are suffering from hunger and save them from dying.
