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ABOUT YI LIN PEI
My mission is to help you achieve your dream career goals with confidence and courage.
My Career Story
Hello! My name is Yi Lin Pei. On the surface, it may seem like I have it all figured out - I am the founder of a successful coaching business, a 3x Product Marketing Leader, and a mother to a fun-loving child. In short, I seem to be living the dream.
But I didn’t start there. As an immigrant Asian woman who grew up in Zambia, the odds were against me from the beginning. I came to the U.S. alone when I was 16 to get an education at the University of Florida. I didn’t know anyone. My mother, who raised me all on her own, gave me her entire savings so I could pay for my tuition.
So it was no-brainer when I chose to focus all my attention on getting the highest grades possible and securing a safe and respectable job out of college. I did exactly that and got an offer to work as a transportation engineer at a great consulting company (two college degrees later).
For a long time, I thought that was my path for life. But even after having climbed the proverbial career ladder, I felt something was missing, and I was not happy in my role.
A lightbulb moment went off in my head when I learned about marketing for technology companies. It was exactly what I had wanted to do and what I know was missing. So when I decided to quit my safe job and pivot into this new role that I barely knew (and had zero experience in), people thought I was crazy.
Doing a 180-degree career pivot was no cakewalk. I was met with countless failures and rejections. Every time I was told I didn’t have the relevant experience or lacked certain skills.
While I was initially devastated, I picked myself back up, changed my strategy, and developed a unique method that focused on my strengths while honoring my authenticity - and soon I landed my first role in tech marketing at Autodesk.
Today, several promotions and roles later, I'm now a coach. I can truly say I feel a deep alignment between my work and my purpose.
What my personal experience taught me is that no matter where you are in your career, and no matter your background, it’s possible to achieve your dreams and rise up.
Since 2021, I have helped more than 150 clients find, land, and thrive in their dream product marketing careers. My clients work in a wide variety of industries like B2B, B2C SaaS and hardware, Edtech, Fintech, E-commerce, and more.
I'm ready to help you on your journey.
Why I am Uniquely Qualified to Help You
1. I deliver real results based on proven strategies.
Having coached and interviewed hundreds of candidates from APMMs to VPs of product marketing, I know what it takes to land the exact job you are pursuing. As a result, you can achieve your career goals in the shortest time possible - with the most tailored support - based on a proven, repeatable, and structured process that has been tried and tested many times over.
2. I coach you on both hard and soft skills.
Most coaches focus on either one or the other. I focus on the whole person since I believe it’s the most effective way to achieve long-lasting results for years to come. In every coaching program, I provide you with the hard skills you need to build your domain expertise and the soft skills you need to navigate your career, from effective communication to overcoming self-limiting beliefs.
3. I have the experience and credentials.
As a career pivoter myself who went from newbie PMM to director in 3 years, I walk the walk and combine theory with practice in my coaching. I understand what it’s like to be an outsider, a minority, an immigrant, or a female in a world where you may feel like you don't belong. I will work relentlessly to cheer you on and become your biggest advocate. I am guided by my purpose to create better representation in tech and help everyone succeed.
CREDENTIALS & EXPERIENCE
Experience
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Founder and Coach of Courageous Careers (formerly known as Tech Growth Coach)
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Director of Product Marketing at Teachable (Edtech Startup, acquired)
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Director of Product Marketing at Brightflag (Series A Legaltech Startup)
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Sr Product Marketing Manager at View (NASDAQ: VIEW)
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Content Marketing Manager at Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK)
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Brand Management Associate at Nestlé (Global 500)
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Former startup founder of InnoWaste Social Impact startup
Awards & Interests
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Top 100 Product Marketing Influencers in the World – 2024, 2023
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Top 5 PMM Career Coaches - 2024
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Top Product Marketing Voice on LinkedIn – 2024
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Best Companies to Work for in Product Marketing – 2022
Education
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M.B.A., U.C. Berkeley - Haas School of Business
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M.S. in Civil Engineering and City Planning, Georgia Tech
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B.S. in Civil Engineering, University of Florida (Summa Cum Laude)
My Values
insight
knowledge
warmth
authenticity
directness
