Wendy Tan White

Wendy Tan White
Born Wendy Tan
1970 (age 45–46)
Salford, England
Residence West London
Nationality British
Education BEng, computer science, Imperial College London
Masters degree, textile design
Occupation CEO
Employer Moonfruit
Spouse(s) Joe White
Children 2

Wendy Tan White MBE (born 1970)[1] is a British technology entrepreneur and angel investor. She is the co-founder and CEO of the Moonfruit DIY website builder, a General Partner at Entrepreneur First, and a mentor at 500 Startups. Named one of the Fifty Most Inspiring Women in European Tech in 2015 and Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011, she is an advocate for women entering the IT field.

Early life and education

Wendy Tan was born in Salford, Lancashire, England.[1] Her father is a Burmese emigre and her mother a native of Sarawak, Malaysia.[2] The family moved several times to accommodate her father's work in IT, residing in Cumbernauld, Scotland, and in Reading,[1] where her mother also worked in IT.[3]

Tan earned her bachelor of engineering degree in computer science at Imperial College London in 1992.[4] In 2008 she earned a master's degree in Future Textile Design at Central Saint Martins.[4]

Career

Tan began her career as a tax analyst at Arthur Andersen from 1992 to 1994.[1][4] She then became a project manager at AIT Plc from 1994 to 1997. She next worked as head of CRM development for Egg Banking, the first Internet bank, from 1997 to 1999.[4]

In January 2000, she, Eirik Pettersen, and Joe White launched Moonfruit, a DIY website builder.[1][5] The company experienced rapid growth, with 400,000 users signing on in the first six months.[6] The business' lack of scalability, combined with the dot-com crash in 2000, caused it to fail. Tan and Pettersen trimmed the staff from 60 employees to just the two of them,[7] Moonfruit's co-founder and Tan's future husband Joe White chose to take one for the team and resigned to work at McKinsey & Co.[1] They also switched from an advertiser-supported service to a subscription-based service.[6] By 2004 the company achieved profitability.[1]

From 2004 to 2008[8] Tan White took a break from the company to start a family, and Joe White returned to the business to take her place as CEO.[6][9] During her time away from Moonfruit, Tan White earned her master's degree in textile design, launched the Zopa peer-to-peer lending website, and worked as marketing director at Gandi.[1][10]

In 2012 Moonfruit was acquired by Yell Group for £23 million.[9] Tan White stayed on as CEO while White is the chief operating officer and chief financial officer,[11] and Pettersen is the chief technology officer.[12]

Other activities

Tan White is an advocate for women entering the IT field. Moonfruit accommodates employees who are mothers with scheduling such as "a later start to accommodate the school run, or flexi-home working".[13]

She is a mentor for 500 Startups, for the Astia Women Entrepreneur's Programme, and for Entrepreneur First.[10][14]

Affiliations

In 2015 Tan White joined the board of TechCity UK.[15] She is also a member of the Imperial College London Industrial Liaison board.[15]

Honours and awards

In 2015 Tan White was named one of the Fifty Most Inspiring Women in European Tech by the Inspiring Fifty organization.[16] In July 2015 Tan White and Joe White were ranked 5th on Business Insider India's list of the "13 Coolest Power Couples in London".[11]

In 2013 Computer Weekly named Tan White a "Rising Star" as part of their "Most Influential Women in UK IT" campaign.[17]

In 2011 she was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the CWT Everywoman in Technology Awards.[18]

Tan White was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to technology businesses.[19]

Personal life

She married her co-partner, Joe White, in 2002.[2] They have one son and one daughter.[18] The family resides in West London.[18]

Selected articles

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Profile: The Website Pioneer". The Start Up Donut. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 White, Michael (24 August 2002). "Diary". The Spectator. Retrieved 29 September 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  3. ↑ "A Successful Husband-Wife Team: Moonfruit Cofounders Wendy Tan White and Joe White (Part 1)". sramanamitra.com. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Wendy Tan White". LinkedIn. 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Will the moon bear fruit?". The Guardian. 20 January 2000. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 "Moonfruit: Wendy Tan White". Startups. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Prevett, Hannah (1 June 2010). "Decisions: Wendy Tan White – Moonfruit.com". Management Today. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Mitra, Sramana (7 May 2013). "Love and Startups". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  9. 1 2 Tobin, Lucy (17 May 2012). "Windfall for founder as Yell buys Moonfruit". The Independent. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Wendy Tan White". Stylist. 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  11. 1 2 Cook, James (27 July 2015). "5. Moonfruit cofounders Wendy Tan White and Joe White". Business Insider. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "A Successful Husband-Wife Team: Moonfruit Cofounders Wendy Tan White and Joe White (Part 7)". sramanamitra.com. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  13. ↑ Schutte, Shane (16 June 2014). "Wendy Tan White: 'Technology has a bit of an image problem'". Real Business. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  14. ↑ Davidson, Lauren (20 September 2015). "Could this London accelerator be the biggest creator of start-ups in the world?". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  15. 1 2 O'Hear, Steve (22 September 2015). "Passion Capital's Eileen Burbidge Appointed Chair Of Tech City UK". TechCrunch. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  16. ↑ "Meet the Fifty Most Inspiring Women in European Tech". Inspiring Fifty. 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  17. ↑ Bateman, Kayleigh (11 July 2013). "Rising Star: Wendy Tan-White, co-founder of Moonfruit". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 "Wendy Tan White". The Good Web Guide. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  19. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 61608. p. B25. 11 June 2016.
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