Computerlogy’s Mimee: Aung San Suu Kyi and Sheryl Sandberg are my idols

If you follow Thailand’s startup scene, you have likely heard of Mimee. Besides running Thumbsup, a Thai tech blog, she has also been one of our guest writers at Tech in Asia. But writing is not the only thing she does. Involved in the tech industry for years, she also has her own startup, Computerlogy, which just received funding from InVent for $1.2 million.

Running a well-known blog and managing a startup well enough to get funded doesn’t sound like an easy job. Tech in Asia talked to Mimee about how she does it.

Who is Mimee?

Her full name is Oranuch Lerdsuwankij but most people know her as Mimee. That’s a nickname from her Chinese name Lin Mimee. She’s a co-founder of Thumbsup and wears another hat as marketing and business development director of Computerlogy, which develops social media management platform SocialEnable.

Mimee’s educational background is in telecom engineering and IT Management. She later turned to business development. Previously, she worked in the telco industry for more than a decade.

What exactly are her roles at Thumbsup and Computerlogy?

Mimee explained that her role in both enterprises are quite similar. She focuses on business development and searching for new business opportunities, especially with Computerlogy. The startup is expanding to regional scale, so her main task is to expand business abroad.

This well-rounded lady said she has her technology background to thank:

With certain technical background, it has been assisting me to think logically and supporting me to learn and capture new technology quicker as well.

Alright, so background and passion in technology is always a plus in starting a tech startup. But how did she get this far?

How and why did you get started in this industry? What made you decide to be an entrepreneur?

Mimee: Basically I have always had a keen interest in technology and always think of doing a business related to this. It is great fun to utilize business skill-sets combined with IT knowledge.

The decision making point in turning myself into an entrepreneur might have occurred when I was working in a big organization. Then I looked forward 10 years ahead and I realized I could do it. With my degree, when considering my career path, I don’t want to climb a company ladder. I wanted to challenge myself to do something more. I want to have things that are created and done by my own hands. Things that I really love and have fun with.

Prior to leaving the corporate life, at the beginning I had some concerns, but on the day of making the decision to step out for adventuring this way, I told myself to look forward only and wade into this challenging arena with confidence!

Did you face any challenges in particular?

See more interviews in our Female Entrepreneurship series: