Originally from a small town in China, Kiera Lin has combined her accounting and management expertise to keep everything running smoothly at TG0. Here she talks about discovering a love of hiking and powerlifting in the UK, and why she still doesn't think she's good at maths.
**Hi Kiera! Where are you from?**
I come from a small town in China. My parents ran a restaurant together, so it was my grandparents who mostly brought up my little brother and I. He's two years younger than me and is currently studying in Japan.
**What did you want to be when you were growing up?**
I don't think I had any idea really, but I knew I was not good at maths and science. I'm not sporty but I was good at Chinese and I've always loved reading. My favourite book, if I had to pick one, is probably Haruki Murakami's *Kafka on the Shore*. We also learned English at school from a young age — we started out with simple songs such as 'London Bridge is Falling Down'.
**You studied accounting and finance — did you decide you liked maths after all?**
I still don't think I'm good at maths, but as I got older I found I was ok at playing with numbers. I decided on accounting because every business needs an accountant. I didn't feel there was much in the way of practical application until the final year when we were able to do a short internship with a local company. I did mine with an accounting agency, which made me realise I definitely didn't want to do this as a career.
**When did you come to the UK?**
After my internship, I started looking into a Master's degree. In China, it's a lengthy process and I had missed the deadline. I started looking into studying abroad — there were quite a few people from my small town who had already done it, and I had family in the UK and Australia. In the end, I went with the UK because of the cultural history and the opportunity to travel around Europe. I've also taken up hiking since moving here.
**Tell us more about your Master's degree?**
I chose to study for an MSc in international management at the University of London. We learned about HR, marketing, cost management, and accounting and finance. My final dissertation was about the retail evolution in China — there was a lot going on at the time around online commerce, with brands selling and distributing beyond their own websites.
**How did you hear about TG0?**
After finishing my Master's, I set up a consultancy called FinTech Bond with a friend from my course — the idea was to help UK-based fintechs explore opportunities in China, but it never really got off the ground. What it did do was encourage me to attend lots of networking events in London, and it was there that I met Ming Kong. I didn't really know anything about TG0 and couldn't work out what it did from the website, but I liked Ming and was inspired by the way he talked about the technology. The team was really small — maybe only 10 people — but they needed an office manager. When Ming offered me a part-time position, I was happy to say yes.
**How has your role evolved over the past eight years?**
It's changed a lot. Initially, I was doing a lot of the admin work, basic bookkeeping, and ordering anything non-technical the team needed. The role quickly became full time, and then I was promoted to general manager. More recently, I've become head of operations as the job has expanded. I still oversee tax filing, annual accounts preparation, financial projections, and cost management for all our projects. I also handle much of the HR workflow and am part of the management team at a more strategic level.
**What do you enjoy most about working at TG0?**
We have a really good team culture, and we all help each other to overcome any challenges we meet. Both of the directors give us a lot of flexibility and trust us to do our jobs, which gives you space to explore what you want to do. This environment really encourages people to reach their potential.
**Tell us one thing your colleagues wouldn't know about you?**
Some of them may know this but I'm really into powerlifting. I train four times a week and am aiming to attend a competitive meet this year. My current personal best is 120kg deadlift and 135kg bench press, but I'm always pushing to lift more.
