Wenhao Dong is the co-founder of Smilie, a company redefining corporate gifting to be more fun, sustainable, and measurable.

Backed by VCs like Antler and founders of companies like Union Gas, PickUpp, and Circles.Life, Smilie is the first in the region to offer curated gift sets powered by its proprietary Gifting Automation Platform, designed to save time, drive revenue, and guarantee savings. 

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👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

We reinvent outdated corporate swag and boring hampers into stylish, engaging, and curated gift sets, leveraging technology to elevate physical gifts into personalized digital experiences—something previously limited to gift cards.

Our tech solution streamlines the process for sales, marketing, and HR teams with full automation, effortless traceability, and zero hassle—all with a simple click. Transforming corporate gifting from a cost center into a strategic asset, delivering measurable metrics to drive KPIs.‍

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🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I got expelled twice from school. 

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🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

The first 12 months of building Smilie were incredibly challenging—sales were near zero, and rejection from clients was constant.

Many were either reluctant to try something new or failed to grasp the potential of our solution. Ironically, they continued to believe that spending $10,000 on water bottles and tote bags at trade shows still generates meaningful ROI in today’s world.

Through the perseverance of our team, we’ve overcome these hurdles and now serve leading companies such as Merck, Carta, Aspire, Employment Hero, and many others. In an industry that was once deemed untouchable, we’ve proven that transformation is not only possible but achievable with compounded effort over time.

Of all the ventures I’ve built to date, the feeling of seeing transformation in a billion-dollar, traditional industry is definitely the highlight. 

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🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?‍

‍Direct-to-consumer brands will continue to grow in the coming years as technology dismantles traditional distribution barriers across regions. Meanwhile, legacy brands will struggle to understand new consumer behaviours, constrained by outdated mindsets.

Brands that thrived in the 2000s are all at risk of being disrupted by emerging players who excel at product positioning and delivering resonant messaging. 

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💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry? 

Understand your niche, sometimes the more boring the better. Most of the time, we're not the smartest nor the hardest working folk. But in a boring and niche enough industry, you might just be lucky enough to have little to zero competition. 

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‍🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours? 

Companies and their business models. 

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🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show? 

3 Idiots.

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🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?‍

Pistachio. Dopa Dopa is pretty good. 

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FYI. We've edited this interview for clarity.