Bea Wang With Rizing

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio brought to you by onpay Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:24] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor on pay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories today on the Atlanta Business Radio. We have Bea Wang and she’s a Georgia Tech student, and she was part of a competition for the Urban Land Institute’s Hines Competition. And she’s here to talk about being a finalist in that. Welcome. Bea.

Bea Wang: [00:00:51] Thank you, Lee.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:53] Now, first off, please share a little bit about the competition. What what is the competition about? It’s a national competition. And, you know, Georgia Tech has made it to the finals. So that’s fantastic. So please just let us know about the competition and what drew you to it.

Bea Wang: [00:01:12] Sure sounds good. So I think it’s still defines national competition, but this year they have other countries team enter the competition as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:21] So it’s a global competition.

Bea Wang: [00:01:23] Well, I think they should consider nationally, most of the teams do come from us, but I know there’s Asian team, their Canada team this year.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:32] So now what is the kind of the the purpose of the competition? What do you what are you trying to accomplish?

Bea Wang: [00:01:38] So the most thing I learned from this competition is we are really as a student, we don’t really have a chance to do a real close to real life close, real world, real real estate development project. So less, less competition is give us the opportunity to work on our closer real life, large real estate development.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:01] And then so what? So when you say that this was I guess you were targeting the Oakland area.

Bea Wang: [00:02:07] Yes. This year, yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:08] So Oakland in California. And then so there was, I believe, the downtown area you were supposed to to work on some design or to what was kind of the mission.

Bea Wang: [00:02:22] Yeah. So it’s not really only it’s Oakland downtown, not really downtown downtown, but more like CBD. They try to extend their downtown to connect to more areas. So it’s not really only about the design. We are in charge of finance, pre-development, also design. So planning, architecture, urban design, finance.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:45] So it’s like a kind of a holistic way to deal with the downtown, to expand the kind of the reach and the services associated with it, to make sure that.

Bea Wang: [00:02:56] Everybody yeah, we need to kind of consider everything the general population, the economic, the environment, everything. Basically, it’s like that’s what I’m saying. It’s more closer to real development, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:03:09] So then this wasn’t just kind of a bunch of techie people. You needed some people that had a variety of expertize in different disciplines then. Right as part of the team.

Bea Wang: [00:03:19] Yeah, yeah. That’s how our team kind of like generally. So we have city planning, we have urban design, we have our MBA. I don’t really have a real estate background, but I had a manager in city planning. I focus on transportation, environmental, so.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:41] So that’s what you brought to the table. So what was it like kind of dealing with all those disparate backgrounds and expertize?

Bea Wang: [00:03:51] So to me, I’m the only one in the team have working experience and I’m super on technical data analysis. So it’s kind of different to work with students, especially full time students. At the beginning, we definitely have a lot of issues like scheduling or the way we’re handling things, but we figured out like we need to set a boundary and understanding each other’s personality capabilities to keep the project moving.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:23] So was that fun for you? Was it challenging? Do you think it’s going to help you in your career to go through this kind of a process?

Bea Wang: [00:04:30] Yeah, definitely. So my career after MBA, I’m thinking move out from technical part, move to like project manager, program manager PA. So I’m going to deal with more non-technical technical person. So that’s going to be help me to like to understand how to work in a group without much technical background. Also, like probably I’m going to work with the fresh credit, which like I said as other team members in the team, I know how to deal with them as well. And also last one is set up a boundary. I know it’s hard at the beginning because we don’t really know each other, but it’s going to help to for the team to work faster or work together well.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:19] Now, your background is in GIS and I believe that stands for Geographic Information System. Yes.

Bea Wang: [00:05:27] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:27] Now, that’s super technical, right? That’s not not not ever. And people have heard of GPS. I don’t know if everybody’s heard of guys. Can you explain the difference?

Bea Wang: [00:05:40] Gps is a position system. So it’s basic position. The objects, as is more like using the data, using the GPS data to do analysis on top. And the the most easiest example is the census data or voting the census data presenting a map. Or like when you see a city planning, transportation planning, there’s always a map. That’s what the GPS is going to do.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:09] And then how did that kind of expertize you had in this help your team come up with your what you presented?

Bea Wang: [00:06:16] Yeah. So there is a two. If you’re not a genius, you probably don’t know. It’s called as regards ArcGIS as part of a gas. I are using this tool from like ten years ago. They are actually partnered with this competition. They provide all kinds of data at the beginning. So market analysis, they even provide 3D model for the current street street as well. So lots of part I would I saw how much the Arctic is growing is amazing. Like they provide 3D and they also have put different demographic from different distance. It’s so much rich data they could provide from that part.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:00] So now when you got to work on this project, what was kind of the conclusion and what was like? How did you come up with the solution that got you into the to be a finalist?

Bea Wang: [00:07:14] So one is definitely we as a team, we worked at the Connect Together as a finance analysis. I’m always one saying no to the design saying we don’t have the budget that’s not really fit in the demographic. I’m not always one saying like we’re definitely a lot of communication, a lot of agreement. Our argument as well to to make the plan happening. I think that’s one of the reasons why we’ve become the finalist, because we talk a lot in the in the team. The second one, we have a solid idea support from us from beginning to then. We believe that’s the idea we want to follow. It is the link up. It’s like really link the community together. That’s where we try to present. I think from from what we heard, what we saw from other teams where the team appealed based on the current situation and most real realistic team. But we also have idealists for ownerships and community service.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:23] Now, when you’re doing this kind of city planning and trying to look at things holistically and you are very data focused, how do you kind of there’s a lot of gray area and ambiguity because you’re dealing with situations that are very sensitive, like there’s a lot of social inequities or racial injustice, and those things are personal. And data kind of sometimes doesn’t tell the whole picture. So how do you kind of marry the data with, you know, taking care of human beings?

Bea Wang: [00:08:57] So from the data, I could tell the current situation, but we also have a brief from the competition saying where they want to go, what kind of problem they try to solve. So I kind of linked this to the data. The current data weighs their vision of what their plans are and link and then link with what our vision, what our plan is going to be. So for the easiest example is we purchase outside the study parcels, we purchase opportunity zone because we from the data, we figure there is a demographic change from West Auckland to Auckland. There is a physical boundary there where our teams really wish to solve that problem and link this community together. Because whilst Auckland has in general has lower incomes and their work, they are more like a blue collar work workers there. So we try to link this community to grow together. I think that’s how I say the data involved in this project.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:08] Now, is this something that the information you’re learning here, is it transferable to other kind of cities?

Bea Wang: [00:10:15] Yes, I think so. That’s why as we bring their market analysis to and business analysis as well is the two is available, I think most of the government and nonprofit as well. That’s what my saying is that they have reached data. It is how you combine the data to show the result to help the project.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:39] So now having gone through this, you said you’re the the only person on the team that has kind of a lot of work experience. Is this something that’s going to maybe catapult you in a different direction? Are you are you thinking about a different career or are you going to still stay on the path you are right now?

Bea Wang: [00:10:59] So as I said, I have urban planning underground. So really it’s something I’m interesting with. That’s kind of what the reason I evolve in this competition because what is my full time job and evening Mbaye doing this competition? Really, I don’t really have that much time to spend something like for fun, but I do because one is I want to explore the finance part, which that’s why I was doing. The Performa in the team is a finance analysis and the second one after this competition, I know I’m I’m able to do the performa which which basically open another area for my. I post them via Korea so I know I could definitely apply something like. But program managing the real estate industry. Before that, I don’t really have a solid reason to apply that position, but after this, I know I understand the performance side and also the whole development process.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:07] So is that something you would think you’re going to work with more real estate kind of residential planning and things like that?

Bea Wang: [00:12:14] It’s more of a commercial commercial, yes. But it’s now really I’m transferring fully from it data not to here it is another choice for me.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:25] So what’s next with this competition? When do they announce the winners?

Bea Wang: [00:12:31] So we’re going to fly to California to present in April, April six. So one week, two weeks, one week away. And after that, they’re going to make they’re going to vote for the bringer out of sight. The fall teams. I think they’re going to announce it in May.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:51] And then what? What do you win? What’s the prize?

Bea Wang: [00:12:55] So as a finalist, we already won ten K for the team. And then if we won the, like, the, the top one, we’re going to get 50 K for the team and then plus 5000 for the school.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:10] Wow. Congratulations. I mean, it’s exciting. And and you said that this is the first time Georgia Tech has had a team that go this far in this competition.

Bea Wang: [00:13:20] It’s where the second.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:21] The second.

Bea Wang: [00:13:22] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:23] Wow. Congratulations is. So you recommend this competition to other folks?

Bea Wang: [00:13:30] Yeah, definitely. I would definitely tell my MBA classmates to do this. It’s definitely a lot of time consuming, but I definitely learn a lot and push me to to understand the whole concept other than like learning from the class.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:49] And then what did you what did you think is that having gone through this that you developed, you feel more confident with certain skills you have and that that can just make you a better kind of person in the future.

Bea Wang: [00:14:03] Yeah. So I know I’m capable to, to do something I don’t really know, but I learn everything from like to, you know, two weeks for the competition. A second. I know how much. How much pressure I could take. As I said, a full time job, an MBA, and then this. That’s a lot during that two weeks.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:25] Yeah, but you got it done and you’re a finalist. Well, congratulations. Thanks. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today.

Bea Wang: [00:14:33] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:34] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.