User:Alana.vipkid/sandboxcindy

= Cindy Mi = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cindy Mi is the founder and CEO[1] of VIPKID,[2] an online educational company for Chinese learners of English and one of the leading online educational services in China. She taught herself English at age 13 and began tutoring other students in English at the age of 15.[4] However, her confidence as a young student took a big hit when she, at 14, moved from the Hebei province near Beijing, to Harbin in Heilongjiang province. As a new student, and one of 60 in her class at a school in Harbin, a city in Northeast China, her teacher was unable to provide the personalized attention Cindy needed to catch up to her classmates in math. Although these negative experiences led Cindy to drop out of school at 17, it provided her with the positive result of deepening her resolve and strengthening her determination to help children develop a joy for education.

After leaving high school at 17, Cindy worked with her uncle to co-found ABCEnglish, a traditional brick and mortar-style tutoring company. From the beginning, she led its business development and campus expansion across China,[6] all while working to obtain her bachelor’s degree in English Literature. ABCEnglish maintained steady growth and earned $30 million in annual sales. After receiving her MBA at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) in Beijing, Cindy contemplated how to connect teachers and students in real time, one-on-one, immersive sessions. She wanted to inspire and empower students through an online education platform that connected children around the world with English-language teachers and content. From this idea, VIPKid was born.

Her journey from a teenage tutor to an education entrepreneur inspired her to start VIPKid.[5] She founded VIPKid in 2013.[3]

Awards & Recognition
Mi has been recognized as one of Glassdoor’s Top 100 CEOs in 2019,[7] one of only 7 women to make the list. Crunchbase listed her as number one on the list of "50 Female Entrepreneurs Everyone Should Know" and she was a recipient of the ASU + GSV Summit 2019 Power of Women Award.