Yan Zhang, Ph.D., founded Silicon Valley Air Experts (SVAE) in 2007, producing air filtration products, which was acquired in 2021 and is now rebranded as Airdog. Dr. Zhang oversees all aspects of Airdog’s R&D and global business growth. She recently led the development of the transformative technology behind Airdog’s new mold-free humidifier, the MOI.
Dr. Zhang earned an electrical engineering doctorate degree in 2006 from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She then served as an engineer and business development manager at Tessera (now Xperi). While researching methods for cooling laptops through ionic wind technology, she noticed this method resulted in a significant collection of dust that began clogging computer components.
Dr. Zhang realized this ionic wind technology would be perfect for air filtration. Years of research and dozens of patents later, Dr. Zhang and her team launched the first ionic air purifiers in the North American market in 2017. Airdog air filtration products now serve millions of users worldwide in over 70 countries.
Dr. Zhang has led Airdog USA to consistent 25% annual growth while developing breakthrough new technology for indoor air purification and humidifiers. Her research teams have earned dozens of patents in TPA technology, and Airdog air purifiers earned a Class II disinfection air cleaner from the US FDA.
Yan Zhang earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2006.
Challenges
Yan Zhang found that being an entrepreneur was much more challenging than most people think. In addition to all the usual hurdles of finding funding, the right staff, achieving growth and profit, there was also a range of challenges around the very core of her business: developing a product that would sell and make a profit!
Most industries are already full of established brands. This made breaking in with a new product and getting that in front of consumers a huge challenge. Take air purifiers for instance. There were already air purifiers of every shape and size, many from major companies with wide brand recognition.
Starting from scratch in this industry to develop a product that a consumer would choose over the rest was a massive challenge. But Yan Zhang was extremely confident in the products they had produced at Airdog.
Lessons Learned Along the Way
Getting started as an entrepreneur can also be overwhelming. Yan Zhang entered the field as a post-doctorate researcher working on research for a laptop company product design. She and her team developed a brilliant innovation using ionic wind that could be transferred for use in air purifiers, but going from innovation to business was a huge leap.
As engineers, they tended to focus solely on the product itself and how to use certain technology to solve problems. However, as an entrepreneur, Yan Zhang had to consider more what the customer needed and how these products could meet their needs.
The best state-of-the-art technology is not necessarily what meets their needs. Sometimes a simpler solution is better. For example, in the beginning, they designed the fan-less air purifier purely driven by the ionic wind technology. This was the first air purifier on the market that could deliver 200 cubic meters of clean air without a fan.
From a scientific or engineering point of view, they made huge advancements and overcame many difficulties to do so. But they later realized that 200 cubic meters were not enough to offer clean air in larger areas or in heavily polluted areas. So they adopted a hybrid fan + ionic wind combination to provide the customer with the best performance.
Even though from an engineering point of view, it’s not as cool as purely ionic wind-driven, through this combination, they were able to provide a high enough CADR for up to 1000 cubic meters of clean air even during heavy wildfire pollution, which is more what the customer cares about.
Advice for Entrepreneurs
Yan Zhang believed that not everyone has that entrepreneurial drive and personality. If one has that gift, then one should absolutely use it and not give up. Being an entrepreneur is a huge challenge, but it’s one of the most rewarding things she has ever done.
Also, surrounding oneself with the right people and cultivating a team is absolutely crucial. Engineering-minded entrepreneurs sometimes are too serious or too logical about everything. But sometimes, to be a good team leader, one needs to have a more emotional touch and inspire the team. Most people are more emotional rather than logical.
It took Yan Zhang a long time to figure out how to build a solid team. In the beginning, it was hard for her to retain talent, and many team members left because they were too strict with everyone. They were always doing engineering calculations and using formulas to improve efficiency and work performance.
Later, Yan Zhang became a mother of two boys and realized that helping a company or a team grow is very similar to helping your children grow and develop. One needs to give them space, let them try different things on their own, and help them achieve success by learning from mistakes. If you just teach them what to do rather than giving them the chance to learn how to do it themselves, it will be hard to inspire their inner motivation and let them feel their achievements through work.
For Yan Zhang, finding the right people and nurturing them into business partners and team members was the most important thing to finding business success. By recognizing the need for emotional connections and giving team members the room to grow, learn, and make mistakes, Yan Zhang was able to create a successful and thriving business.
Her journey as an entrepreneur, from overcoming industry challenges to learning valuable lessons along the way, serves as an inspiring example for others who wish to follow in her footsteps. Ultimately, Yan Zhang’s experience underscores the importance of perseverance, adaptability, and fostering a strong team in the pursuit of entrepreneurial success.
If you would like to get in touch with Yan Zhang or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
