About
Adam Knight is the cofounder of YASO, a VC-backed social commerce platform focused on selling brands directly to Chinese Gen Z consumers, and TONG, a cross-cultural consultancy and agency that has launched over 120 brands. He has worked in the Chinese consumer space for around 14 years and holds a PhD (cum laude) from Leiden University, where his research on China's social credit system was conducted as part of the government-funded project "The Smart State: Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Law in China." He studied Chinese at the University of Oxford and completed an MSc at the Oxford Internet Institute, and has held television production credits with Al Jazeera English.
Co-founder at Yaso
Intro paths
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In turn, Adam can intro founders to Yaso's investors below.
Yaso's investors · 5
Co-founders at Yaso
JC
James CampbellCo-founder
JP
Jonny PleinCo-founder
Experience
- YASOCofoundercurrent2022 — presentLondon, United Kingdom
- TONG GlobalBoard Membercurrent2025 — present
- TONG GlobalCofounder2014 — 2025London, United Kingdom
- Regent's University LondonAdvisory Panel Member2022 — 2025
- Leiden UniversityAdjunct Lecturer2021 — 2023Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands
- Al Jazeera Media NetworkFreelance Producer2018 — 2020
- JUCCCE (Joint US China Collaboration on Clean Energy)Policy Researcher2013Beijing City, China
Skills & more
Microsoft Excel2Microsoft Office7Public Speaking32International Relations20Marketing17Blogging5Graphic Design5Publishing5News Writing4Text Editing4Policy3Social Media Marketing6
+11 more
Digital MarketingBusiness StrategySocial MediaEntrepreneurshipPublic RelationsStart-upsResearchMandarinSpanishGermanFrenchLanguages Chinese · English · French · German · Spanish
From Adam's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Adam Knight?
- Adam Knight is the cofounder of YASO, a VC-backed social commerce platform focused on selling brands directly to Chinese Gen Z consumers, and TONG, a cross-cultural consultancy and agency that has launched over 120 brands. He has worked in the Chinese consumer space for around 14 years and holds a PhD (cum laude) from Leiden University, where his research on China's social credit system was conducted as part of the government-funded project "The Smart State: Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Law in China." He studied Chinese at the University of Oxford and completed an MSc at the Oxford Internet Institute, and has held television production credits with Al Jazeera English.
- Where does Adam Knight work?
- Adam Knight is Co-founder of Yaso.
- What companies did Adam Knight found?
- Adam Knight founded Yaso.
- Where did Adam Knight go to school?
- Adam Knight studied at Leiden University (Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Chinese Studies); University of Oxford (MSc, Social Science of the Internet (Part-Time)); University of Oxford (BA, Oriental Studies (Chinese)).
Same school
Also attended Leiden University107
Andrea van ElsasInvestor at Third Rock VenturesJoost HollemanInvestor at Prime VenturesFredric PetitPartner, Head of Materials & Packaging at Emerald Technology Ventures AgJeroen PlinkVenture Partner at LegalTechThijs SchaapInvestment manager at NoaberRoel BulthuisInvestor at Syncona
+ 101 more
Also attended University of Oxford1,334
Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockMichael MoritzFormer Partner at Sequoia Capital; Senior Adviser at Sequoia HeritageBrad GerstnerFounder & CEO of Altimeter CapitalGabriel PereyraCo-founder & President of HarveyDominic JacquessonInvestor at Index VenturesErin Price-WrightInvestor at Index Ventures
+ 1,328 more
Also attended Peking University217
Erica WuInvestment Director at Intel CapitalGiuseppe IademarcoHead of Global Partnership at P101 VenturesGaby PanVentures Manager at Qualcomm VenturesLucy BradyHead of Product at Giant Ventures Global LlpMatthew ManalotoMBA Intern at Thomson Reuters VenturesPeng ChengManaging Partner at Sv Tech Ventures, Inc.
+ 211 more
Also attended University of West London9
Marwan SafiLP Relations at Transform Capital ManagementEmily JamesAnalyst at Cambridge Innovation CapitalOlivia LythInvestor at Sustainable VenturesJosephine Awatefe-SaroukInvestor at Rising Tide Africa (RTA)Silva KartaliyskaFinance & Business Operations Manager at Cherry VenturesAdriana OblojDirector, Finance & Operations at Oxford
+ 3 more
Shared employers
Also worked at YASO11
Esha VatsaInvestor at Mercuri.vcMichele GiddensCEO and Co-Founder at Bridges Fund Management Ltd.Will BrooksFounder and Director at Portfolio VenturesCharlie Weavers-WrightAssociate at HaatchBen LeslieInvestment Director at Puma Private EquityWill NealeInvestor at Learn Capital
+ 5 more
Also worked at TONG Global1
Also worked at Regent's University London1
Also worked at Leiden University18
Aina CabreroInvestor & Scientist at Planet A VenturesRichard BeckerManager, Prototype and Lab at Playground GlobalErwin DassenVenture Partner at FrachtisDr. Mervyn G. MaistryManaging Director & Founder at Kintaro CapitalBrendan RobertsonInvestment Committee & Board at Kintaro CapitalEdward van der HoutAssociate at Rubio Impact Ventures
+ 12 more