Uses This

A collection of nerdy interviews asking people from all walks of life what they use to get the job done.

A picture of Wen-Jay Ying

Wen-Jay Ying

Founder, Local Roots

Posted in food, mac

Who are you, and what do you do?

Call me your local food queen. I'm Wen-Jay, the founder and CEO of Local Roots NYC, a small business that has revolutionized the way New Yorkers shop for food. Nyers subscribe online for 3 months of food that comes direct from a farm within 2 hours of NYC. They pick up their order at a neighborhood bar, cafe or have it delivered. It's a customized farmers market brought right to you that specializes in fresh produce, dairy, grains and meat that is packed with flavor and nutrition. I believe the way we eat can change the world, and I'm dedicated to healing our local food system. I've spoken on various panels and Sirius Radio on food systems, food waste, and female entrepreneurship.

In terms of hobbies, I do Muay Thai, obsessed with James Turrell and Luis Barragan, cook a lot and love a Negroni or old fashioned.

What hardware do you use?

MacBook Pro I purchased in 2018 with a 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 processor. I halfway hate it; the keyboards for the new Macs suck and it makes it look like I don't know how to spell, but I'm a victim of convenience.

And what software?

I use Google Docs for nearly everything, but I do love the Notes app on the Mac for anything I want quick + easy access to since I have a million Google documents. I like anything that easily syncs between a computer and phone so I can easily do work from any device.

I try out new "task management" software every year. Now I just use Reminders app on the Mac. It feels like a less overwhelming way to manage my tasks and the tasks of my employees.

Stitcher is my favorite phone app to manage all the podcasts I listen to (check out How I Built This, Seeds And The City, and 99% Invisible.)

Canva is used frequently in my life for graphic design; it's easy to use, which is key since we don't have an in-house graphic designer at Local Roots.

And duh, I use Slack 24/7.

What would be your dream setup?

My dream setup is if someone were to build me a system where our Google Docs inventory sheet and customer sheets synced directly with Shopify, and to streamline some of the manual labor we do each week on our website. Please, someone help me out!