Entrepreneur of the Year
January 31, 2010 by Chinatex
Part of the fun of living and working here in this huge concrete jungle is that Old Chinatex gets to be a part of a lot of really cool stuff. It seems that every week and possibly every day, there is something new to participate in, not just as a bystander or paying customer but as an advisor, counsel or just a friend. Since I first came here 7 years ago and looked out my hotel window in the small city of Dongguan and counted 80 building cranes – just on one side of the city – I have seen similar and tremendous growth everywhere I look. While as an advisor to individuals, small businesses and multi-national corporations I most often find myself sorting out problems with doing business here in China as not enough people come to see me prior to entering this market. It can cloud your perspective and even result in the “I’m done with China” syndrome which affects most of us on a monthly basis. However, since I counted the 80 cranes, one thing has not changed – the Chinese peoples’ propensity to absolutely amaze me with the things they are capable of doing and achieving. I often tell people that Shenzhen, the small city of 15 million people feels like Silicon Valley during the late 90’s, except the scale is much larger and it seems to be built on lasting and fundamental economic principles (not carelessly funded by VC and hedge money) without a bubble in sight. For those of you that have not been here or are planning to come here, it is unbelievable the amount of pure entrepreneurial energy that courses through the veins of this city – on an almost 24 hour cycle.
Yesterday, I was honored to be invited to witness the launching of my friend Jame Guo’s new line of sailing yachts. Jame, a veteran of the components business and former resident of the city that claims to never sleep, was looking to have a sailboat made a few years ago. He went all through China looking at the supposedly best and most well funded shipyards and found an opportunity. While overseas joint ventures were bleeding money and producing substandard quality and local shipyards were just not experienced enough to handle the larger boats, Jame decided to build one by himself. Necessity it seems is still the mother of invention and in the sailing yacht business in China Jame Guo is the father. After a painful and hard working year spent in a small trailer outside of his factory, Jame launched the first Farnova 48′ yesterday. 
Picked it right up off the pier and carefully craned it into the waters of the South China sea. Chinese style with champagne and fireworks and a large crew of workers intent on protecting the hull from being pushed into the sea wall. So, here is a man who has been very successful in electronic components, he didn’t need to spend a year in a trailer and struggle with things like redesigning (and building) the below deck interior more than 4 times – until he got it right. He could of retired and invested his money in U.S treasuries (maybe not) and sailed off into the sunset. But, Jame 
like so many entrepreneurs in China, are driving the recovery in Asia and doing exactly what we used to do in the west. Invent, innovate, build and take calculated risks. Jame’s new Farnova 48′ is a beautiful and well made cruising sailboat and he has a dozen more lined up in his factory waiting to set sail. For more info you can check out his website: http://www.teammarine.cn/
I cannot explain how exciting it was to watch this man and his team realize a hard fought dream. I have seen teams win championships in different sports and many other similar successes but few have been as rewarding for me as joining Jame yesterday at the boat launch. As we countdown the days until Chinese New Year, one thing is certain – China will take a break to breath and relax and then afterwards hold on world because they are going to come out of the gates roaring in the year of the Tiger. As always, yeeha!! Chinatex
