介绍:
Welcome to Education Today, coming to you from our studio in Beijing live on radio and online via newsplusradio.cn. I'm Wuyou.
The graduation season is just around the corner. For many undergraduates, to look for a job or to set up their own companies is the question.
Zhangli and Wang Zhendan are two people doing just that.
(Today/soundbite/0529 Zhang and wang )
After their graduation in the UK, they both decided to stay in the country to set up their own enterprises.
In 2013, during the selection of the Sirius Program, which is conducted by the UK Trade and Investment department and is meant to support the entrepreneurial ideas of recent graduates, these two were the only Chinese students to be approved for the program.
They call their London office a "Hatcher." The program provided them instructions on how to start and conduct a company, including marketing, sales, public relations, financing and law.
Zhangli says their office is in a prime location.
(Today/soundbites/0529 Zhangli 1)
"There are always free training courses around the Technical City in London, such as Campus London and the Google campus. You can always go to find some interesting lectures or networking opportunities to communicate with others."
Zhang says that she is lucky to meet the best teammates at the right moment.
Together, they built a platform for renting clothes. On the platform, customers can rent each other's clothes or directly rent outfits from designers at a lower price that what the market would dictate for the sale of these articles of clothing.
At first, her family and friends didn't understand what she was doing. They asked her why she gave up a steady position in a foreign company with a high salary to build a startup.
However, in her opinion, beating the enemy in the heart is the first step of setting up her own enterprise.
(Today/soundbite/0529 Zhangli 2)
"If you are confident enough, you can learn through communicating with others. Then, one day, you will see the big changes you will gain. I can go this far, and it is not as difficult as I imagined. I think it is better to have the willingness to keep trying."
Different from Zhangli, Wang Zhendan is growing up in the international family background. The free and active atmosphere he enjoys in the family is one of his main motivations to set up his own enterprise. He says it was "coincidence" that led to him meeting his current team.
(Today/soundbites/0529 Wang 1)
"I met them by chance; we just talked about the program together, and we all liked the idea. So, we decided to apply for the program together."
They built up an online education platform; Wang is responsible for marketing. To graduates who would like to set up their own enterprises, he suggests that there is never too much preparation.
(Today/soundbite/0529 Wang 2)
"You need to have a team with diversity. They'd better come from different background and various fields. Then they can form an ideal team. In terms of presentation, what you need is: preparation, preparation and preparation. There's no shortcut."
However the diversity also brings challenges.
The international team will always come across collisions of the different points of views. Based on that, Zhangli suggests that being direct is the best way to communicate.
(Today/soundbite/0529 Zhangli 3)
"What I've learned is that you need to communicate with others if you have a different idea. I used to hide my real opinions and that is just my character. But now, I know it is not the way to solve the problem."
Wang Zhendan adds that, for graduates who want to build startups, besides patience and confidence of earning support from teammates and investors, the core element is having a good attitude.
(Today/soundbite/0529 Wang 3)
"You need to always keep a good attitude. Programs require continuous trial and error. Sometimes you need to step back and figure out another way to solve the problem, rather than corner yourself."
Now, the two teams have all completed the basic design part of their programs. They are starting to put it into trial bases to enter the market.
We wish them good luck.
Now, the Sirius Program has started recruiting for the second step of the project.
They focus on the recruitment of Chinese entrepreneurs who have expertise in subjects like life science and technology, regenerative medicine and the energy sector.
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