Founder Story 01 | A Natural Next Step

At 37, I founded my own company in Munich.

People have asked why I chose to start a business at this stage of my life, in another country. Looking back, there was no single moment when I suddenly decided to become a founder. The influence of my family, the experience I gained through work and my thoughts about the future gradually came together in this choice.

Growing Up Between Two Influences

My parents were born in rural China in the early 1960s. They grew up with limited resources and far fewer choices than are available today.

My mother changed her circumstances through education. In her early twenties, she began working in government, where she remained until retirement. My father left home at sixteen to earn a living and later built his own business from scratch.

I grew up between these two influences. My mother gave me a sense of stability, discipline and structure. My father showed me how someone could find opportunities and build a life through their own initiative, without an established path to follow.

Over time, both influences became part of how I work. I am willing to step into the unfamiliar, and I value structure and responsibility. I want to create new things, and I understand that an idea needs sustained action to become viable.

Turning Ideas into Something Real

At secondary school, I founded a student television station and a literary society. I approached sponsors myself and used the funding to publish student magazines.

I had little understanding of business at the time. Yet I was already doing something I would return to throughout my career: developing an idea, finding resources, bringing people together and moving it forward.

That pattern continued at work.

At a BMW dealership, I built a 13-person customer relationship management (CRM) department within a year and received two national awards from headquarters. After moving into consulting, I spent five years growing the Beijing business to RMB 60 million in revenue. Later, at a German consulting company, I continued developing new clients, entering new cities and building new business lines.

The industries and environments changed, but the task often had something in common: finding a starting point before all the pieces were in place, then helping a business and its team take shape.

Experience Gradually Found Its Direction

These experiences taught me to work with uncertainty.

When a situation is complex, I begin by making sense of the problem. When there is no established route, I look for a first step. When an idea does not yet exist in practice, I consider what it would take to build it.

As my experience grew, I also began asking where I wanted to apply these abilities next. Who did I want to work with? What deserved my long-term commitment?

The direction of my business gradually became clearer through these questions.

Today, I want to combine my experience of building businesses from the ground up with what I have learned through working and living in China and Germany, supporting understanding and collaboration between the two countries.

Looking back, my family’s influence, my professional experience and what I now want from work and life have finally come together.

That is why founding this company feels like a natural next step.

Years of experience brought me to this decision. From this point forward, I also choose to take responsibility for it as a founder.