A Man Juggling 2 Startups in One Mind

Ye Yongxing

Full-time, Class of 2016

Pre MBA:                             Portfolio Manager, Tokyo Star Bank, Japan

Post MBA:                           Founder, Bridgewater Trading

                                              Founder, ZEN Food Ltd (HK)

 

Ye Yongxing founded Bridgewater Trading and ZEN food Ltd after his MBA.  While Bridgewater is a Japan-based virtual trading platform that trains non-professionals for stock, forex, futures and cryptocurrencies trading, ZEN food exports premium Japanese green tea products to Mainland China. Thanks to the skills and connections acquired at CUHK, he manages these companies well although the 2 startups are entirely different by nature.

Having lived in Japan for over 15 years, Yongxing decided to move to Hong Kong for a number of reasons.  Firstly, he was looking for more challenging opportunities in a new setting; secondly, he wanted his child to be educated in an environment capitalising on the cream of both Eastern and Western cultures.  Finally, having left his home country for so many years, the Chinese entrepreneur had a strong motivation to fill the gaps in his life.  Obviously, Hong Kong was where he could get what he wanted.

Why was CUHK MBA chosen? In his eyes, its array of concentrations definitely counted.  The reasons for him to opt for Finance and China Business were simple:  despite his finance background, he aimed to further his knowledge in the field and to stay in line with new technology. The concentration also helped him develop a better understanding of China, which proved to be crucial for establishing business ties with his Mainland partners.

Thinking back to his road to entrepreneurship, he still remembered that there were altogether 5 Japanese MBA students in the class of 2016.  The gang founded the “Japan Club” and soon started talking about kicking off their own business.  The year also saw the opening of the CUHK Pre-Incubation Centre (Pi Centre) from which he gained further momentum in his entrepreneurial dream.

When starting his business, he saw the need to be more aggressive and perspective taking in decision making.  The ability to communicate was another key technique he had to master.

“Group projects lay at the core of our MBA programme and provided the platform through which students learnt to communicate, motivate and lead.  Outward Bound was also amazing. I can still remember every part of it very clearly.”

“It was a fresh experience for me.  I need to open up to others.  When things go wrong, always reflect on yourself but never let negative sentiments dominate!”  CUHK’s comprehensive MBA curriculum has played a crucial role in brushing up his soft skills.

Equally useful are courses in Statistics and Macroeconomics through which he acquired knowledge of fintech, big data analysis and effective management.

According to him, 95% of startups end in failure.  So, his next challenge is to keep his 2 companies stay among the survivors that only account for 5% of the total!

“CUHK MBA is the MBA you need to succeed, and there is no doubt that I’ll recommend this programme to those who wish to move forward.”