Today’s guest Antoni Watts is the owner of a sourcing company specializing

in mobile phone accessory, consumer electronic and gift products.  He

started the company in October 2009 and quickly grew it to roughly 1

million units in annual turnover.  However, since then, he has decided to

exit the sourcing business and shift his attention elsewhere.  Today, we’ll

discuss how he was able to grow the company so quickly with limited

capital, what challenges he faced, and why he eventually decided to exit

the business.

Today’s guest Terry Lin is the host of Build My Online Store, a podcast

that helps ecommerce entrepreneurs grow their businesses by interviewing

successful entrepreneurs, industry experts, and thought leaders.  A few

months ago, Terry decided to create an ecommerce product himself from

scratch.  He was able to find a manufacturer in China, get a sample made,

and get the first production run done, while being remote the entire time.

 Today, we’ll discuss how he decided on the product and the process he went

through to source the product from China without ever setting foot in the

country.

Today’s guest David Lancashire came to China in 2003.  He is fluent in

Chinese Mandarin and he is the founder of PopUp Chinese, an online language

education company that teaches Chinese.  His company is completely

bootstrapped and it’s profitable.  Today, we’re here to talk about

boostrapping a profitable online business in China (in the competitive

Chinese language learning market to boot!).  In addition, we’ll also get a

few tips and resources for learning Chinese.

Today’s guest Jamon Yerger has been in China since 2004.  He is the COO of 

High Cappin, a company that specializes in apparel and accessories

sourcing, including quality assurance, quality control, and project

management .  Today, we’re here to talk about how to avoid sourcing

mistakes.

Today’s guest Yusuf Uqdah started his company at age 25 with less than $1000 dollars in capital. That was more than 7 years ago. Today, he has growth the company to millions in revenue, with offices in South Pasadena, Shenzhen, China and Manila, in the Philippines. The company, The/Studio specializes in embroidered products and is one of the leading suppliers for custom embroidered apparel and accessories in the US. Along with growing the company, Yusuf has grown a team of Chinese employees here in Shenzhen. Today, we’re here to discuss how to manage a Chinese team.

Today’s guest Peter Keller is an entrepreneur with a great deal of

experience in China sourcing for small and medium businesses.  Peter is the

founder of Fringe Sport, a company that specializes in CrossFit equipment

 and gear.  Before founding Fringe Sport, Peter was vice president at 

Living Direct, an multi-million dollar online retailer of home appliances,

where he helped build the overseas sourcing capability within the company.

 In this episode, we discuss how to manage relationships with Chinese

factories.

Today’s guest Michael Bellamy is a business owner, author, and a bona fide

expert in China Sourcing, with over a decade of experience doing business

in China.  Michael is the author of the book “The Essential Reference Guide

to China Sourcing” and the founder of PassageMaker, a china sourcing and

contract assembly firm with a staff of over 150 specialists.   He is also

the Chairman of the Advisory Board at China Sourcing Information Center, a

not-for-profit organization that exists to at educate, develop, and advance

the China sourcing profession.  In this episode, we discuss the essentials

of China sourcing.

Today’s guest Michael Michelini left his job on Wall Street in 2007 and

came to China.  He’s currently the co-founder and CEO of Social Agent, an

online tool that helps businesses leverage Chinese Social Media for

sales.   In this episode, we’ll find out what drew Michael to China in

2007, how he was able to put together a team for a tech startup even though

he doesn’t code, and his experience with China-Axlr8r, one of the premiere

tech incubators in China.  We’ll also discuss the lay of the land for

Chinese Social media.