FROM NYU TO WINERY | Andy Zhou
Andy is a graduate of NYU who started his own business when he was in college.
Why did you want to open your own company?
Because when I came to the US, I wanted to take a look at the market here. I started school at NYU and tried to expand my network there. Within half a year, a contact wanted to become a wine merchant and wanted to know if I was interested in cooperating. However, I didn’t want to join the company because I used to work in Japan and they tend to be very old-fashioned, and you have to start from the bottom up. Instead, I wanted to start my own company and see if there were any opportunities there.
Were there any unforgettable experiences in the process of setting up a company in the United States?
Because I was still a student when I first started my company, I used my home address. Then I slow moved closer and closer to the city until I moved to Manhattan. Later on, the company had some shareholder changes such as the partnership ending. This resulted in some employees following me while the rest went to the other side. This was the biggest change these past few years. From the very beginning, we made a sake sale, then we moved into marketing, promotion, commercial advertising, etc.
In the process, what were some difficulties?
There were some legal issues. For example, last year we had some real estate problems.
What are your plans for the future?
Besides marketing and promoting, we are also working on tojosan kitchen. We want it to be more than a store. Instead, it should be a platform allowing our customers who are in industries such as wine and seasoning promote their products. This is a project for the upcoming three years. We also want to separate our marketing and promotions to make everything more professional.
Do you have any suggestions for people who want to start their own company?
Don’t just think, action is the most important thing. If you act on it and fail, you can always try again. You are young and have time to work on improvement.
为什么会想到要创立一个公司?
因为我当时是来美国这边的话，就是想看一看这边的行情。我一开始在nyu上学，一边上学，一边接触着这里的人脉，想着扩张一下自己的人脉。半年没到，刚好有个酒商，他也想卖酒，刚好我也再这边，所以我们就开始看看有没有兴趣以及机会合作。这也算是一个起点，我当时就没有想着将来要去公司工作，因为我之前在日本工作，在日本的公司里上班是 很古板的，一步一步升职等等。我不想在公司一步一步走，所以就想着我要自己创业，看看有没有这样一个机会。
在美国成立公司的过程中，有没有什么难忘的经历?
因为我一开始成立公司的时候还是学生，刚开始都是家庭地址，从很远的地方搬到近一点的，再近一点的，一点一点走进了曼哈顿。后来公司发生一些股东变动的事情，像是合并的公司又分开了，就面临着一部分的员工要跟着我走，一部分跟着另外一边走。这是这几年之中最大的转折点。我们也从一开始做sake sale，之后转到marketing,之后的promition，商业视频等等。
在这个过程中， 有哪些困难，都是怎么样克服的?
有一些法律问题，比如去年，因为我们也有做一些有关房地产的问题，所以接触了一些法律的问题。
未来的规划?
因为我们现在除了之前的做的，marketing，promotion之类的，我们现在做了tojosan kitchen,这个也不是一家店，而是类似一个平台。参加一些活动，也没说一定是中式还是日式，我们有一些客户是做酒，调味料等，需要推广，所以我们想通过这个平台达到推广的作用。这个三年之内，我们想把这个平台推广起来。第二个的话就是我们现在在做的，我们现在做的marketing,promotion这类的东西，想把它扩大，想把marketing, promotion分开，做的比较专业一些。
跟你一样，想要创办自己公司的人有没有什么建议?
不要只想，行动才是最重要的。想的再好也没有用，失败了可以再来，年轻，有时间去尝试。