Translation Results Requested Through Conyac Made Public
[Translation from English to Japanese ] An Entrepreneur Says Goodbye: The Story of a Chinese Failure Early this mo...
Original Texts
An Entrepreneur Says Goodbye: The Story of a Chinese Failure
Early this morning, the China Business News ran an interesting feature on a failed Chinese entrepreneur. If you can read Chinese, I suggest the original, but for those who can’t, I thought it also would make sense to share the story here. What follows is my own summary of the story, based on the China Business News piece. Chen Jun’s first job after graduation was working for a huge state-owned company in Wuhan. He had majored in insulation engineering, and it quickly became clear to him that he was being groomed for promotion at the Wuhan job. In the long-term, he could expect job stability, a decent salary, and the social status that comes from being a mid-level manager at a state-owned enterprise. It’s a position many Chinese people would have envied, especially back in the late 1990s when Chen was there. But in less than a year, he chose to walk away. His salary — 800 RMB a month (equivalent to $126 now, but worth even less in the late 90s) — wasn’t high enough and he disliked the workplace culture. He was also captivated by the boom that was happening in internet technology. In 2000, inspired by what we now know to have been the first internet bubble, he founded and launched his own startup. At the time, the joke in China was that there was a venture capitalist hiding in every tree in China, just waiting for internet startups to walk by so they could shower them in money. Chen had dreams his company would become great and that he’d be invited to speak at Harvard about his successes. But before the company had time to really develop, the bubble burst, and he was forced to close up shop. The failure devastated Chen, both emotionally and financially. He took up temporary work at a print shop that was owned by a friend and eventually put the failure out of his mind. He got married, had a son, developed a gambling problem that caused a lot of friction in his home, and excelled in his work at the print shop. But his dream of founding a startup hadn’t died, and after a few years, he founded another company. This one was more closely tied to his expertise in insulation, his company would sell central air conditioning. This time, he threw himself fully into the lifestyle of a Chinese boss, spending his time wining and dining important friends and officials to establish the connections he thought could help his business succeed. Unfortunately, this didn’t have much of an effect on the company, which he just couldn’t seem to get to turn a profit. Eventually, it closed up shop. Around this same time, though, Chen Jun made a lot of money in real estate. He did this sort of by accident; he just happened to be buying a house as Shanghai’s real estate market was just starting to take off, and he quickly realized he could make a ton of money by just buying an apartment, waiting a few months for the prices to rise even higher, and then selling it. He flipped several apartments this way, and at the same time made what turned out to be a wise venture investment in another company that brought him exponential returns. Suddenly, Chen Jun, the twice-failed entrepreneur, was rich. He still hadn’t given up on founding a startup, though, and he was excited by Alibaba’s B2B e-commerce model. He came up with a plan for his own B2B e-commerce site, and against the advice of friends, founded it. Chen was counting on a massive upswing in the market, sort of like what he had experienced in the real estate market, but it never came, or at least Chen’s company couldn’t wait for it. The company quickly lost several hundred thousand RMB, and Chen pulled the plug. Chen was still wealthy, of course, but he wasn’t happy, and he didn’t think highly of himself. His financial success was, he felt, a fluke, and his real attempts at success — his three startups — had all failed. If this story were a movie, this would be the part where we see Chen walking the streets of Shanghai in the rain before suddenly thinking of another idea — a great one — that would lead him to his dream: a successful startup. But this isn’t a movie, and Chen might have walked the streets of Shanghai in the rain, but the epiphany never came. Instead, Chen emigrated to Canada. He wanted to start over in a new place, and he wanted to ensure his son got a “normal” education. He also wanted to live somewhere with an effective social security system, as his failed startups haven’t left him fully prepared for retirement. He hopes to work as an engineer in Canada, and may also start a Chinese restaurant on the side. Although the China Business News story is unfortunately light on details about how Chen’s startups operated, I think there are some lessons here for entrepreneurs. Timing is important. Luck is important. And success is not guaranteed, even with hard work and sacrifice. Sometimes you just fail, and when you try again, you fail again. It’s depressing, but it’s also reality. And I think it’s worth sharing this sort of story to balance out the stories of success we’re surrounded by day in and day out, stories that make success seem like something that is inevitable.
It isn’t. Just ask Chen Jun.
Early this morning, the China Business News ran an interesting feature on a failed Chinese entrepreneur. If you can read Chinese, I suggest the original, but for those who can’t, I thought it also would make sense to share the story here. What follows is my own summary of the story, based on the China Business News piece. Chen Jun’s first job after graduation was working for a huge state-owned company in Wuhan. He had majored in insulation engineering, and it quickly became clear to him that he was being groomed for promotion at the Wuhan job. In the long-term, he could expect job stability, a decent salary, and the social status that comes from being a mid-level manager at a state-owned enterprise. It’s a position many Chinese people would have envied, especially back in the late 1990s when Chen was there. But in less than a year, he chose to walk away. His salary — 800 RMB a month (equivalent to $126 now, but worth even less in the late 90s) — wasn’t high enough and he disliked the workplace culture. He was also captivated by the boom that was happening in internet technology. In 2000, inspired by what we now know to have been the first internet bubble, he founded and launched his own startup. At the time, the joke in China was that there was a venture capitalist hiding in every tree in China, just waiting for internet startups to walk by so they could shower them in money. Chen had dreams his company would become great and that he’d be invited to speak at Harvard about his successes. But before the company had time to really develop, the bubble burst, and he was forced to close up shop. The failure devastated Chen, both emotionally and financially. He took up temporary work at a print shop that was owned by a friend and eventually put the failure out of his mind. He got married, had a son, developed a gambling problem that caused a lot of friction in his home, and excelled in his work at the print shop. But his dream of founding a startup hadn’t died, and after a few years, he founded another company. This one was more closely tied to his expertise in insulation, his company would sell central air conditioning. This time, he threw himself fully into the lifestyle of a Chinese boss, spending his time wining and dining important friends and officials to establish the connections he thought could help his business succeed. Unfortunately, this didn’t have much of an effect on the company, which he just couldn’t seem to get to turn a profit. Eventually, it closed up shop. Around this same time, though, Chen Jun made a lot of money in real estate. He did this sort of by accident; he just happened to be buying a house as Shanghai’s real estate market was just starting to take off, and he quickly realized he could make a ton of money by just buying an apartment, waiting a few months for the prices to rise even higher, and then selling it. He flipped several apartments this way, and at the same time made what turned out to be a wise venture investment in another company that brought him exponential returns. Suddenly, Chen Jun, the twice-failed entrepreneur, was rich. He still hadn’t given up on founding a startup, though, and he was excited by Alibaba’s B2B e-commerce model. He came up with a plan for his own B2B e-commerce site, and against the advice of friends, founded it. Chen was counting on a massive upswing in the market, sort of like what he had experienced in the real estate market, but it never came, or at least Chen’s company couldn’t wait for it. The company quickly lost several hundred thousand RMB, and Chen pulled the plug. Chen was still wealthy, of course, but he wasn’t happy, and he didn’t think highly of himself. His financial success was, he felt, a fluke, and his real attempts at success — his three startups — had all failed. If this story were a movie, this would be the part where we see Chen walking the streets of Shanghai in the rain before suddenly thinking of another idea — a great one — that would lead him to his dream: a successful startup. But this isn’t a movie, and Chen might have walked the streets of Shanghai in the rain, but the epiphany never came. Instead, Chen emigrated to Canada. He wanted to start over in a new place, and he wanted to ensure his son got a “normal” education. He also wanted to live somewhere with an effective social security system, as his failed startups haven’t left him fully prepared for retirement. He hopes to work as an engineer in Canada, and may also start a Chinese restaurant on the side. Although the China Business News story is unfortunately light on details about how Chen’s startups operated, I think there are some lessons here for entrepreneurs. Timing is important. Luck is important. And success is not guaranteed, even with hard work and sacrifice. Sometimes you just fail, and when you try again, you fail again. It’s depressing, but it’s also reality. And I think it’s worth sharing this sort of story to balance out the stories of success we’re surrounded by day in and day out, stories that make success seem like something that is inevitable.
It isn’t. Just ask Chen Jun.
企業家は別れを告げる：中国の失敗ストーリー
今朝早く、中国ビジネスニュースは、中国企業家の面白い失敗について報道した。もし、中国語を読めるのなら、オリジナルを読むことを勧めますが、もし、それが無理であるなら、ここで紹介するストーリーに目を通してみるはいかがでしょう。中国ビジネスニュースの内容を基にした、私自身のこのストーリーに対する要約も付け加えて紹介します。
今朝早く、中国ビジネスニュースは、中国企業家の面白い失敗について報道した。もし、中国語を読めるのなら、オリジナルを読むことを勧めますが、もし、それが無理であるなら、ここで紹介するストーリーに目を通してみるはいかがでしょう。中国ビジネスニュースの内容を基にした、私自身のこのストーリーに対する要約も付け加えて紹介します。
Chen Jun氏は、卒業後、武漢にある、大きな国有会社に就職した。絶縁工学を専攻していたChen氏にとって、武漢での仕事上、昇格が約束されていることは、直に明らかになった。彼には、国有会社の、中間管理職に就くことで、長期的な、安定した仕事、そこそこに良い収入、社会的地位が約束されていた。特に、１９９０年代、多くの中国人が望むものであり、Chen氏は、まさにその時代にいた。しかし、１年にも満たずに、彼は身を引いた。彼の給料（月給８００元ー現在の＄１２６に相当するが、９０年代では、更に低く換算される）は、十分ではなく、職場環境も好きになれなかった。
彼は、その時代に大きなブームとなっていた、インターネットテクノロジーに魅了されていた。２０００年、最初のインターネットバブルとされるものに影響され、彼自身が起業した。その頃の中国には、”インターネット起業家が通りかかるのを待ち、お金をばら撒こうと、投資家は中国のすべての木の後ろに隠れている。”というジョークがある。Chen氏には、いつの日か、彼の会社が大きくなり、ハーバード大学で、彼の成功について演説する日が訪れるという夢があった。しかしながら、彼の会社が大きくなるのを待たずして、バブルがはじけた。そして、彼は、店をたたむことを余儀なくされた。
この失敗は、感情面にも、経済面にも、Chen氏に大きな打撃を与えた。彼は、一時的に、友人が経営する印刷店で働き、いつの日か、この失敗を忘れていった。彼は、結婚し、一人息子を儲け、ギャンブルにのめり込むようになり、家庭内でも摩擦が生じるようになり、やがては、印刷店もくびになった。
しかし、彼の起業に対する夢は死んでいなかった。数年後、彼は、他の会社を立ち上げることになる。これは、彼の専門分野である絶縁に密着した起業であった。彼の会社は、集中空調装置を売った。今回彼は、彼自身、完全に中国企業家のライフスタイルを取り入れた。彼のビジネスの成功に役立つと思われる、コネクションを築く為に、重要な友人、職員たちと、接待に接待を重ねていった。不幸なことに、これは、彼の利益つながる、多大な影響を会社にもたらす事は無かった。
しかしながら、この時期、Chen氏は、不動産で多くの利益を上げていた。彼は、偶然、この仕事を手がけたのです：上海不動産市場が、ちょうど起動に乗り始めるころ、たまたま家を買うことになった。そして、アパートを買い、値上がりするまで数ヶ月待ち、それを売ることで、多額の収益を得られることにすぐ気づいた。この方法で、いくつかのアパートを転売した。同時に、それは、彼に飛躍的な見返りをうむ、他の企業への賢いベンチャー投資を作り上げることになっていった。２度失敗した起業家、Chen Jun氏は、突如、金持ちになった。
彼は、まだ起業を諦めておらず、Abibaba's B2B Eコマースモデルに興奮を覚えていた。彼は、彼自身の B2B Eコマースサイトを計画し、友人の反対を押し切って、創設した。彼は、その市場に、彼が不動産業で経験したような、大きな成長を期待していたが、それは無かった。または、Chen氏の会社は、それを待てなかった。会社は、すぐに数百千元というお金を失い、Chen氏は、会社を閉めた。
もちろん、Chen氏は、まだ裕福であった。しかし、Chen氏は、幸福ではなかった。自分を無能に感じていた。彼の経済的最高は、ただのまぐれで、彼の本来の野望（三度にわたる起業）は、すべて失敗に終わっていた。もし、これが映画の中なら、ここで、Chen氏は、雨の中、上海の道を歩いていると、突然、彼の夢を実現するような、新しいアイデアー素晴らしいアイデアーが浮かんでくるシーンであるに違いない。：成功する起業家
しかし、これは映画ではない。Chen氏は、雨の中、上海の道を歩いていたかもしれない、しかし、突然のひらめきは訪れることは無かった。Chen氏は、カナダに移住した。彼は、新天地でやり直したかった。また、彼の息子に普通の教育を受けさせたかった。彼は、彼の起業失敗が、まだリタイアへの決心を鈍らせる中、どこか効果的な社会保障制度を持つ場所での生活を望んでいた。彼は、カナダでエンジニアとして働きながら、そこで、中国レストランを始めることを望んでいた。
中国ビジネスニュースの話は、残念ながら、どのようにChen氏の起業が運用されたかについての詳細が不足しているが、私は、起業家にとって、いつくかの学ぶべき箇所があると思う。タイミングが重要だと言うこと。運が重要だと言うこと。一生懸命働き、犠牲を払ったとしても、成功は約束されていないと言うこと。時には、ただ失敗する、そして、再び挑戦する、そして、再び失敗する。それは、憂鬱なことだ。しかし、それが現実なのです。私は、このような話を共有することは、日常に溢れる、まるで、成功は必ず手に入るもののように称えた、成功話との調和を図る上で、とても大切なことだと思う。
現実は、そんなものではありません。Chen Jun氏に、聞いてみてください。
現実は、そんなものではありません。Chen Jun氏に、聞いてみてください。
Result of Translation in Conyac
- Number of Characters of Requests:
- 5179letters
- Translation Language
- English → Japanese
- Translation Fee
- $116.535
- Translation Time
- about 17 hours
Freelancer
sweetnaoken
Characteristics of Translations through Conyac
