十年前她带着一袋现金来中国创办公司，如今名列福布斯优秀风险投资人前十
作为风险投资的顶尖女性，她已经设法闯入了男性俱乐部。她投入数百万美元投资于中国的软件和互联网热潮，使得好几家创业公司成为百万美元的企业。现在，她预测创业公司的复兴将成为推动中国工厂技术和技能发展的潜在因素，可能会引发一波从无人机和机器人到智能汽车的新发明。
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=w05415hvotu&width=500&height=375&auto=0
Channel News Asia采访GGV纪源资本管理合伙人李宏玮Jenny Lee完整视频
日前，Channel News Asia采访了GGV纪源资本管理合伙人李宏玮Jenny Lee。
以下文字根据视频整理：
『 GGV纪源资本管理合伙人李宏玮Jenny Lee在她的祖国新加坡并不是家喻户晓的人物。但在全球科技投资者的世界里，她是最好的投资者之一。她在康奈尔大学学习工程，毕业后回到新加坡，从事喷气式飞机相关工作。之后，她抛弃这一切，带着一袋现金，独自前往中国寻找公司进行投资。
本周Power List Asia 6将对话GGV纪源资本管理合伙人李宏玮Jenny Lee。
2005年，李宏玮Jenny Lee为美国风险投资公司GGV纪源资本在上海开设办公室。十多年后，该公司下的8个基金管理着超过38亿美元的资金，与美国和中国诸多领先的科技企业成功合作。』
问：10年前，当你在GGV纪源资本重新开始，真的是带着一袋现金前往上海吗？
答：是的。
问：那么背后有什么故事？
答：那是在2005年，当时我正在为GGV纪源资本设立运营和办公室。那时候，在中国创业，你必须拥有当地的货币，即人民币。但是，如果没有成立公司，就没有办法申请公司账户或办理信用卡。所以你真的不得不使用现金。这就是我真的带了一袋人民币的原因。那是2005年，雇用我的第一个雇员，并运作起来，我都是用现金完成的。所以当时是以现金为基础的经济。
问：你当时在想什么？那是你第一次来中国，而且你正在创办一家公司。我可以想象这一定是一场冒险。
答：我在上海没有亲人，我没有在中国上过学，我也没有同学在那里，绝对是第一次花时间把上海当成我的家。你知道，在如何过渡上会有一点恐惧以及不确定性。但是我认为这也是CEO们在第一次创业时所面临的问题。所以我可以真正有同理心、完全感受到他们的感觉。
『李宏玮Jenny Lee起初是无人机的的航空工程师。之后，她在摩根士丹利和一家日本风险投资公司工作，直到GGV邀请她去开辟中国的市场，这是她不能拒绝的选项。看起来45岁的她走出了一条成功的道路。自2011年以来，李宏玮Jenny Lee一直入选追踪世界顶级科技投资者的福布斯最佳创投人名单。2015年，她进入前10。她领导GGV投资了一些中国最大的科技公司，如滴滴出行，YY，海辉软件和世纪互联。』
问：Jenny，我现在要直入主题了。你在关注什么？你现在如何去做投资？
答：因为我们是科技基金，所以在这个领域，我们花了很多时间在三个主题上。一个是消费升级。所以我们试图抓住消费升级的新趋势，就是让中国的消费从单纯国际品牌的电子商务中走出来。他们也在购买本土品牌。所以消费者、消费，这是其一。我们看到的第二个趋势是企业服务。由于中国的劳动力成本越来越高。企业正在采用技术，可能会使用更多的应用程序，软件和云解决方案。第三个趋势是前沿技术的兴起。在前沿技术方面，我们正在研究机器人技术。我们正在寻找包括电动汽车，无人机交通和机器人在内的智能交通。所以这些就是我们正在关注的三个领域。
问：令你个人最激动的是哪一个？
答：我对第三个领域——前沿技术充满激情。这是我领导的领域。这是我花时间在美国和中国寻找前沿公司的领域。而且我相信前沿技术会让世界变得更美好。我很期待看到一个我们可以和机器人共存的世界。
问：在你的决策过程中，人肯定会是非常重要的影响因素。对于所有者，管理组织的人员，或者您所谓的团队。除了我们常听到的激情和能力之外，还有什么是你注意的特殊因素（X factor）？
答：我认为我们会看他的技术能力，我们会看他制作合适的产品、并把它推向市场的能力。但最终，在最后一个因素上，我会花更多的时间、一对一的时间，喝咖啡，或是周末去他的办公室逛一逛。其实，你称之为特殊因素（X factor）的，就是激情。
问：你如何定义激情？
答：火花。
问：它是如何表现的？
答：它既是软性因素，也是硬性因素。他愿意放弃多少东西去实现自己的梦想？他如何利用他的朋友网络来建立一个合适的团队？这很难量化。我认为这不是一台机器可以完成的事情。但这也是其中的魅力。如果你今天遇到马云，你知道，我们常常会说，当他上台时，你要么爱上他，要么就恨他。这就是特殊因素（X factor）。这就是魅力。
问：你的投资通常持有多久？
答：从历史上看，风险投资的整个周期是7到10年。而这实际上就是从一家初创公司到具有一定规模的公司需要的时间。它也可能会成为一个上市公司。
问：目标一定会是上市吗？
答：并不总是。我认为独立的公司往往有更多的选择。所以上市只是其中之一。如果你是该类别中的第一名，你也可以选择成为私有公司而不上市。
问：你期待的回报是多少？
答：在基金层面，我们寻求持续的回报。所以在基金层面上，目标是我们的资金的3到5倍。在具体投资上，显然越高越好。所以在一个具体的投资上，我们希望看到它们有机会在单个项目的层面上获得10倍以上的回报。因为你必须为基金做点什么，你必须考虑那些并不能完全达到3到5倍回报的公司。
问：你必须确保你掌握了一切。
答：我不喜欢失败。
问：这就是我的下一个问题，如果失败会发生什么？你可能会失败？
答：我也会失败。我认为，在风险投资业务中，我们必须与企业家和CEO们共同做出的最艰难的决定，就是因为各种原因必须关闭业务。
问：关闭还是退出？
答：关闭。关闭业务的需要可能意味着他们输了。初创公司在市场上表现不好，没有市场份额。没有人购买这个产品，或者他们已经用完了资金。因此，关闭一个企业比退出困难。我曾经这样做过。我曾经坐在CEO边上，解雇他的员工。在这种时刻，他需要董事会成员的支持，无论是精神还是物质上的支持。之后，董事会成员坐下来问CEO，“下一步是什么？你有新的创业公司吗？”所以是的，这是投资周期的重要组成部分。这是最艰难的部分。
问：当你被这么多的信息淹没时，你如何保持好奇？
答：我有天生的好奇心。
问：这有帮助吗？
答：有帮助。
问：正如你所说，你是一个极客，对吧？
答：是的，我是个极客。我喜欢成为第一个尝试产品的人。我想成为最先了解新信息的少数几个。所以我认为关键并不是要过滤掉这些信息。关键在于如何非常快速地筛选信息。当我们放松下来，当我们认为信息不再重要的那一刻，我认为就将面临跟不上正在发生的技术变革的风险。
问：所以这是一种对失败的恐惧吗？
答：我觉得这是保持竞争力的一部分。
问：硬币的另一面。你总是这么乐观。
答：我是总是很乐观。
问：杯子总是半满，而不是半空。
『作为风险投资的顶尖女性，她已经设法闯入了男性俱乐部。李宏玮Jenny Lee投入数百万美元投资于中国的软件和互联网热潮，使得好几家创业公司成为百万美元的企业。现在，她预测创业公司的复兴将成为推动中国工厂技术和技能发展的潜在因素，可能会引发一波从无人机和机器人到智能汽车的新发明。但是穿过中国的数据雷区是必须首先要解决的问题之一。』
问：在中国，有什么不同寻常的做功课的方法吗？
答：我在中国的十五年间，中国市场已经发生了巨大的变化。在最开始的五年里，我们使用了很不一样的尽职调查方式。除了与这些CEO和他们的团队花时间交谈以外，我们还会聘请调查员。
问；他们知道吗？
答：我们和他们交谈，我们也有第三方来检查，因为他们必须向我们提供他们的信息。所以我们可以用不同的方式来考察CEO，他的家庭，财富和背景。我想在中国，我们一直认为核实是重要的。我们可以相信CEO，我们会花时间和他在一起，然后我们会花同样的时间来核实他说的话。我认为这很重要。这是我们做生意的一部分。
问：我了解到你也会拜访这些企业家的家属？
答：是的，我们会这样。
问：你希望能找到什么？
答：不是对所有的企业家。我觉得这取决于企业家的年龄和我们发现的一些历史。我们可能会要求和家人见面，就只是多花一些时间。我想，当你看着公司的企业文化和公司的DNA时，很多时候都反映了这个CEO。正直性尤其如此。所以，我们想检查一下，他是否拥有一个良好的家庭，这种正直性在他的个人生活中如何运作。这往往很好地转化为财富。有个企业家告诉我，他有三个女朋友，三个不同的孩子，但他并没有正式结婚。我们知道这一点。在投资之前，我们知道他正经历什么。他愿意告诉我们这一事实，就好像他在告诉我们“我们将成为建立业务的合作伙伴，但这是我的生活”。我们必须做出决定这是否是我们要与之合作的CEO的类型。
问：那么你会怎么做决定呢？
答：某些情况下，我们会合作。某些情况下，我们会离开。
问：在什么情况下你们会离开？
答：在一些情况中，你会知道他没有以正确的方式对待他的家人或他的大家庭。我们不喜欢我们的CEO们——特别是在中国，同时也是在全球范围内——过于卷入或纠缠于家庭纠纷，因为这关系到他的时间。如果他的个人生活处于混乱中，如果他有三个妻子需要照顾或者有很多个孩子，那对他而言将是情感负担，并会阻止他对工作倾尽全力。在这种情况下，我们也许会很喜欢他，但对我们来说这可能不是一个好的伙伴关系。
问：根据一些报道，人们都会风险投资在2017年会放缓，这也是你们计划的一部分吗？
答：我们看到了这个趋势。我们看到市场因为各种原因而放缓。其中一个原因是，世界各国包括中国的GDP增速都在下降。我们现在谈论的GDP增速在6%到7%之间，15年前我刚来中国的时候增速在15%到17%之间。
问：你们2017年的预算大概有多少？
答：对我们来说，我们的基金通常是以2到3年的周期进行投资。在每年的基础上，我们部署了2亿至4亿美元。当市场下跌的时候，是寻找优秀、稳定和成长型企业的最佳时机。
问：作为风险投资公司的部分策略是在董事会中寻找代表来保护你的投资。但是我个人想知道，你有没有想过自己掌权并真正地参与实操？
答：在我职业生涯的早期起，我确实有过这种冲动。但是随着时间的推移，我意识到那并不是我的优势所在。我觉得我的附加值和优势在于我每天都见到很多公司。我已经加入过许多家公司了。我目睹了企业如何经历他们的成长过程，从第一年的创业公司，到第二年的创业公司，再到一个IPO公司。我所获得的这种丰富的经历，实际上是用来分享给不同公司最好的经验，这些能帮助他们成功。而不是积累所有的经验，却只将其用于一家公司。
问：如果他们不接受你的建议呢？
答：如果我们确实发现我们和管理团队之间关于前进的路上如业务风险将如何管理存在许多分歧。我们真的会尝试早一些退出，而不是陪伴他们到最后。这也是很现实的。
『在休息之后，Jenny Lee谈论了关于在被称为男性俱乐部的VC世界里的经历。
Jenny Lee成为了第一位名列福布斯优秀风险投资人前十的女性。她的第一份工作是在新加坡的战斗机上的一名工程师。现在，她是中国科技界最受尊敬的投资人之一。根据前沿科技杂志Tech Crunch的研究，排名前100的风险投资公司，只有百分之七的投资合伙人是女性。我们在新加坡的一个美食广场上聊她不同的角色。』
问：你想念家乡的食物吗？
答：是的，我会。我觉得如果只有一件我想念的事，那一定是食物。小时候，我经常去小贩中心和美食广场，那是我在中国和美国都会想念的东西。
问：你最喜欢的食物是什么？
答：我早餐最喜欢的是印度抛饼。
问：是的，这无疑总是我们的最爱。
答：没错，但它真的不健康。
问：在一个男性主导的世界中，你的存在意味着很多东西。人们常说，VC的世界是男性的俱乐部，但是你已经成功地进入了这个俱乐部，而且做得很好。在VC的世界，作为一位女性对你而言意味着什么呢？
答：我认为VC行业是一个非常独特的行业。它真的是无性别差异的。要想在风险投资行业中做好，有良好的人际联系是非常有帮助的。但是说到底，这其实还是关于你的能力，发现好的投资就能进入这些投资并且帮助这些投资取得成功。你是否是一位女性，其实不重要。你其实可以利用这一优势。
问：这如何成为一个优势？
答：我会觉得我的优势不仅仅是一位女性。作为一名前工程师，我的背景可以帮助我理解产品。我之前从事尖端技术工作的经历，意味着我可以讨论任何关于技术的话题。我觉得，作为一名女性，我们确实拥有的能力是我们会更加敏感，更加关注CEO正如何建立自己的团队。有时候，男性企业家真的很难给一个抱怨家庭问题的成员加油打气。但是确实会有家庭问题，是吧？因为企业家会花费24小时中的20个小时为自己的创业公司工作。他会睡在办公室。当有家庭问题等问题的时候，他会打电话给我。
问：真的吗？真的有这种事情吗？
答：我可以去和他的妻子谈一谈。
问：真的吗？真的发生这样的事情吗？
答：是的。他问我，是不是能和他的妻子聊一下，告诉她我正在工作。然后，我就说好的。
问：所以你最后既是一个资本家，又是一个婚姻顾问。
答：是这样的。有时候我觉得我也是一个心理学家。我已经能胜任这些角色了。我会花一些时间和他们的妻子、家人在一起，向他们解释创业者的圈子和挑战是什么样的，因为对CEO们来说，得到家人的支持是很重要的。
问：如果我错了，请纠正我的错误。我了解到，你的丈夫正在硅谷与谷歌合作对吗。那你们怎么处理远距离的问题呢？
答：我们俩都是极客，我们拥抱科技。无论是通过face time、互联网、邮件还是聊天软件，我觉得通过科技，保持联系实际上要容易得多。我们可以不仅仅是通过电话联系了。
问：在工作之外，你的生活是什么样的呢？比如，你一个人在中国的时候，是什么样的？
答：我有很多爱好，既有室内的也有室外的。很明显，如果我只有几个小时，我不能做很多事情。所以我一般读书、看新闻、看不同科技领域的新的东西。我最近的兴趣在遗传学。
问：告诉我，你如何在其中找到乐趣？
答：让我给你一些数据。你知道世界正在经历人口老龄化。人口老龄化是一个大问题…..
『当Jenny Lee从科技到人口统计学给我许多信息的时候，我想我们在一起的时间就快要结束了，我必须深入地去挖掘究竟是什么在驱动着这位勇敢的投资者导师。』
问：你最大的恐惧是什么？是什么样的恐惧在驱使着你？
答：我最大的恐惧......我一般都是无所畏惧的。
问：从你选择的道路来看，我相信你。
答：总体而言，我是无所畏惧的。但另一方面，我也不是傲慢无知的态度。我觉得了解恐惧是非常重要的。我会解释我的意思。很多时候，当我在职业道路上前进的时候，有很多时候是是我第一次做某件事。这是我第一次去这个城市，这是我第一次进入这个市场。十五年前我去中国的时候，那是我第一次去中国。但我意识到，当每一次迎接新的任务或新的挑战的时候，我会告诉自己，我可以做到。当然确实，我会害怕进入，我会想我会如何成功，我会怎么失败。但是我发现，如果我能够继续努力，持续地去一个接一个地解决每一个挑战，就总能征服它们。虽然我认为这不是一件容易的事情，但总有一些时候可以告诉自己，你可以做到这一点，有时候人们会问我是否会哭。我的同事总是说，Jenny从来不哭。
问：你肯定哭过。
答：是的。
问：是啊。
答：但我总是告诉自己，如果实在很难受很沮丧，就给自己十分钟去哭一下，但是不要一直哭两个小时，因为十分钟就够了。
问：去南美一个偏僻的地方躲起来哭，也许？
答：然后就积极起来。这其实都是关于选择。
问：你已经毫无疑问地在事业上开疆拓土了，会迎来更多更多美好的岁月。非常感谢你的宝贵时间。
答：谢谢你，Karen。
问：我非常享受和你的聊天。
以下是英文版内容：
She’s little known in her home country, Singapore.But in the world of global tech investors, she’s up there with the best ofthem. Nothing about my guest this week is conventional. She studied engineeringat cornell university. She returned to Singapore and worked on jet planes.After that, she decided to ditch it all. With a bag of cash, she set off forChina alone to find companies and invest in.
This week on powerlist asia, I’m putting mymoney on venture capitalist, Jenny Lee of GGV Capital, China.
In 2005, Jenny Lee was given a mandate byAmerica-based venture capital company, GGV Capital to start up their office inShanghai. More than 10 years later, the company has $3.8 billion under itsmanagement across 8 funds and is successfully partnering with leadingtechnology entrepreneurs in the US and China.
Q: What was it like for you…10 years agowhen you started with GGV Capital and going into Shanghai with literally a bagof cash.
J: That’s right.
Q: So what was the story behind that?
J: This was in 2005, when I was setting upthe operations and office for GGV. And back than, to start a business in China,you have to have the local currency which is RMB. But without a company set up,there is no way to apply for a corporate account or have a credit card. And soyou literally have to do it with cash. So I literally had a bag of RMB. Thiswas in 2005. To hire my first employee and to get the operation started, I wasdoing that in cash. So it was a cash-based economy at that time.
Q: what went through your mind? That wasyour first time in China. You were starting up a company. I can imagine it musthave been quite an adventure.
J: I have no family in Shanghai. I didn’tgo to school in China. I have no classmates there. And so, definitely the firsttime having to spend time to make Shanghai my home. You know, you have littlebit of fear. (yeah, of course.) and uncertainty as well in terms of how tonavigate. But I think it’s what ceos face when they’re doing their firststart-up as well. So I can truly (empathy), exactly as to how they would feel.(3:15)
Jenny lee started off as an aeronauticalengineer working on drones. She later went on to work at Morgan Stanley and aJapanese VC firm before being asked by GGV to chart the company’s course inChina, an offer she could not refuse. And it looks like the 45-year-old haspadded down a winning formula. Since 2011, Jenny Lee has been in the Forbes MidasList, which tracks the top tech investors in the world. In 2015, she was listedin the top 10. She led GGV to some of the biggest tech companies in China, likedidi chuxing, yy, hisoft and 21Vianet.
Q: Jenny, let me cut to the chase rightnow. What are you looking at？where are you putting your money right now?
J: as we are technology funds, and so inthe sector, we are spending a lot of time in three topics. One is consumer upgrade.So we are trying to capture the new trends that coming alone in consumerupgrade, meaning that has the consuming in China move just from e-commerce byinternational brands. They are also buying local brands. So consumer,consumption, that’s one. The second trend we are looking at is enterprise. Soas the labor cost in China becomes higher and higher over time. Enterprise areadopting technology and that could be using more apps, software and cloud-typesolutions. And the third trend is the rise of frontier technology sector. Infrontier technology, we are looking at robotics. We are looking at smartmobility which includes electric cars, drone transportation and robotics. Sothose would be the three areas we’re looking at.
Q: what gets you most excited personally?
J: I am passionate about the third area,which is frontier technology. It’s the area that I lead. It’s the area that Ispend time looking at frontier companies in the US and in China. And I believethat the world will be better with frontier technologies. I would love to see aworld where we can coexist with robots.
Q: People definitely play a big part inyour decision-making process, the owners, the people who run the organization,the team as you call them. And other than passion and competence which we heara lot about, what is the other X-factor that you look out for?
J: So I think we look at his technicalcapabilities, we look at his ability to have the right product and to bring theright product to the market. But ultimately, the last factor, which is thefactor that I spend a lot more time on, spending one-on-one time, havingcoffee, weekends hanging out at his office. Actually, you call call it the Xfactor but it’s the passion.
Q: How would you define passion?
J: The sparks.
Q: How is it demonstrated?
J: It’s both soft and hard factors. How muchis he willing to give up to achieve his dream? How has he leveraged on hisfriends and his network to build the right team? It’s hard to quantity. I thinkit’s not something that a machine can do. But it’s the charisma as well. If youmeet jack ma today, you know, we always like to say you either fall in lovewith him or hate him when he’s on stage. And that’s the X factor. That’s thecharisma.
Q; How long do you typically hold on toyour investments?
J: So historically, for venture investment,the whole period is between 7 and 10 years. And that’s actually the time thatyou take for a company to come from a start-up to get to a level when you havea scale. And that may be become a public company.
Q: And is going to public always the goal?
J: Not always. I think that companies thatare independent tend to have more options. And so being public is one of thoseoptions. If you are number 1 in the category, you can also choose to be aprivate company instead of being public.
Q: What sort of returns are you looking at?
J: At the fund level, we look forconsistent returns. And so at the fund level, for 3 to 5 times our fund ofcapital. On a specific investment, obviously the higher the better. So on aspecific investment, we’d like to see that they have a chance to be more than10 times return on the individual level. Cause you have to do for the fund, youhave to account for that companies that don’t quite make it to the three tofive of level as well.
Q: And you’ve to make sure that you’ve gotthe pulse on everything.
J: I don’t like to fail.
Q: Which is my next question, what happenswhen you fail? And you could fail?
J: It happens. I think in the venturebusiness, the toughest decision that we have to make collectively with ourentrepreneurs and CEOS, is when we have to shut down the business for variousreasons.
Q: Shut down or exit?
J: Shut down. The need to shut down thebusiness could mean that they lost. The start-up, they cannot do well in themarket and they have no market share. No one is buying the product and they’verun out of capital. So shutting down a business is harder than exiting it. AndI have done that. I have set beside a CEO to lay off his staff. That’s the timewhen he needed the support of the board members, being able to give him themoral and physical support. And after that, the board members sat him down andasked “what’s next? Do you have a new start-up?” So, yes, that is part andparcel of the investment cycle. It’s the toughest cycle.
Q: How do you remain curious when you aredrowning in so much information?
J: So I have natural curious.
Q: That helps?
J: It helps.
Q: As you say, you’re a geek, right?
J: Yes, I am a geek. I like to be the firstto try a product. And I’d like to be the first few to know what the newinformation is. And so I think the art is not about filtering out theseinformation. The art is about how you can sieve through the information veryquickly. The moment we relax on that, the moment we think that information isno longer important, then I think that when we’ll face the risk of not keepingup with the technological changes that are happening.
Q: So it’s the fear of failure.
J: Well, I think it’s part of stayingcompetitive.
Q: Flip side of the coin. You're alwaysoptimistic.
J: I'm always optimistic.
Q: The glass is always half full instead ofhalf empty.
As the top women in venture capital, Shehas managed to crack the boys club. Jenny Lee made millions of dollars bettingon china's software and internet boom, turning several startups into milliondollar enterprises. Now she predicts a Renaissance of startups as China boosttechnology and skills at factories, potentially triggering a wave of newinventions from drones and robots to smart cars. But traversing the dataminefield in China, has to be one of the first issues to deal with.
Q: what are the unusual ways you do yourhomework when it comes to China?
J: The China market has changed over thelast fifteen years since i've been there, so I would say that in the first fiveyears we have very different way of doing our due diligence. for the ceos, otherthan spending time with these ceos, other than talking to him and his team insome cases we hire investigators.
Q: and do they do know about that?
J: We talk to them and we we got a thirdparty to check because they have to provide us with their information. So onthe people, we could exhaust different ways of investigating the ceo, hisfamily, wealth and background. I think in China, we always believe thatverification is important. We can trust the ceo, we can spend time with him andthen we spend equal time verifying what he says. and i think it's do important.it is part of what we do as a business.
Q: And i understand you also visit thefamilies of the owners
J: We do. Yes, we do.
Q: What are you looking out for?
J: Not for all owners. I think it dependson the age of the entrepreneurs and some of the history that we have found. wemay request to meet with the family, just spend a bit more time. i think, whenyou look at a company when you look at the startup the culture and DNA of thecompany, many many times reflect on the ceo. and it’s especially also true forintegrity. So, we’d like to check that you know if he runs a good family that’sintegrity within how he runs his his personal life. that tends to translatevery well into the possesses well. it's amazing i have had entrepreneur tellsme that he has three girlfriends, three different kid but he’s not officiallymarried. And we know about that. Prior to the investment, we know what he’sgoing through. The fact that he’s willing to disclose that to us is akin to himtelling us, is also going to say “we are going to be partners in building thebusiness but this is my life.” And we have to make that decision of whetherthis is the type of ceo that we want to work with.
Q: So do you?
J: In some cases, we do. In some cases, westep away.
Q: in what cases you step away?
J: In some cases where you understand thathe has not treated his family or His extended family in the right way. We don'tlike our ceos, especially in China as well as globally, to be too involved orembroiled in family disputes cause this is about the time he has. If hispersonal life is in shambles, if he has three wives to take care of andmultiple children, that's would be the emotion burden on him and will preventhim giving his best to his business. In those situation, we may like him, Butit may not be a good partnership for us.
Q: They say that, reading some of thereports that, people are saying that VC investment is going to slow down in2017. Is that part of your agenda as well?
J: we see this trend. We see that themarket has slowed down for various reasons. One reason is that gdp growthacross different countries is coming down even china. We are talking about gdpgrowth of between 6% and 7%, down from 15% to 17% when I first come to china 15years ago. So overall the growth is coming down.
Q: how much have you perhaps budget for2017?
J: For us, our funds are typically investedover a 2 to 3 year cycle. On every year basis, we do deploy between $200 to$400 million. When the markets are down, this is best time to find good, stableand growing companies with categorical leaders.
Q: part of the strategies of being a VC isto find a representation on the board to protect your investments. But I’mwondering personally, have you ever been tempted to take the bull by the hornsand really get involved operationally?
J: So in the early part of my career, I didhave that impulse. But I realized over time that that’s not where my strengthslie. I think my value-add and my strength lie in the fact that I meet a lot ofcompanies on a daily basis. I’ve been a bunch of boards. I’ve seen howcompanies navigate their growth process, growing from first-year start-up to asecond-year start-up, to be like a ipo company. And that wealth of experiencewhich I’ve gained is actually best leveraged across different companies where Ishare with them, where the pot holes are going to be to help them to besuccessful, instead of amassing all the experience and putting it to use inonly one company.
Q: What if they don’t take your advice?
J: If we do find a situation where we havea lot of disagreements with the management team in terms of how the businessrisk It's going to be managed, going forward. We would really try to exit a bitearlier than being with them to the end. That’s also being practical.
After the break, Jenny Lee on thepracticalities of being in the boy’s club of the VC world.
Jenny Lee became the first woman to figurein the top 10 on Forbes Midas list of leading venture capital investors. Shecut her teeth as an engineer working on fighter jets in Singapore. Today, sheis one of the most respected investors in china's tech scene. According toresearch by the leading technology magazine, Tech Crunch, Only seven percent ofinvesting partners are the top 100 venture firms are women. We chat about herdifferent roles at a food court in Singapore.
Q: Do you miss food from home?
J: Yes, I do. I think if there's one thingthat I miss it would be food. ( That’s always the case.) when I was young, Iused to go to hawker centers and food courts.(your facorites?) that’s somethingI miss in china and the us.
Q: what’s your favourite?
J: My favorite for breakfast would be rotiprata.
Q: yes, that’s surely our all-timefavorite.
J: that’s right but it’s really unhealthy.
Q: There's been so much that's been made ofyour being in a man's world. They say that the VC world is a boys' club. Butyou’ve managed to get into that club and Excel in it. But what really doesbeing a women mean to you in the VC world?
J: i think that the VC industry is a veryunique industry. It is truly non-gender specific. To do well in the venturecapital industry, Actually having the right contacts obviously helps. Havingthe right networks helps. But at the end of the day, it's about your ability tofind the right investments and to be able to get into those investments and tohelp those investments to be successful. whether nor not you are a woman or notactually may not matter. you can leverage that as an advantage
Q: How has it served as an advantage?
J: so i would say that My advantage isn'tjust as a woman. My background as an ex-engineer, helps me to understand theproduct. The fact that I worked on pretty cutting-edge technology means that I cantalk shop about any technology. I think as a women What we do have is ourability to be more sensitive and more attuned to how the ceo is building histeam. Sometimes it’s really hard for a male entrepreneur to call up his memberwho is also a guy to complain about family issues. And they do happen, right? Becausean entrepreneur spends 20hours out of 24 hours working on his start-up. Hedoesn't go home. He sleeps in his office. When there are issues such as familyissues, he can call me.
Q: Really? It happens?
J: I can go and talk to his wife.
Q: Really? It happens?
J: Yes. He told me Can you go and talk tomy wife and tell her i'm working. And I said OK.
Q: So you are eventually capitalist and amarriage counsellor, as well.
J: Absolutely. Sometimes I think I am alsoa psychologist. And I have filled in some of those roles. I spent some timewith their wives and spend some time with their family, explaining to them whatit's like to be part of their entrepreneurial cycle and challenge. Cause it isimportant for ceos to have the support of their families.
Q: So I understand, correct me if I’mwrong, your husband is working with google in silicon valley. So how do youmanage your relationships across the miles?
J: Both of us are geeks, we embracetechnology. whether it's through face times through the internet, throughemails through chats. i'd say with technology it's actually a lot easier tostay in contact. it's no longer just through phones.
Q: what then is life like outside of workfor you？for instance when you’re alone in China, what’s like?
J: i have a lot of hobbies both indoor andoutdoor. Obviously, if I only have a couple of hours, I can’t do a lot ofthings right? So i'd be reading, catching up on news, catching up on differenttechnology areas. My latest interest is actually in genetics.
Q: How do you find enjoyment in that? Tell me.
J: let me give you the statistics. you knowthe world is experiencing an ageing population. Ageing population is a bigissue. if you fast forward five years from now…
As Jenny Lee Throws out the facts fromtechnology to demography, and i guess our time together has to draw close, I simplyhad to dig deeper on what motivates this intrepid mentor-investor.
Q: What’s your greatest fear? What's thefear that compels you?
J: my greatest fear…I am generallyfearless.
Q: Judging from the path that you’vecharted, I can believe you.
J: I’m generally fearless. But on the otherhand, I’m also not ignorant, arrogantly ignorant. I think it's very importantto understand fear. and i will explain what i mean. a lot of time as iprogressed in my career there were many times that is the first time that i wasdoing something. It's the first time for me to go to the city is the first timethat I entering a market. fifteen years ago when i went to china it was myfirst time there. But i realized that every time, you take on a new assignmentor new challenge, i'd tell myself that i can do it. yes i'd be afraid of goingin, i'd think about how i could be successful and how I can fail. But I foundthat if I could just keeping working on it, keep addressing each challenge oneby one, You can always surpass them. although i think it's never easy, but it’sserious of steps to tell yourself that you can do it.( yes) sometimes peoplewould ask me if i do cry. my colleagues always say jenny never cries.
Q: You must cried？
J: I do, right?
Q: Yes.
J: But I always tell myself, If you arestuck and feel depressed, Give yourself some time to go and cry for tenminutes, but don't cry for two hours because ten minutes is enough.
Q: Go to a remote part of South America anddo the crying, perhaps.
J: And then the positive. Again It’s aboutchoice.
Q: You’ve certainly pushed the boundariesand many many more good years to come. Thank you very much for your time.
J: Thank you, Karen.
Q: I’ve enjoyed this.
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