Entrepreneurial Alumni

Hardy (Jian) Wang

Posted 01 July 2016

London Program

August 2012 Intake

Hardy Wang (London, August 2012) a graduate of Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, China, is the founder and CEO of a company named Globalright Consulting Group (GCG), which he set up last year. GCG is a Beijing-based consulting start-up that is aiming to connect overseas talent with career opportunities in China. This start up is helping Chinese small and medium size international businesses to develop, enlarge and strengthen their international business by providing international talent services. Specifically, they are focusing on global talent recruitment, business training, cultural experience and network building.

How did you get into this line of business?
I created this business concept when I studied in my junior year in my university in 2008. Back then, as the V ice President of our college English Association, I had hosted many different meetings and conferences between foreign teachers and Chinese teachers, scholars; organized and participated in many interactive activities between Chinese students and foreign teachers; helped many foreigners who were working, studying, and touring in China for many different needs. In 2010, when I was working in Exxon Mobil in the USA, I was hired as a salesman in the related department as the international staff member from China. Since then, I was always thinking about how to build a platform or at least have an organization to help more Chinese youth talents gain real work skills and experience true cultures in an international work environment.

Then in 2015, I went back to China from London. In one year, I had used my language advantage, international vision and professional work skills to help three different Chinese international businesses achieve and exceed their yearly sales goals. I therefore decided to get involved in this line of business.

How did you go about setting it up and getting established?
When I decided to set up this new business in early 2015, I chose to get started by taking three steps mainly as follows:
Firstly, when I worked in my previous firm, I wrote out my first edition business plan and started to describe the business products and services, and more importantly, to spread the word out to recruit my business partners.
Secondly, I chose to pick this start up location, my work place. Since the Chinese government is supporting young entrepreneurs to bring their businesses into many different local areas, I chose the capital city of China, Beijing city as our business location.
Thirdly, when I had the work space, products and services and my partners ready, then I quit my last job in early 2015. Then I started to recruit employees for this new business. Today, we are a 15 person company with two offices in Beijing city and Baotou city in Inner Mongolia, CHINA.

What else is in the pipeline?
In addition to my business, we have a Chinese tour program, overseas study tour program, and cultural exchange program to run in our pipeline.

What has been the proudest moment in your working life thus far?
The proudest moment in my working life thus far was when I worked in Exxon Mobil in 2011. As a salesman I helped my team achieve our quarterly goal and won the company award for our whole department, after which I got promoted to the assistant manager of our department.

What has been your biggest mistake/learning experience?
So far, my biggest learning experience was choosing the wrong person as one of our original co-founders for GCG. At the very beginning, I chose this person as one of our co-founders on the program development. But after two months, he told me he wanted to quit. This was a very sudden situation for us especially when we had just got started. But I quickly realized that his commitment was not at the same level as mine. Me and another co-founder are more focused on building up this company and helping more people and businesses by our efforts. This course might take a long time, but we want to insist on doing it this way. But this third co-founder was more money driven and was keeping eyes on the profitable products and services instead. There is nothing wrong about making money from it, but if you are only thinking about everything from a money making perspective, it may sacrifice and decrease our business value in our targeted customers eyes. Also this strategy will not be long lasting.

Any words of advice/wisdom would you impart to others thinking of setting up their own business?
My words of advice to others thinking of setting up their own businesses are choosing the right time to quit your current job, before you jump fully into your start up dream. Because when you start to do your own business, you will face many different difficulties such as : lack of capital, no partners, weak products and services etc. But some of them can be solved before you quit your current job and start putting your ideas into reality.