Last year, I connected with a PPE supplier in East Asia when I was hustling PPE like everyone and their grandmother in North America. He and his family was on the manufacturing side for over 10 years. We worked really well together in the span of 7 months. We spoke regularly. He chose to work with me more actively than a lot of his many other customers. My advantage was I was awake during their operating hours, spoke their dialect, and had some relatives there to help facilitate payments.. We made some good coin together. I was transparent with everything, which he later admitted he wasn’t accustomed to because it was usually a tug of ware with his customers. We talked a lot. To the point where I celebrated the birth of his first kid from afar. He was an internationally educated dude with fluent english, he studied abroad, we were roughly the same age. It was the first our chinese language exchange really sharpened my fluency.
Later his family suggested we enter into a new business together on a biopharmacy hustle they have raised millions into developing. This was a surprise because he mentioned his family was very cautious because they’ve worked with Americans for quite some time and there were often battles for one reason or another. This time, it was different because there is a mild cultural connection that exist now. But biopharmaceutical? Not a space I understand. I would be walking into an unknown business knowing only who I’m operating with. So while I’m trying to be optimistic, I still have a bit of skepticism in where I’d fit in.
Being Chinese by blood, I’ve never actually shared equity with anyone who was Chinese. I always felt they couldn't be trusted. Call me ignorant but I think that still holds some weight with the elder generation. The ones my family know are too loud and open with their schemes for me to believe otherwise. He’s new blood. I can tell he’s different.
I was lucky enough to have had two good previous business partners before. We worked side by side for years, and I would always hearhow impressed other founders with business partners were with the way we managed to keep things steady. No drama, no ego battles, just a partnership that worked. Obviously we debated and argued but not in a manner that was trash tv quality. We shared responsibilities, communicated openly, and somehow always kept a level head. I can see the same experience with this guy.
In the past year and a half, I have been an advisor and investor to a few startups. You could call the founders partners but I didn’t see it that way. They had their responsibilities, their own teams, and didn’t really communicate regularly. It’s not the same as being in the trenches with someone who shares the load equally.
Now I have this offer for equal partnership. Equal equity. Shared responsibilities. All of our personal information on the table. The kind of transparency where you know what’s going on in each other’s lives outside of work. It feels familiar in a way, but I can’t help but feel a little unnerving. Even though I’ve had two equal partners before, not new to this experience, the conversation still doesn’t feel natural.
Sometimes I wonder when the other shoe is going to drop because if I accept, this will be the third business partnership I will land where everything falls together so easily.
I think the dude is mad cool. We get along personally. We respect the different skills we each bring. We have similar work experiences but in completely different markets. We had a trial run working together already. His family is completely invested in this arrangement where they’re footing so much money to have me on board and consider I live overseas. We share a strong vision for what he is trying to build, and we both agree on operating discreetly, under the radar as long as possible, without the need for unnecessary fanfare until it serves a strong marketing opportunity..
I’m genuinely excited. Let’s see how this plays out. Maybe I get into something or nothing comes out of it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my past experience, it’s that when it feels this aligned at the start, it’s worth betting on.
Peace out NY
February 1, 2022