Post: #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_n4pTMJLnE

Everyone should watch this. I love this documentary - it is about three different British entrepreneurs whose businesses are suffering in the UK and they have to go make it work in China to make it rich.

There is the UK's largest pillow manufacturer, a kitchen interiors manufacturer, and an air conditioning energy saving device entrepreneur. All of these guys come from very different backgrounds and you get to see a wide range of what China (and more specifically, China business) is like.

If you want to understand China, Chinese business culture, and what it is like to be a foreigner in China, I think this documentary will be an entertaining means for you to have all those answers questioned.

Post: #2

After watching the first episode, I'm dumbfounded at the way these guys are going about trying to do business. I couldn't imagine not keeping an eye on small time residential construction here. How can an experienced businessman give the Chinese 4 million dollars to build a factory and not be there every day to watch it go up? Especially since he's building it int he sticks with a work crew that is likely local. That's absolutely insane, and the results are understandable. Man, that's way too much money to blow with such a trusting approach. Even when that factory gets completed, I can only imagine all of the shortcuts that will have been taken with the construction quality. He should have spent an extra 50k to have an independent third party bilingual construction manager or engineer supervise the entire project on his behalf.

And that old guy is going to get undercut by knockoffs right out of the gate. He should be trying to sell that invention in countries that will protect his patent. Its strange that he sees China as a viable market.

I'm going to watch the rest, as it seems interesting.

Post: #3

I watched the entire documentary in one sitting and while I agree that some of the ways 2 of the 3 men showcased, (Tony the Pillow man and the old man) were quite naive in their approach and got lucky by blind trusting the chinese "helpers". However, the other guy, the kitchen guy, was the one less likely to be scammed on as he meant business from the get go and didn't take any bs from anyone and was there to make sure that things got done, despite being initially being taken to the cleaners by his suppliers. I loved how the chinese contact of the old man, the chinese man with the contacts explained how things work in China and his remark about the 4 Cs of success in China: Contacts/Connections, Cash, Clout and Cultural knowledge/awareness. I understand how crucial is the cultural knowledge/awareness of international business, specially in Asia and even more so in China. I'm going to start Mandarin lessons in 2 weeks time at a local college and read/learn as much as possible about doing business in China.

However, my question is this: how can one, with no contacts/connections, no knowledge of China get access to and be connected to these powerful guys, the shakers and doers as the old man did with that old Chinese guy? Needless to say that this documentary has really made me to want me to switch my focus from spending time in Thailand and partying to more like building contacts and a business in China.

YMG, a huge thank you for posting as usual, awesome stuff. This documentary can lead to be the genesis of some extraordinary business venture down the line. I am extremely excited about the future.

Post: #4

I posted some of these on the mini retirement thread but here are some more documentaries about westerners going and making a killing (or going broke) in emerging markets:

Adventure Capitalist - Vietnam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igu5G8rle3Q

Adventure Capitalist - India

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDVAmeh5S...re=related

Adventure Capitalist - Kenya

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJ5HHSI3J4

You should read these books if you're interested in this kind of stuff:

"High Heels and Dirty Deals"

"Riches Among the Ruins"

"Rigged"

Post: #5

I read this blog religiously:

http://www.chinalawblog.com

If you want to learn about China business, you should do it through the lens of foreign China lawyers, who deal with foreign business issues all day. This guy's writing style is interesting and makes reading about law fun somehow.

Post: #6

I'm on video three of the china series, and will finish tomorrow. Thanks for the links, YMG, as these videos are very good.

I have to comment on Tony's selection of business partner. I just have one question: Why??

Why would you offer a timid young Chinese woman 30% of your business to be your partner? She's hiring relatives already, and the factory isn't even complete. This guy is in for some trouble.

Though, Vance is the man. I can understand like every fifth word, he's buying entire quarries, and I'm just waiting for him to haul off and smack around one of these little Chinese guys next time he gets lied too. He should have his own reality show, and I hate reality shows.

Post: #7

(04-19-2011 01:00 AM)hydrogonian Wrote:  I'm on video three of the china series, and will finish tomorrow. Thanks for the links, YMG, as these videos are very good.

I have to comment on Tony's selection of business partner. I just have one question: Why??

Why would you offer a timid young Chinese woman 30% of your business to be your partner? She's hiring relatives already, and the factory isn't even complete. This guy is in for some trouble.

Though, Vance is the man. I can understand like every fifth word, he's buying entire quarries, and I'm just waiting for him to haul off and smack around one of these little Chinese guys next time he gets lied too. He should have his own reality show, and I hate reality shows.

Her's another documentary about Vance specifically

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaNsMCsSM34

Post: #8

Vance has more emotional control than I could have. Hats off to him for that. If someone stole 200,000 dollars from me and then tried to make me eat donkey dick, I wouldn't be able to remain calm. While I realize that its a delicacy, the metaphor is just too much.

Post: #9

happened to me in argentina

Post: #10

Thanks for the link. Check out the life of "The Kitchen Gangster", Vance Miller. What a crazy guy (and Alpha too, for you Alpha aficionados).

Aside from the business/entrepreneurship aspect of the documentary, there is the scene with the former military general turned businessman and his model bitches. If it weren't for sex, money, and power, the world as we know it would not go round. But we already knew that didn't we?

Post: #11

what about Brazil?

Post: #12

Here is BBC Adventure Capitalist, Brazil Episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8iHhYlJ6...re=related

This episode is one of the better ones.

Post: #13

Amazing documentary series by Discovery Channel - "Discovery Atlas."

Unlike the previous documentaries on here, this is less related to business but still gives you a deep inside look on regional differences and the lives of different individuals in emerging (and developed) countries. Very well produced.

Mexico:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFA_rdARWXc

Egypt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvDtmj7wwaU

Italy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRa43_Tsr...re=related

India:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3o2iH8wv...re=related

Brazil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVgPslkBC_o


China:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KNHgraDd...A307359D5B

South Africa (in Spanish):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N8_-TB9AOo

Russia (in Spanish):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iErXcmkYk...re=related

Japan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MOlK5Y7lyg