Traveling the World Made Me a Better Entrepreneur

Photo by Andrew Nguyen

After college, I took an unconventional career path. No two-year contract with a bank or consulting firm, no paralegal work, not even a stint on my parents’ couch. I took a contract to teach English in China for a month and decided I’d figure out the rest along the way.

大學(xué)畢業(yè)后，我沒(méi)有選擇常規(guī)的職業(yè)路線。沒(méi)有銀行或咨詢公司的合約，沒(méi)有從事律師助理之類(lèi)的工作，也不曾為了節(jié)省開(kāi)支而搬去與父母一起生活。我選擇了去中國(guó)做一個(gè)月英語(yǔ)教師，并打算在這段時(shí)間規(guī)劃好以后去做什么。

Over the next five years, I lived and worked my way through Mongolia, Russia, Thailand, Afghanistan, Syria, Kuwait, Qatar, and Turkey. I taught English, worked as a freelance journalist, wrote analysis for a consulting firm, and threw parties to bring together the fascinating people I met along the way.

結(jié)果接下來(lái)的5年里，我以工作生活的方式一路走過(guò)蒙古、俄羅斯、泰國(guó)、阿富汗、敘利亞、科威特、卡塔爾和土耳其。我教英語(yǔ)，做自由撰稿人，為咨詢公司寫(xiě)分析報(bào)道，以及舉辦派對(duì)召集一路上結(jié)識(shí)的精彩人物。

Friends openly wondered if I’d ever get back on the career path after “disappearing” for years. What they—and I, for that matter—didn’t realize then is that I was well on my way along my career path of choice: being an entrepreneur.?As I found ways to support myself in my travels, and picked where I would settle, I learned several key skills that have served me well in the course of building a venture-backed startup.

一些朋友曾公開(kāi)質(zhì)疑，在“消失”這么多年后我是否還會(huì)回到職業(yè)道路上。他們，其實(shí)是我自己，當(dāng)時(shí)并沒(méi)有意識(shí)到我正在通往職業(yè)途徑的選擇上：成為一名創(chuàng)業(yè)者。當(dāng)我在旅行途中尋找養(yǎng)活自己的辦法，以及選擇在哪里落腳時(shí)，我學(xué)到了一些關(guān)鍵技能。這些技能讓我在創(chuàng)建有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資支持的創(chuàng)業(yè)項(xiàng)目時(shí)受益匪淺。

In the U.S. we’ve become accustomed to clear processes.?If someone breaks a contract, you sue them.?If you have a problem with someone at work, you go to HR. If a website isn’t working, you file a support ticket.

在美國(guó)，我們已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了那些明確清晰的流程。如果有人違約，起訴他們。如果工作中遇到問(wèn)題，去找HR。如果網(wǎng)站遇到問(wèn)題，發(fā)送錯(cuò)誤報(bào)告。

In much of the world, those services and structures don’t exist or don’t work. When there’s a problem, you need to fix it yourself. Usually, you have to find out who’s responsible, then convince him or her to help you fix your problem.

在世界上很多地方，這些服務(wù)和系統(tǒng)組織根本不存在或一無(wú)是處。遇到問(wèn)題時(shí)，你需要自己想辦法解決。

I once got stranded at the northern border of Badakhshan, an autonomous region bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. I had three days before I needed to catch a flight out of western Tajikistan and there were two ways to get there:? drive through southern Kyrgzstan or retrace my steps along the Afghan border, which would take a minimum of five days. Until that point, it had been easy to find a ride around the region, but because of a recent dispute in southern Kyrgyzstan the border was technically closed.

我曾被迫滯留在巴達(dá)赫尚北部邊境，一個(gè)與阿富汗、巴基斯坦、中國(guó)、塔吉克斯坦和吉爾吉斯斯坦接壤的自治區(qū)。3天后我需要趕往塔吉克斯坦西部，搭乘那里的班機(jī)，而抵達(dá)那里的路徑只有兩種：驅(qū)車(chē)經(jīng)過(guò)吉爾吉斯斯坦南部或沿著阿富汗邊境往回走，不管選擇哪種路徑，都至少需要5天時(shí)間才能到達(dá)。以前那個(gè)地區(qū)搭乘便車(chē)向來(lái)不是什么難事，然而近期吉爾吉斯斯坦南部的一場(chǎng)紛爭(zhēng)導(dǎo)致邊境被正式關(guān)閉。

My problem was compounded by the fact that I had only $200 left, the nearest ATM was on the other side of the Hindu Kush, and even if I’d been able to get there I didn’t have enough money in my bank account to buy a new plane ticket.

讓我處境雪上加霜的是我身上僅剩200美元，距離最近的ATM也在興都庫(kù)什山脈的另一邊，即便我找到了那個(gè)ATM，我銀行卡里的錢(qián)也不足以支付一張新機(jī)票。

Resource-constrained in unfamiliar territory with no clear source of authority, explanation, or help? That’s basically startup life.

困在陌生的國(guó)度，遭遇資源不足，缺乏明確的信息、說(shuō)明或是幫助。這就是創(chuàng)業(yè)的人生。

In the end, the son of the owner of the hut I’d been staying in made it his mission to find a driver, and we went door to door until we found someone with good connections at the border. We bought a few packs of cigarettes for the border guards, who were more than happy to wave us through, and I caught my flight.

最終，我在當(dāng)?shù)胤繓|的兒子幫我找到了一個(gè)司機(jī)，然后我們挨家挨戶的打聽(tīng)，找到了一個(gè)跟邊境關(guān)系還不錯(cuò)的人。我們備了幾包煙，打點(diǎn)邊境的那些守衛(wèi)，他們輕松將我放行，我最終登上了那班飛機(jī)。

As noted above, when you get stuck on something on the road, you need to find someone who can help you solve your problem, because there won’t be an obvious process. You can do this most effectively when you have an extensive network of contacts. Every developing region I’ve worked in has a specific word for influence or connections. In Chinese it’s?guanxi, in Arabic it’s?wasta.?The more you have, and the more you use it, the more effective you can be.

如上文所述，當(dāng)你在路上遇到困境時(shí)，你需要找到能夠幫你解決問(wèn)題的人，因?yàn)闆](méi)有一個(gè)通用的程序能夠處理這些問(wèn)題。如果你有一個(gè)很廣的人際網(wǎng)，那么你處理起這種事情就會(huì)高效許多。我所工作過(guò)的每一個(gè)發(fā)展中地區(qū)都有一個(gè)特定的詞來(lái)表示人際關(guān)系的影響力。中文里稱(chēng)之為“關(guān)系”，阿拉伯語(yǔ)是“wasta”（背后幫助你的人）。你擁有的人際關(guān)系越廣，運(yùn)用得越多，你的能力就越強(qiáng)。

Many of my peers in the U.S. seem to think that the way to get a job or the way to get into a program is to apply. They send in their paperwork and have a reasonable expectation that if they are deemed worthy, they’ll get to the next step.

許多美國(guó)與我同齡的人都傾向于認(rèn)為得到一份工作或加入某個(gè)項(xiàng)目的途徑就是去申請(qǐng)。他們遞出自己的申請(qǐng)表，保持樂(lè)觀的期待，如果申請(qǐng)獲準(zhǔn)，他們就沿著這條路往前走。

In less developed areas, the default assumption is that any piece of paper that is sent needs to be tracked to its final destination, and its recipient must be encouraged (gently or otherwise) to provide the desired outcome.?I once overheard a banker and his trainee discussing driving licenses in a Middle Eastern country. The trainee, an American, said he was confused about why his driver’s license application was denied despite the fact that he’d crossed and dotted his Ts and Is. The senior banker explained that you had to send your license application through an intermediary who had?wasta?if you wanted to be sure it would get approved.

在那些比較不發(fā)達(dá)的地區(qū)，遞出的每一份申請(qǐng)都需要追蹤它最終去向，對(duì)處理申請(qǐng)的人也最好做些打點(diǎn)，這是大家默認(rèn)的規(guī)則。我曾聽(tīng)到一位銀行家和他的實(shí)習(xí)生談起關(guān)于在中東國(guó)家申請(qǐng)駕照的一些事情。那個(gè)實(shí)習(xí)生是位美國(guó)人，他不明白他的駕照申請(qǐng)為什么沒(méi)有通過(guò)，即使他能確保申請(qǐng)表格沒(méi)有任何事實(shí)錯(cuò)誤。這位高層銀行家解釋說(shuō)，如果想確保駕照申請(qǐng)得以通過(guò)，他應(yīng)該將申請(qǐng)轉(zhuǎn)給有wasta關(guān)系的中間人，由中間人幫他遞交。

When you try and raise money without?wasta,?you’re going to get a lot of no’s. The entrepreneurs who?rise the fastest tend to be the ones who?know to work their connections?rather than just pitching wildly. If you’re applying to an accelerator, don’t just ship in an application. Find out who has invested in the fund that supports it, or who is mentoring, and buy those people drinks. Or at least tweet at them.

如果在沒(méi)有wasta幫助的情況下你想試圖籌集資金，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這條路根本就走不通。那些取得飛速進(jìn)展的企業(yè)家往往是懂得如何利用人脈的人，而不是僅靠大膽的投資。如果你需要一筆投資，不要只是遞出申請(qǐng)表。找到這個(gè)行業(yè)的投資人，請(qǐng)他們小酌一杯，或至少加他們twitter，給他們發(fā)信息。

Watching Antiques Roadshow is the closest most Americans come to haggling. We’re used to seeing a price tag on things. Even when there’s an opportunity for negotiation—buying a car, for example—we never really expect more than 25% off the initial asking price.

看看Antique Roadshow，那就是大多數(shù)美國(guó)人討價(jià)還價(jià)的方式。我們習(xí)慣了每件出售商品上都有一個(gè)價(jià)簽。即便是在有議價(jià)空間的情況下，比如買(mǎi)車(chē)，我們從不期望能從最初的報(bào)價(jià)得到超過(guò)25%的優(yōu)惠讓利。

Living in Turkey, I got used to negotiating the price of everything from a bottle of milk upward. Often money is dispensed with entirely and an elaborate system of favors takes its place. Give me this leather jacket for free and I’ll tell all my friends to come buy from you. Fix my plumbing and I’ll have my cousin fix your car, and I’ll set my cousin up with my cute friend. You get the picture.

然而在土耳其生活，我習(xí)慣了對(duì)一切購(gòu)買(mǎi)的商品進(jìn)行還價(jià)，哪怕只是一瓶牛奶。通常，一些小恩小惠就能完全抵消金錢(qián)上的投入。這件皮夾克免費(fèi)贈(zèng)我，我會(huì)帶我所有朋友來(lái)光顧你的生意。幫我修理管道，我堂兄會(huì)幫你修車(chē)，或者將我的朋友介紹給我堂兄。你明白是怎么回事了吧。

In the entrepreneurial world, startups don’t tend to have a lot of seed capital, so their leaders need to learn how to bargain other things. What does a company in prototype phase have to offer Expedia, or Google, or Citibank? You have to sell a story: an option on new technology, or access to an otherwise difficult-to-reach market. How does a startup?convince highly qualified candidates to work for next to nothing? You learn quickly to sell the strengths that you do have (flexibility, autonomy, potential upside) and de-emphasize the risks (bankruptcy).

在創(chuàng)業(yè)者的世界里，初創(chuàng)公司往往不會(huì)擁有很多原始資本，因此公司的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者需要學(xué)會(huì)如何對(duì)其他東西進(jìn)行討價(jià)還價(jià)。一家小小的初創(chuàng)公司能夠?yàn)镋xpedia、谷歌或是花旗的巨人做什么？你必須有可做賣(mài)點(diǎn)的故事：科技的新應(yīng)用，或是打開(kāi)難以企及的市場(chǎng)。你如何說(shuō)服有能力的候選人幾乎免費(fèi)為你工作？你很快就能學(xué)會(huì)出售你確實(shí)擁有的優(yōu)勢(shì)(靈活性、自主性、潛在的上行空間)，并淡化風(fēng)險(xiǎn)(破產(chǎn))。

Chris Sacca, one of Silicon Valley’s most colorful VCs, once tweeted that the one thing he required from people he hired was that they had at one point been “l(fā)ost, alone, in a place where you don’t speak the language and are dependent on the kindness of others.”

硅谷最出色的風(fēng)投家之一的克里斯·薩卡（Chris Sacca）曾發(fā)Twitter說(shuō)道，他雇用的人必須要滿足一個(gè)條件，那就是曾經(jīng)在一段時(shí)間有過(guò)“獨(dú)自迷失在一個(gè)語(yǔ)言完全不通的環(huán)境里，借助其他人的幫助得以度過(guò)難關(guān)”的經(jīng)歷。

When traveling, you find yourself in this position all the time. I’ve been in all sorts of places where, in retrospect, I should have freaked out. (Hitchhiking in southern Syria when the civil war was starting, spraining my ankle halfway up a mountain in rural Romania, getting severe food poisoning and diarrhea in central Myanmar… sorry Mom).

當(dāng)你出門(mén)遠(yuǎn)行時(shí)，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己時(shí)刻都身處這樣的環(huán)境。我去過(guò)很多不同的地方，現(xiàn)在回顧起來(lái)，仍會(huì)心有余悸(內(nèi)戰(zhàn)開(kāi)始時(shí)在敘利亞南部搭便車(chē)，在羅馬尼亞農(nóng)村半山腰扭傷了腳踝，在緬甸中部得了嚴(yán)重的食物中毒和腹瀉…。對(duì)不起，媽媽)。

Thankfully, in the vast majority of these situations, you find out that the world isn’t that scary. Things do tend to work out if you stay calm, hope for the best, and keep moving forward.

幸運(yùn)的是，在這些國(guó)家的大多數(shù)地區(qū)，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)世界并非想象中那么可怕。如果你能保持冷靜、繼續(xù)前行，事情會(huì)好起來(lái)的。

In startups, as in travel, there are unexpected pitfalls?and hard times.?There’s no guarantee that you’ll make the summit, but in almost every case you will survive, and you’ll be better off for having taken the journey.

在初創(chuàng)公司就如同身在旅途，會(huì)有很多意想不到的誤區(qū)和艱難時(shí)刻。更糟的是，這些并不能確保你一定會(huì)達(dá)到頂峰，但是大多情況下你會(huì)順利過(guò)關(guān)，而且它們會(huì)讓你變得更好。

吉莉安·莫里斯是Hitlist共同創(chuàng)始人兼CEO。

時(shí)青靖 | 譯? ? 安健 | 編輯