Jason Leads Stanford Students Through Dynamic China

Recent Stanford MBA Grad Jason Jianyu Tu was born in 1989 in a small village 125 miles south of Xian--in what he termed a "sixth-tier city," meaning, "There's a very slim chance you can be successful." (See post one.) His parents, well aware of this, searched for ways out of this small village, and eventually found a path to Xian. (See post two.) The big city of Xian--although only a hop, skip and a jump away--was like a different planet, with buses and fast food and a really tough school. (See post three.) Jason gave up trying to do well in school, instead focusing his energy where his passions lay: guitar and blockbuster movies. (See post four.) While Jason's high school headmaster did not have high hopes that Jason would get a college degree, Jason jumped through hoop after hoop to get accepted to the University of Washington. His only problem? Funding. (See post five.) Thanks, however, to a mass e-mail marketing campaign, Jason found himself accepted to the University of Evansville in Indiana. (See post six.) He was thrilled...until he landed in what felt was the middle of nowhere. (See post seven.) As Jason was one of two Chinese people at the school, he was immediately the expert on anything and everything that had to do with China. (See post eight.) Not only that, but he was soon paired up with an American host family, something he looks back on as a very important part of his life. (See post nine.) Despite the warm welcome in Evansville, he decided he needed to move to a bigger place. (See post ten.) Upon graduating with a degree in Economics from Purdue University, however, Jason still had trouble finding a job. He was initially relieved to get a Research Fellowship at Toulouse School of Economics in France. (See post eleven.) The inefficiency of France drove him nuts. (See post twelve.) When his professor failed to grade an important exam, Jason realized he was in the wrong spot. (post thirteen.) After a two-year stint working in Hong Kong, Jason applied to Stanford MBA program--and was accepted. (post fourteen.)

As part of his MBA program, he led groups of his fellow students to China.

Stanford to Beijing

“They were really surprised and amazed at China. One of the company visits that we went to, a small start-up, the founder was telling us about the life in China. How in China they work ‘9-9-6,’ meaning nine am to nine pm, six days a week. One of my American classmates asked, ‘Is this legal???’

“The founder said nobody asks him to stay. He works so hard because he has a dream.”

For Jason, taking the Stanford group was an eye-opening experience. “I’ve struggled in different parts of the world. The only place that I didn’t struggle much was in the United States. When I first came back to the United States after three years abroad (France/Hong Kong), I told myself, “If I have an opportunity, I will just stay.” Especially given that this is Silicon Valley, the heart of the technology world.”

But after seeing China through the Stanford group’s eyes, he had a change of heart.

“When you work in the kitchen, you see all the dirty parts of your kitchen. When I worked in China I saw all the bad parts—the corruption, the bad environment. But when I took that Stanford group to China, of course you have to show them the good parts of China.” 

Showing them the good parts reminded him of just how many there were.  That trip changed Jason's future.

(To be Continued. Next: Doing Business in China...in the Grey Zone.)