Katherine Yip-Geicke speaks in a business class at the University of Hong Kong. Provided to China Daily

If you are a frequent traveler but have never made any friends during your journeys, you may have let some good opportunities slip by unnoticed. On a flight home to Hong Kong in 1984, a girl in her early twenties met Chris Hornung, the founder of Pacific Cycle, an outdoor recreation products company, who was on a business trip to Hong Kong. She introduced herself and volunteered to help him with business contacts in Hong Kong, and Hornung agreed.

Two years later, in 1986, on the journey from Bangkok airport into the city, a giant Disney billboard piqued the girl's curiosity. After "talking to all strata of people" but still failing to get a meeting with Adam Lisowski, the biggest licensee of Disney clothing at the time, she decided to walk in by herself and corner Lisowski at the office gate to express her interest. She made it again.

"Opportunities are infinite," she believes. "When you are young, you have everything to gain, but very little to lose."

Katherine Yip-Geicke, while still in her 20s, went on to become a licensee for Disney apparel with her own company AMW Hong Kong Limited; and Hornung, who became and remains a close friend of hers, helped Yip-Geicke with her first leveraged buy-out of a mainland company years later.

She has also founded or partnered with 8 companies across several sectors all over the world. A guest lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, Yip-Geicke now conducts a course named "Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation", to inspire her MBA students with her stories. Accustomed to a low-profile life, Yip told China Daily that ours was her first interview with the news media.

Born into a Chinese family and emigrating to the US when she was only three months old, Yip-Geicke said she was spoiled the way many Chinese children are. However, after falling in love with a boy and not getting approval from her father, who threatened to cut off her financial support, Yip-Geicke said she decided to stand on her own feet and achieve something to prove her strength and capability.

"There is no quick step or magic toward success, and it is never easy for a starter," said Yip-Geicke. "I advise people to identify their passion and innate ability, for starters. But if they cannot get their most preferred job, just take any one - whatever it is and make the most of it."

After graduating from Harvard University with a major in business administration and marketing, Yip-Geicke worked at her first job, in the steel industry, which she described as totally male-oriented and "a very tough one".

"I didn't have anything to offer at that time, except my good attitude, so I had to work hard," she said.

Yip-Geicke believes that her family values, the Chinese philosophy of humility, diligence and self-reflection, influenced her over the years, and that these have been key ingredients in her otherwise secret recipe for her success.

"In college, I was working part-time as a dishwasher in a restaurant where the boss paid us at 5 pm. Some of the other helpers never put in any overtime, while I would not leave until 6 pm. One day the boss said he needed someone diligent and reliable to do the cashier's job, and he asked whether I was interested," she recalled.

"I think the most important thing for a employee is not to look at what you can get first, but think about how you can do the best. Little stuff sometimes will reward you a lot," said Yip-Geicke.

Yip-Geicke said she has experienced ups and downs over the past two decades, and has at times been cheated by her business partners and lost some money. However, she always stuck to the theory "believing in both sides - like a marriage" when doing business, because she values integrity and deems it another key to success, in combination with some good breaks and luck.

"I have a very trustworthy chief financial officer, very trustworthy operational staff, lawyer, financial analyst and banker, who, with me, come together to discuss any problems we encounter in the business. The trust among us, however, was not won over night," said Yip-Geicke.

The eight companies she has established or partnered with span several sectors, including toys, entertainment, investment and technology. Her passion for digital media has seen her invest or partner with a number of new media companies since early 2000, including Outblaze, a Hong Kong-based business in the field of multilingual communication services for online communities, and Typhoon Games, a publishing company that develops and distributes PC and online games via mobile services.

Noting the high-tech trends, Yip-Geicke observed that the "Business model has migrated to advanced technologies, and business engraved with technology is more efficient, approachable and dynamic. There is no doubt that the Internet is the future, and I am working on it."

Besides Touchmedia, a mainland-based digital advertising company focused on the in-taxi market, Yip-Geicke has been thinking about launching an international brand in China, as there is a wonderful pool of talent and because no one wants to miss the Chinese market.

Despite her evident and triumphant internationalization, she remains at heart very Chinese. "My business will always be global, but with roots that have Chinese elements, because I am Chinese," said Yip-Geicke.

China Daily

(HK Edition 04/29/2010 page3)