- I was in the hype of growing and growing, expanding,
and then one year, I lost everything,
and because of that loss I had,
I managed to have the opportunity
to be connected with the true me,
and find my mission.
(instrumental music)
Between 1995 and 2000, I was running a startup
based in Taiwan and we expanded to China.
The company started with two co-founders,
and in a couple years, we had 250 people.
I left the company I co-founded because I believed that
this decision would prevent the unnecessary conflict
when the company, at that moment, needed solidarity.
Because of that, I came to the UK, I started a new life,
and I built a new set of friends.
Had that not had happened, I would not have been here,
and I would not have British children,
so I really didn't lose anything.
At the beginning when the children were very young,
they responded when I spoke Chinese, and then they realized
that actually, most people, they speak English,
so they started refusing.
I saw that they were not interested in learning Chinese
and after searching for solutions, I couldn't find any.
So I started drawing on notebooks and then I started using
my computer to show what a character means.
Each character is like a piece of art.
After breaking down thousands of Chinese characters,
I discovered there are only about 70, 80 building blocks.
If you know those 70, 80 building blocks,
you can construct hundreds and thousands of characters.
I had the vision in my mind.
The type of illustrations has to be something universal,
something striking.
They have to look like what the character means.
And something that everybody from different cultural
linguistic background can understand.
After I showed a couple friends the method I developed,
I decided to do a Kickstarter campaign.
We tried to raise 75,000 and we ended up with 195,000.
(laughs) 197,000 pounds.
(piano music)
This is really not just about learning Chinese,
the mission for Chineasy is to bridge the gap
between the East and the West, because our future
depends on our ability to bring the East and the West
together in a peaceful and productive relationship.
My children have been my inspiration from the beginning.
We started with a napkin,
now we have games, apps, and publications available
in over 19 languages in 30 something countries.
Without going through this process, it's hard to understand.
When bad things happen, you'd never know.
There's another door that could open for you.
I don't have a job, I have a mission.
(twinkling music)