A $24M E-fulfillment Service Company
An established business website
Think of it this way: it’s a procurement service for foreigners abroad, handling their purchasing needs in China.
In the early days, I hit the circuit—e-commerce summits, networking events—to hunt for opportunities and meet my co-founder. We bickered, we almost came to blows, yet we never walked away from the business. It was that kind of relentless collaboration that built it. At one point, I spotted a potential blockbuster product and impulsively bought thousands of units on spec. They sat in inventory and turned into a loss, but my partner didn’t throw me under the bus. Instead, he comforted me, saying we’d just paid a tuition fee for a lesson learned.
We started with absolutely nothing—not even a website. The only channel we had was social media, specifically Facebook groups, where I advertised our sourcing services. The core value proposition? Foreigners simply couldn’t come to China easily due to strict entry restrictions—frequent 48-hour nucleic acid tests, 14-day quarantines, and so on. We also tried paid ads to acquire customers, but they barely brought anyone in. Social media turned out to be far more effective. I operated like a WeChat Moments reseller: posting photos of happy customers’ feedback to showcase results and attract partners.
On the logistics side, we initially worked with China Post. They offered us a 60-day payment term and a generous credit line. Since our clients paid upfront and we only purchased goods after receiving payment, we had no cash-flow pressure at all. My rent was just for a small apartment—we had zero overhead. I’m serious when I say we literally had nothing at the start: just me and my co-founder, no employees. We worked seven days a week, sixteen hours a day, personally inspecting product quality, packing, and shipping every order.
Business grew quickly, so we hired part-time staff to help with packing. I was struck by how cheap labor is in China. Later, as pandemic policies tightened, China Post’s shipping dragged out—from seven days to thirty. We lost a bunch of clients, but thankfully our business had already stabilized. That made switching providers much easier, so we moved on. Today, we work with over twenty different logistics companies, which also allows us to handle a wider range of restricted goods.
If I had to sum up my biggest takeaways, they’d be these four points:
1. You have to get out there and attend as many industry events and networking meetings as possible to build your resources. Opportunities rarely find you if you stay stuck inside. And before you achieve success, you need to work your tail off—that’s what boosts your “luck.”
2. A good co-founder is invaluable. Along the way, we faced countless setbacks, but my partner’s constant encouragement and support kept us from quitting. That partnership is why we made it.
3. I’m grateful to China. The product quality here is excellent, and the massive number of overseas foreigners eager to source from China created a huge market for us to grow into. Plus, labor costs are incredibly low.
4. Paid ads don’t really work. What actually attracts partners is a business that speaks for itself. So how do you make that happen? Polish your image, sell your story—even brag a little—as long as you can deliver on those promises down the line.