Lawrence has over 15 years of international investment experience. He is the founder and investor of a large number of successful companies which include BlackPine Group, an investment company that has provided capital and advice to companies such as Venture Smart, Kenetic, Lufax, C2FO, WH Group, Evergrande and GCL Polysilicon. Lawrence shares with us how he started his career and what he learned along the way…
- Name: Lawrence Chu
- Graduating Year: 1998
- Years at CIS: 5
- College & Degree: University of Chicago, AB Economics
- Current city of residence: Hong Kong
- Places lived before: Toronto, Vancouver, Hong Kong, London, Königstein, Chicago
- 姓名：诸承誉
- 毕业年份：1998
- 在汉基就读的年数：5年
- 学历：畢業於芝加哥大學，獲經濟學文學士學位
- 现时居住地：香港
- 之前曾居住地：多伦多、温哥华、香港、伦敦、柯尼希施泰因（德国）、芝加哥
As the founder and investor of a large number of successful companies ranging from venture investing to asset management, from consumer finance to blockchain, your portfolio of work are fascinating and hard to summarise in a nutshell! In your own words, how would you describe your career? What are some projects that you working on that you are excited about right now? 作为众多成功公司的创始人和投资者，从风险投资到资产管理，从消费金融到区块链，您的工作组合非常精彩，难以一言概之总结！用你自己的话，你会如何形容你的职业生涯？你正在做的项目中，那些你觉得最有趣的呢？
I started my career with formal training at UBS’ Investment Banking analyst program. Throughout the years I’ve been fortunate with opportunities that veered off a normal corporate finance track, culminating to becoming an entrepreneur and setting up my own investment business over 10 years ago. With my experience and relationships built over the years, I’ve honed our focus to be what I call “Future: Now”. We invest and develop businesses that could be important and meaningful “10” years from now, yet we start the process today. We look at businesses that are focused on data sciences. Two exciting projects I’m looking at this year include expansion of an eSports team which we are part of the ownership group called Fnatic, and also the launch of our new alternative protein investment strategy called Lever VC. 我的职业生涯始于瑞银投资银行对分析师的正规培训。多年来，我一直有机会幸运地摆脱了正常的企业融资轨道，最终成为一名企业家并在10年前建立了自己的投资业务。凭借多年来积累的经验和人际关系，我将我们的重点锤炼为我所谓的“未来：现在”。我们投资和开展的业务在“10”年后可能是重要且有意义的，但我们今天就开始了这个过程。我们致力于专注数据科学的企业。我今年要看的两个令人兴奋的项目，包括扩展一支电子竞技团队，我们是Fnatic的股东之一。另外，我们还启动了一个新的专注替代蛋白质领域的投资策略Lever VC。
You started your career at UBS. How did you go from there to where you are today? What advice would you give to young CIS alums eager to follow in your footsteps? What did you learn along the way that you wish you knew when you were in your early twenties? 你在瑞银开始了你的职业生涯。你是怎样从那里走到今天的成就？对于渴望跟随你脚步的年轻汉基校友，你会给出什么建议？基于你现在的经验，你希望自己在二十出头的时候就已经知道了什么？
I don’t think I ever thought that my career path would lead me to exactly where I am today. Life is full of surprises, twists and turns, ups and downs, and many serendipitous moments. What worked for me may not work for everyone, and since I also have children, who now also attend CIS, I’m a big believer in understanding everyone’s own capabilities, strengths, weaknesses and more importantly personality. I’ve been blessed with a supportive family and amazing friendships. Friendships from CIS and relationships with colleagues from work have been established on honesty and trust. Perseverance is also a trait I respect. Learning how to effectively communicate and constantly eager to learn more are also elements I’ve taken away from my time at CIS. 我从来没有想到我的职业道路会让我到达今天的确切位置。生活充满了惊喜、曲折、起伏，以及许多偶然的机会。对我有用的东西或可行的道路，未必适合每个人。我的孩子现在也在汉基就读，我非常相信每个人要了解自己的能力、优点、缺点，更重要的是个性。我一直很幸运，有支持我的家庭及非常棒的朋友。由汉基建立起的友谊和工作中的同事关系都是建立在诚实和信任基础上的。毅力也是我敬重的特质。学习如何有效地沟通并不断渴望学习更多知识，这也是我从汉基年代就开始锻炼的元素。
One of the challenges that Hong Kong faces in the current tech landscape is a shortage of tech talent and experienced entrepreneurs ploughing back into the ecosystem. It appears that you have been able to buck that trend with Oriente, partnering with one of the former founders of Skype, Geoff Prentice who moved to Hong Kong from London. Tell us more about it! 香港在当前科技领域面临的挑战之一是缺乏在这个生态系统里再投资的技术人才和经验丰富的企业家。看来你已经能够与Oriente一起逆转这种趋势，与Skype的前任创始人之一Geoff Prentice合作，后者是从伦敦搬到香港。请告诉我们更多关于这方面的信息。
Geoff and I have been friends for some time. Our kids are the same age and we bonded over our love for wine and the Big Green Egg barbecue. After exiting Skype, he established one of the biggest VCs in Europe, Atomico. He decided to leave that firm and was looking to pursue a new approach to investing, which I also concurred. We wanted to invest in new companies that can bridge the best of both tradition and technology. One of the companies we invested together leveraged the brand, trust and clientele of the mothership, but create a new technology company with a separate management team to build something great. That original investment became quite successful, and that’s when we decided to replicate that strategy by creating Oriente. Geoff和我成为朋友已有一段长时间。我们的孩子年龄相若，我们都热爱红酒和Big Green Egg烧烤。他离开Skype后，成立了欧洲最大的风险投资公司之一Atomico。之后，他决定离开这家公司，锐意寻求一种新的投资方式，我也很同意这一点。我们希望投资于能够将传统和科技的优势融为一体的新创立公司。我们共同投资的公司之一，利用了母公司的品牌、信任和客户网络，建立新的技术公司，由一个独立的团队管理，创立了优秀的企业。这个首次的投资非常成功，那时我们便决定透过创建Oriente来复制这个策略。
In the course of getting to where you are today, have you had to overcome barriers and set-backs? Can you tell us about a time when you faced challenges and how you managed to overcome it? 在到达今天的过程中，您是否克服了不少的障碍和挫折？您能告诉我们您遇到挑战的时候以及您是如何克服挑战的吗？
Where do I begin? I can tell you there’s no end. This question reminds me of a verse, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” Set-backs make us stronger. Without failures, it’s hard to taste success. With each success comes more failures, but that’s what drives us to iterate, improve and get closer to our goals. In adversity, I’ve always maintained a positive attitude especially with those around me. There’s never been a drawback to knowing when to admit failure and eating humble pie. 我该从哪里开始呢？我可以告诉你，没有尽头。这个问题让我想起一节经文：“所有属我而不结果的枝子，他就剪去。所有结果子的，他修剪干净，让他结更多的果子。”挫折使我们变得更强壮。没有失败，很难尝到成功。每次成功都会带来更多失败，但这正是推动我们再努力、改进和接近目标的动力。在逆境中，我一直保持积极的态度，特别是对我周围的人。知道什么时候承认失败和谦卑是上策。
For the alums out there with little ones, they would be interested to learn that your wife is the founder of Maggie & Rose in Hong Kong! With the first beach club in repulse bay and the second one that just opened at Lee Gardens in Causeway, please tell us more about it! 对于有小孩的校友，他们会有兴趣了解你的妻子是香港Maggie＆Rose的创始人。Maggie＆Rose在浅水湾开了第一个海滩俱乐部及刚刚在铜锣湾利园开了第二个俱乐部，请告诉我们更多相关信息。
We love kids and Natalie set up Maggie & Rose with the intention of bringing the notion of “family first” to our members. Her concept is to create a fun atmosphere for kids and parents. It’s another option for families. The club has art, music and cooking classes for the little ones, and also encourages parents to get involved with their kids. There are restaurants and beautiful outdoor areas at each club so parents can also social with friends and their little ones. There’s also an emphasis on food so the menu she serves is quite different from other clubs. There are fish fingers, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, and grilled cheese sandwiches, but all freshly made so the menu is definitely “healthier”. 我们都很喜欢小朋友，我太太Natalie成立了Maggie＆Rose，用意在为我们的会员带来“家庭第一”的理念。她的理念是为孩子和父母营造一个有趣的氛围，给家庭另一个选择。俱乐部为小朋友们提供艺术、音乐和烹饪课程，并鼓励父母与他们的孩子一同参与。两个俱乐部均设有餐厅和美丽的户外区域，给父母空间与朋友和孩子交往互动。还有，他们注重食物的质素，提供的菜单与其他俱乐部有所不同。例如:有鱼手指、鸡块、汉堡包和烤芝士三明治，所有都是新鲜制造，绝对更健康。
What was your most memorable CIS moment? 你在汉基的最难忘的时刻是什么？
Wow, there were so many I’m not sure I can choose one. Maybe it was the first day of school at the new Braemar Hill campus. I studied at the primary school in So Kon Po, then was on the school bus with kids dropping them off on Borrett Road, although I never went to that campus. I did study at the Kennedy Road school. Having the whole school under one roof definitely is a big part of what it means to be CIS. 哇，有那么多难忘时刻，很难选择一个。也许是在新的宝马山校园上课的第一天吧。我小学的时候在扫杆埔校园上课，之后在坚尼地道学校，坐校车时，看到有其他同学被送到波老道校园，虽然我从未去过那个校园。将整个学校置于同一个屋檐下绝对是汉基的重要里程。
Who was your favorite teacher at CIS? 在汉基你最喜欢的老师是谁？
Grace Chu 胡老師 as she’s my mom, although I was not in her class at school. Grace Chu胡老师，因为她是我的妈妈，虽然我没有在她的班上。
What was your favorite subject at CIS and was it related to anything you actually ended up doing? 在汉基时最喜欢的科目是什么？它与你现在做的事情有什么关连？
Probably P.E. as I love sports. Probably not directly related to what I do, but sports helps with forming discipline and a healthier body that powers my long days. Team sports cultivated team work and that’s super important at the office. 可能是体育科，因为我热爱运动。与我所做的事情没有直接关系，但体育有助于形成纪律及更健康的身体，为我漫长的日子提供动力。而团队运动培养出团队合作精神，这对办公室来说非常重要。
What role did CIS play in the foundations of your life? As a member of the Board of Governors of CIS, how has your experience as an alum shaped your views on the future direction of the school? 汉基在你生活的基础上扮演了什么角色？作为汉基的董事会成员，你认为校友的经历如何塑造你对学校未来发展方向的看法？
I have an interesting role being alum, son of a teacher, and parent. This means I have to represent various constituents while serving the Board. With CIS being a relatively young school, the alum composition continues to evolve which is both challenging and exciting. Even though I’m an alum, I do think the school and society nowadays are quite different compared to when I attended CIS. I would like to keep alive what makes CIS so special and our core values. I do feel that one of my roles as an alum governor is to uphold what maintains that special community fabric. As for the future of the school, we are uniquely positioned to grow from strength to strength given we have access to all kinds of resources. Like our visionary founders over 35 years ago who created a school for today, we are looking at how CIS and CIS alum can serve Hong Kong and the world of tomorrow. 我的角色有趣，我同时是校友、老师的儿子及学生的家长。这意味着当我服务董事会时必须代表各种成员身份说话。由于汉基是一所相对年轻的学校，校友的数量不断增长，这既具有挑战性又令人兴奋。即使我是校友，我也认为现在的学校和社会与我年少时的情况完全不同。我想保持汉基的独特性和我们的核心价值观。我觉得作为校友董事会成员的角色之一，就是坚持维护这种独特的社区连结。至于学校的未来，由于我们可以获得各种资源，这使我们继往开来，越来越有实力。就像35年前为今天创建学校的有远见的创始人一样，我们正在研究汉基和汉基校友如何为香港及未来的世界作出贡献。
Please read the following questions and write down the first answer to pop into your mind (3 second limit): 请阅读以下问题并写下第一个的想法（每题限时3秒）：
- What is your favorite movie? Home Alone.
- What do you have for dinner on a weekday? I eat out a lot and mostly frequent restaurants we are involved in: Cantonese, Thai, British,…
- What would be your last meal on death row? I would fast.
- If you could have a one hour conversation with anyone – historical or current – who would that be and why? Leonardo Da Vinci. I’ve just finished his biography by Walter Isaacson. Once you’ve read the book you would understand why.
- 你最喜欢的电影是什么？Home Alone（译名:宝贝智多星/小鬼当家）
- 你平日的晚餐吃什么？我经常外出晚餐, 常去的餐馆有粤菜，泰国菜，英国菜……
- 如你是死囚，最后一顿饭想吃什么？我会禁食的
- 如果你可以与任何一个人进行一小时的对话 – 历史或当前 – 那将是谁？为什么
- Leonardo Da Vinci（列奥纳多·达·芬奇）。我刚刚读完Walter Isaacson（沃尔特·艾萨克森）写的他的传记。一旦你读完这本书，你就会明白为什么。