Who is Yijia?

Tell everyone about yourself and your startup.

Answer: Hello everyone, I am Chen Yijia, the only Chinese female financial anchor of Reuters in North America, and the founder and CEO of Sancheng Media. Sancheng Media has produced and launched a series of high-quality programs, including video programs such as “Entrepreneurship in the United States”, “A Best Time”, “A Best Words”, and “Meidi Mansion Circle”. Our fifth season of Startup America is currently on the air.

A: I am Yijia Chen, a bilingual financial TV reporter with Reuters. I am also the founder and CEO of OX3 Production Corp. OX3 Productions Corp is a creativity-driven New York City-based media production company. We have created many interesting shows , such as Startups Made in the USA and Yijia’s Time . The 5th ^season of Startups Made in the USA, which is the first overseas talk show broadcasted in China that focuses on overseas entrepreneurs’ stories, is on the air now.

What inspired or motivated you to start your business venture?

What was the reason that prompted you to start your business?

A: I think the world is constantly changing and developing. There are more and more things that can be done, and dreams can become bigger and bigger. In such an era, I hope that I am not the one who is dragged away by the times, but the one who stays with the changes of the times. At the same time, I also feel that waiting for others to give you a chance is worse than giving yourself a chance. I decided to start a business because I have worked in the industry for several years and accumulated a lot of experience. Then I felt that I needed a bigger stage to show myself and realize some more dreams. Then I just felt that this era has given me a good opportunity, and content entrepreneurship has more possibilities, especially because of the many changes in the distribution platform. Let such a desire to develop on a larger platform and pursue a bigger dream, with a foothold, under such a coincidence, I went to start a business.

The world is changing, and changing fast. There are more things you can do, and bigger ideas to dream. I want to be on the same page with this changing world, rather than the one that is left behind. Consequently, I would rather to take the initiative rather than await opportunities from others. I have been working in the media industry for many years and have accumulated a great deal of experience. I think I need a bigger stage to show or achieve my dream. It is such a fantastic era that content-oriented businesses capture attention and potential because of the revolution of media platforms. It is a perfect timing for me to pursue my dream, so I started my own business!

Why .CO?

Why choose to be a .CO Entrepreneurship Ambassador? What does being an entrepreneurial ambassador mean to you?

Answer: After we learned about .CO, we found that it is a very “entrepreneurial temperament” domain name. It is very short, catchy and easy to spread. My program “Entrepreneurship America” ​​has interviewed many entrepreneurs, including a group of entrepreneurs who were the first to use .CO domain names like CommonBond.co. I think the entrepreneurial atmosphere created by the .CO domain name fits well with what we are doing.

A: We find .CO a very interesting domain name because of its “startup/entrepreneurial” personality and temperature. .CO is short, memorable, and easy to spread. In my show, Startups Made in the USA , I have interviewed many successful startups, and CommonBond.co, which is an early .CO user, is one of them. The .CO startup community and temperature is aligned with what I am doing.

What are you most proud of in your startup journey?

Let me share with you a moment when you made yourself “proud” in the process of starting a business .

A: There are a few things that I am very proud of during my entrepreneurial journey. And I’m not just proud of myself, I’m proud of my entire team. One is when we first launched the program “Entrepreneurship America”, especially the episode of Wu Enda, we quickly reached hundreds of thousands of hits within two or three days. And because what we were doing was not an entertainment show, I was very glad that I was able to work with such a good team to make such a good show that represented my own voice. In addition, when I published a book by myself, it was something I was very proud of, after all, it was like the birth of my own baby. Another moment is when we find that our videos have been clicked over 100 million times, and we have accumulated a large audience. This is a new result brought about by long-term work, and it is also a moment that makes me very proud.

A: I have a few “most proud” moments. I am not only proud of myself but also of my team. One moment is the time we first launched our show Startups Made in the USA . In the episode we interviewed Andrew Ng and received Hundreds of thousands clicks within three days. Remember, the show we made was not an entertainment-based show! I am so proud of my team and the show we made together! I was also proud of myself when my book was published. like a baby that I gave birth to. Another proud moment is when I realized that our shows received more than one hundred million clicks in total, which means we have gained a big group of fans. It is such a great payback of my hard work .

What was your biggest challenge as an entrepreneur? How did you overcome it? What was the lesson learned?

What was the most “difficult” time for you in the process of starting a business ? How did you overcome it? Do you have any “lessons learned” to share with you?

Answer: I think the most difficult thing is actually to change from a person who just makes products and content to a manager, to a person who leads a team forward. At this time, I need a lot of positions. Changes, not just thinking about the content, may consider more about the Vision of our entire team, where is the road ahead of us. Second, we may think more from the perspective of users and explore what we want to bring to them. In the past, I may just have my eyes on a bunch of things I did, but now I have to think about problems from the perspective of others, from the standpoint of more people, and I need to go further when thinking about problems. I think the biggest lesson is that you must learn to think about your customers, think about what kind of person your content is, in what situation, and what kind of things you want to get, before reading your content. That means you need to get out of your comfortable zone and explore perspectives that you are not familiar with.

A: I think the most difficult thing for me is that I have to make myself go from a producer or journalist to a leader – a leader to lead my team to go forward. My role changes often and I have to have a clear vision to empower my team to make that vision a reality. I am very customer-oriented now. I am keeping asking myself and my team what is exactly we can offer to our audience. I used to think or focus on one thing or one perspective, but now I know I need to put myself in others’ shoes and think it through completely. My takeaway is to jump out of your comfort zone and explore more perspectives.

Do you have any advice for someone thinking about starting their own business?

For people who are about to start a business, what would you like to say to them?

A: First of all, I think you should understand your customers, give full play to your own advantages, and do something valuable that can make others’ lives better. Then you have to have confidence in yourself. In the process of starting a business, you will encounter new problems every day, so it is very important to maintain a good attitude and state in the face of these problems.

A: First, I think you need to understand your customer. Play to your strengths and work on something valuable to make others’ lives better. You also need to be confident. You will meet many challenges and questions every single day on your startup journey .It is very important to stay in a good and healthy mindset. 

Did you face any unique challenges as a woman starting a business or leading a team?

As a woman, in the process of starting a business or leading a team, have you encountered any special challenges brought about by being a “female”?

A: In starting a business, I actually didn’t particularly feel that gender had a big impact on me. The biggest confusion for me is how to understand the needs of male audiences, especially because most of the audiences of our shows are male, so I think this is a more challenging aspect.

A: The biggest confusion for me is how to understand the needs of a male audience. Males comprise the majority audience of our shows, so it is a challenge for me.