Who is Alicia Yu?
向大家介绍一下你自己和你的创业公司吧。
答：我叫余燕，英文名叫Alicia，我之前是一个金融行业从业者，最早进入时尚行业，是对奢侈品行业进行深度行业分析。我从2011年起，开始运营新浪微博上最知名的一个时尚奢饰品产业账号，名字叫”奢侈品行业分析”，至今拥有超过18万粉丝。2013年，我创办了Luxe.co华丽志，这样一个很独特的跨级时尚、金融和科技领域的商业媒体。这是一个集媒体、教育、金融于一体的产业服务平台，越来越为更多的投资人、企业家和创业者所关注或所需要。通过过去四年的发展，我们团队不断壮大，华丽志现在当仁不让地成为了中国最权威的奢侈品时尚和生活方式领域的第一商业媒体，我们周边的人脉资源和我们的读者社群也是前所未有的强大。
A: My name is Alicia Yan Yu. I formerly worked in the finance industry, and then entered the fashion industry by providing luxury industry analysis. I run a Weibo account called Luxury Industry Analysis, which now has 1.8 million followers. In 2013, I founded Luxe.co, a unique business new media focusing on fashion, finance and technology. Luxe.co is also an industrial service platform providing media, education and financial services to investors, entrepreneurs and startup companies. After four years’ development, Luxe.co has been expanding its team and become the most authoritative business media in the field of luxury fashion and lifestyle in China. Our networks and readers community are exceptionally stronger than ever.
What inspired or motivated you to start your business venture?
是什么样的缘由，促使你开始了创业之路呢？
答：我从2011年到2013年两年用业余时间运营“奢侈品行业分析”这个微博。在积累的多万的优质读者的基础上，我在2013年的时候决定辞职创业。当时其实我本身对于奢侈品行业和时尚行业已经有了相当的积累，不能说当时能算作行业内最懂的人，但是应该是走在了前沿。2013年，我创办了Luxe.co华丽志这样一个很独特的跨级时尚、金融和科技领域的商业媒体。我当时的想法是，时尚产业在中国方兴未艾，但是仅仅从消费者的角度了解时尚穿搭，这是远远不够的。对于大多数的产业投资人、创业者、企业家来说，他们需要深度了解这行业的金融和商业运营知识，华丽志从一诞生起，就是为了这个行业的意见领袖、企业领袖而服务的。
A: I started to run the Weibo account Luxury Industry Analysis in my spare time in 2011. After I got tens of thousands of high-quality readers in two years, I decided to resign from the company I was working at, and started my own business. Back then, I was already quite familiar with the luxury and fashion industry, though I could not yet call myself a top specialist. In 2013, I founded Luxe.co, a business new media platform focusing on fashion, finance, and technology. As the fashion industry was emerging and fast developing in China at that time, I thought that it was important for us to understand the fashion industry as more than just from the perspective of a consumer. For most investors and entrepreneurs, they in-depth understanding of the industry’s financial and business operations. Luxe.co was first created to provide this kind of information especially for opinion leaders and business leaders in this sector.
Why .CO?
为什么选择成为.CO创业大使？成为创业大使对于你来说意味着？
答：对于我来说，创业不是为了创业而创业,而是当我发现,这个市场上一个重大的空白点，而我又是相对比较合适去填补这个空白点的人的时候，我觉得必须有创业的必要了。成为.CO创业大使的话，那我就能把这种创业精神传递给更多的创业者，因为我认为这样的创业精神是非常重要的。
A: I started my own business not because that I hoped to be called as an entrepreneur, but because I was eager to fill the gap in the market. When I felt that I would be a good fit to be the changemaker, it was time for me to start the journey. Being a .CO Startup Ambassador allows me to pass the crucial entrepreneurship to more young people who are working on their own businesses.
Do you have any advice for someone thinking about starting their own business?
对于即將开始创业的人们，你有什么话想对他们说？
答：第一,要热爱自己所从事的事业,但是也不需要操之过急。如果你对你要做的事情有非常大的把握或者你觉得这个事情非你莫属，时不我待，任何时候出来创业都不过早。但同样，如果你并没有找到这样一种信心，任何时候创业也不晚。我们需要不断的通过学习了解自己了解市场。
第二个，这个世界是特别有利于创业者的，因为互联网打破了很多的壁垒，周边有更多的人支持创业，包括很多投资机构也在关注创业。但是，更多的创业者和更多的创业机会意味着更多的竞争。每个人对于未来的竞争都要做好充分的准备，意识到创业是一种生活方式的选择，是要经过n次从0到1的尝试，才能够最后找到自己的创业方向。
最后，我认为对于创业者来说，创业只是人生的一部分，更多的还是要追求人生的完整，包括做对社会有意义的事情，而不只是想着成为一个独角兽，去赚钱。创业路上可能会失败，但是一个人在他一生中应该能做很多对社会有意义的事情。
A: First, I think it is essential to love your own business and not to hurry. If you are optimistic about what you are going to do, it is never too early for you to start your own business. Also, if you are not confident enough, it is never too late to start. During this time, we need to keep learning about ourselves and the market.
Second, today’s world is particularly beneficial to entrepreneurs because the Internet has broken many barriers. More people are supporting entrepreneurs, and investors are paying close attention to startup companies. However, the more opportunities and startups, the more competition you will have. You should be able to predict and fully prepare for competition you’ll face. You should also realize that you are choosing a new lifestyle when you decide to start your own company. You are going to try for a while and eventually build something out of nothing, and finally find your direction.
Finally, I think for entrepreneurs, your business is only part of your life, and you should also strive to live a complete life. For example, you should do something meaningful to society instead of just being keen on making money. One cannot always be successful in their businesses, but he or she can always do things to benefit the community.
Did you face any unique challenges as a woman starting a business or leading a team?
作为女性，你在创业或是领导团队的过程中，遇到过什么因为“女性” 身份而带来的特殊的挑战吗？
答：在时尚产业的敏锐性上，我相信多少女士是会有一点点优势的，但女性还是要抛开女性作为创业者的这个特殊角色而融入到一个常规的、常态化的一个创业的路径，不断学习创业的新的门道，在团队的开发和战略的制定上，要更多的开放胸怀，要克服女性一些比较情绪化，有时候圈子会比较窄，或者说不大能接受别人的意见等等这样小的毛病。
A: I believe that women have a little more advantage than men in terms of sensitivity for fashion. But when it comes to being an entrepreneur, women are supposed to shelve that dream and follow a conventional and expected business path. Female leaders should keep learning about team building and strategic management. They should also be less emotional, more open-minded, and more receptive to
