00:04:54 · Henrique Dubugras, Jack Zhang
[00:04:54] S0: So we'll go back and deepen each of these parts. I'm I'm very, you know, interested. So tell us, like, how was it growing up in, like, a small town in China? Like, what what what was it like? [00:05:03] S1: Just a lot of nature. Just hanging out with with friends every day, you know, go fishing, you know, go go hiking, and didn't really use much technology. Kind of lived in a very sort of original way of life, and there's not much of a restaurant. I mean, it's just a very small city. [00:05:25] S0: What were your parents there? [00:05:27] S1: My dad is active in a bank in China. My mom also a banker in China construction... Bank of China. [00:05:35] S0: Oh, interesting. Well, it's funny that, like, both of your parents were in banking, you ended up doing, like, a [00:05:40] S1: Yeah. [00:05:40] S0: Go over... Do you think there's anything related or no? [00:05:42] S1: No. I actually hated banking because my parents are so busy when I grow up, and they never really spend time with me. And I kinda hated banking as a job, and I didn't think there's any sort of technicality in that job because my... Just seeing my dad hanging out drinking with customers and just building relationships all day long, and there was not much technical stuff where I grew up always, you know, like anything technical, mechanical, you know, things like that. And I never thought about going to do anything in the banking finance industry, and my dream job was getting into a company like Google Microsoft when I was in college. Many reasons I ended
00:05:42 · Jack Zhang, Henrique Dubugras
[00:05:42] S1: No. I actually hated banking because my parents are so busy when I grow up, and they never really spend time with me. And I kinda hated banking as a job, and I didn't think there's any sort of technicality in that job because my... Just seeing my dad hanging out drinking with customers and just building relationships all day long, and there was not much technical stuff where I grew up always, you know, like anything technical, mechanical, you know, things like that. And I never thought about going to do anything in the banking finance industry, and my dream job was getting into a company like Google Microsoft when I was in college. Many reasons I ended [00:06:24] S0: up being so at school? Like... Yeah. [00:06:27] S1: I I was I was very good at school growing up. [00:06:31] S0: Because good in school in China is, like, really hard, right, to be, like, one of the [00:06:34] S1: Yeah. I was I was a Mass Olympian. I I did a lot of I really like all the all the math and physics stuff. You know? Give you an idea that when you... When I went to the the senior high school in China, I was the number four in the city. [00:06:48] S0: What did that, like, meant? Like, did you just study a lot? Were you, like, naturally just, like, smart? Like, or, you know, what what... How were you... It was both, you know, like, what what... Because at least from our perspective, like, it seems that, like, things are very competitive in China. Right? To be, like, number four in your city, it's, like, really, really competitive.
00:06:48 · Henrique Dubugras, Jack Zhang
[00:06:48] S0: What did that, like, meant? Like, did you just study a lot? Were you, like, naturally just, like, smart? Like, or, you know, what what... How were you... It was both, you know, like, what what... Because at least from our perspective, like, it seems that, like, things are very competitive in China. Right? To be, like, number four in your city, it's, like, really, really competitive. [00:07:03] S1: I think it's more about the proud. My my... Just like the very few... I wanna feel proud of, you know, the result or the outcome. I don't know if necessarily I actually like to study. I actually don't like study at all, and I don't study that hard. Only try to... You know, those students just try to crash it before the exam, and I'm kind of one of those. Just study really hard for a week before the exam, try to get good result. Yeah, I never truly sort of enjoy the, you know, study the textbook stuff. [00:07:33] S0: And like if you think you asked your teacher, you know, like let's say pre... You moving to Australia, hey, is this kid gonna be like super successful in the future? Like, what do you think your teacher would have said? [00:07:43] S1: Yeah. They they actually said... One of my teacher actually said, I think this guy gonna be quite successful because I always... I never really obey the rules. [00:07:55] S0: Did you get in trouble in school?
00:07:55 · Henrique Dubugras, Jack Zhang
[00:07:55] S0: Did you get in trouble in school? [00:07:57] S1: A little bit, but not not that much. I mean, you know, I don't do, you know, crazy stuff. It just really... I always try to find, like, the easiest way to solve a problem and and do things that other people, you know, not dare to ask the question. I'm always asked the question, hey, why can't we do this? Why can't you do that? It doesn't make any sense. I think thinking about it now is probably just a lot of first principle thinking. [00:08:22] S0: When you were in this smaller city, did you think you were gonna move outside of the country already, or, like, did you think you're gonna go to a bigger city? Like, you know, pre moving to Australia, like, what was your vision of your future? [00:08:32] S1: Yeah. So I was in a sort of village of this small city which has, you know, 8,000,000 population. But then I moved from the village. I grew up with my grandparents. I moved from the village to the city center of that city. And that's kind of a massive change already because my accent is a bit different, so all the kids don't like my accent, so I have to change to the accent they're speaking. And when I moved from that city to Australia again, then my English was was really bad. You know, I have to adapt to the new language and try to be part of the the society again, which is which is also very difficult. [00:09:10] S0: So, like, why did you move to Australia when you [00:09:12] S1: were, like, 14? Well, my family just stayed in China. [00:09:16] S0: Oh, so you moved by yourself?
00:09:16 · Henrique Dubugras, Jack Zhang
[00:09:16] S0: Oh, so you moved by yourself? [00:09:17] S1: Yeah. Went there by myself. When you're 14? 15. Who do you live with? I live in Australian family. So this guy work for the Australian Navy, so he doesn't even at home that much, and I live with his his wife and kids. [00:09:31] S0: Like a host family? Yeah. But it's supposed to be like an exchange program, or they knew you were gonna stay forever? [00:09:37] S1: Yeah. They knew I was gonna stay for for two years. [00:09:40] S0: Oh, wow. [00:09:40] S1: So that was that was quite an interesting series. I remember that is when I arrived, and they tried to cook some Asian food, and they they have no idea how to cook Asian food. And they got these, like, weird fried noodles for me, and I I literally puked on the first day. [00:09:58] S0: Oh my god. And then, like, your parents, like, you know, did you miss them? Like, were you, like... Or were you super chill? You're happy to, like, not live with your parents? Like, what were you feeling at that time? [00:10:06] S1: Yeah. I was pretty happy not living with my parents, and I can I can, you know, go to kind of adventure myself? I'm I'm... I didn't grow up with my parents. I would grow up with my grandparents till I was maybe 10. [00:10:20] S0: Meaning... But, like, your parents lived in a different house than you? [00:10:23] S1: Yeah. Well, they lived in a different sort of city or town, and they're very busy with work and [00:10:28] S0: travel. And you see them, like, every weekend or something?
00:10:28 · Henrique Dubugras, Jack Zhang
[00:10:28] S0: travel. And you see them, like, every weekend or something? [00:10:30] S1: Yeah. You know, I'd stay... We grew up as parent... Grandparents till I was maybe 10, then I then went to boarding school. Oh, boarding school? Yeah. So I only see my parents, like, once a week. How was boarding school? It was fun. There's a lot of, you know, interesting stuff happening and a lot of fights. [00:10:50] S0: Oh, really? [00:10:51] S1: Yeah. I was... Because it's not a... It's Northern China. It's it's not a very civilized sort of time, you know, like in the nineties. [00:10:58] S0: What do you mean by that? [00:11:01] S1: Because, you know, you you just get beaten up by other kids a lot. [00:11:04] S0: Oh, really? So you get beat up a lot? Yeah. Oh, wow. Do you think that, like, builds character or, like, no? [00:11:11] S1: Yeah. Definitely. You know, if you get kinda bullied a bit, you definitely feel that you want to sort of rebel. [00:11:18] S0: And do you think, like, it, like, created motivation or something like that? Or [00:11:22] S1: I'm not sure. You know, obviously, that you you... You're always kind of not the strongest guy in the class or the school. Yeah. It's less of a fight in your own class. It's all like... Almost like all sort of senior guys try to beating up the the junior folks. Mhmm. You know, you play basketball and then just all of a sudden, a bunch