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Kevin Johannes Wörner: "I don't mind working so much."
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Many people dream of living far away, but few actually make those dreams come true. What drives you? How do you make a fresh start abroad? This is what the book "Lunch Break on the Mekong" by SPIEGEL editors Kristin Haug and Verena Töpper is about. You have collected stories from Germans in 28 countries on six continents. This text is an updated excerpt from her book, which was published last year.
»The other day I was lying in my bed and suddenly a piece of blanket fell on my desk.
I was frightened, but nothing else happened.
Now I take it with humor.
It is probably part of life in China that not everything is always one hundred percent.
I have lived in Shanghai for more than three years.
When I flew here I only had a carry-on bag with my phone, laptop, camera and chargers.
And a large suitcase with clothes for a couple of weeks so that you don't have to look for a local laundromat right away.
My best friend in kindergarten was Chinese, and I was often invited to play with his family.
So I came into contact with Chinese culture quite early on.
During my business studies in Mannheim, I also learned Chinese and spent a semester abroad in Shanghai.
The city wouldn't let me go.
I knew I wanted to work there for a while.
China's economy seems very interesting to me because there are so many innovative companies and the Chinese market will continue to be relevant for the next 50 years.
In Jing' An, a central district of Shanghai, I rented an AirBnB and spent the first two weeks meeting people I knew from my semester abroad.
I told all my contacts that I worked as a consultant for Roland Berger for a few years, founded a start-up and was now looking for a job in Shanghai.
It couldn't have gone better for me
And I was lucky: a month and a half after I landed in Shanghai, I had a signed employment contract.
It couldn't have gone better for me.
I am now responsible for several business areas in our company.
We help start-ups from countries like Italy, South Korea, Japan, Russia, Austria and Australia to gain a foothold in the Chinese market.
For example, I oversee a Russian company that wants to bring a foreign language learning app to China.
Our service usually looks like this: First, we provide the founders with an office in Shanghai, then we offer them workshops on the Chinese markets – which players are there, how marketing works here and where you can make money.
Then we help the start-ups to build a network by arranging meetings with potential business partners.
Motto in Shanghai: Humble hustle
We recognize good founders by the fact that they use us as a springboard and then start networking themselves, look for investors and conclude the first customer contracts.
I also invest personally in some start-ups.
I found a motto for working in Shanghai: Humble hustle.
If you want to be successful here, you have to be humble enough to realize that you know nothing about the market and you have to learn as much as possible.
And he has to work 9-9-6 – that is, from nine in the morning to nine at night, six days a week.
Those who only work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. run into a problem: someone might spot the idea, work harder, and overtake the competitor.
I often work 80 hours a week, I don't mind.
But I'm good at dividing my time and I quickly found a hobby so that I could have something else to do besides work.
Now I train Muay Thai - a kind of Thai kickboxing, in which the athletes can also use their elbows and knees.
Sometimes I go to training around six o'clock in the evening and then go back to the office at ten o'clock.
Sometimes I also work on Sundays.
Snack vending machines with face recognition
My parents couldn't understand why I quit my well-paid job after a few years and moved to China.
But I said to myself that once I'm over 30 and want to start a family in Europe, I won't go abroad anymore.
"I don't think I'll be staying here forever."
Most of all, I had to get used to suddenly representing a Chinese company.
I have gotten into a position where I present our company to representatives of other governments or have dinner with CEOs of medium-sized companies.
Some business partners are skeptical when they see that I'm still so young.
It is all the more important to put myself in the right light with intelligent contributions.
And that has always worked well so far.
In general I feel quite comfortable in Shanghai, the city changes almost daily, everything is very futuristic - for example there are snack machines where you pay with face recognition.
I'm in a city that's booming, the people are extremely ambitious and there always seems to be an opportunity somewhere to do business.
But I don't think I'll stay here forever.
As a foreigner I will never be fully integrated here, for example I will always be denied some investment opportunities.
And until I am here in nature, I would have to drive two hours.
You actually have to fly to find retreats.
You also have to come to terms with the fact that China is not a democratic country.
I asked some of my colleagues and friends what they think of the authoritarian system.
Some even said they didn't feel like a democracy at all, because otherwise they would never be as well off economically as they are now.
At first I was totally shocked by such a statement, but now I believe that there is probably a right form for every country and at every stage of development.
But there should be freedom of the press.
I can't just go to German news sites from China, use YouTube or WhatsApp.
The only way I can bypass the lock is through programs that I download.
The government mostly tolerates this with expats.
And as fascinating as the city is, it is also exhausting.
I like to compare life here to a roller coaster ride, you can ride it for a while and it's fun as long as it lasts.
But at some point you might get sick.«
