How many of us had sat up the night before a difficult exam and thought to ourselves, is there something better we could be doing? This led to a simple Google search for the young entrepreneur and wunderkind Jack Chou – “how to make money online.”
Many of us do it was a simple search. Still, few of us have the perseverance and ingenuity to turn a vast profit, build multiple companies, and grow into one of Canada’s most exciting entrepreneurs. Jack Chou did this, and here’s how.
Born in 1992 to proud parents James Chou and Ena Chen, he moved from Taipei in Taiwan to Richmond, British Columbia, where he attended school. Later, he’d study electrical engineering at the University of British Columbia, graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) a few years later.
However, Chou had other ideas than to pursue a career in this subject. His Google search led him down a different path that worked well to his natural talents – hard work, an eye for a venture, and marketing. So instead, he moved to Berlin to intern at a mobile marketing agency.
After working his way up the company hierarchy and still in his early 20s, Chou decided it was time to go solo. Soon, one of his dropshipping ventures began to take off. For those who don’t know, dropshipping is where companies rebrand essential goods from electricals to mugs and then have the manufacturer ship the goods directly to the customer.
He managed to ship $250,000 of goods in a single month. This is quite a turnaround from the $3,000 losses early on – a necessary investment. By the end, Chou could generate a profit margin of 30-40%.
Pretty acceptable, considering profit margins are one of the trickiest parts of dropshipping. The industry challenges Chou overcame include a saturated market, paying for Facebook/Google ads, creating a perception of actual value, avoiding the big players in the market, and making sure products are value for money (and good quality).
This kind of revenue, especially from an independent entrepreneur, draws attention. It allowed Chou to sell the business to a private equity firm and fund new ventures.
Since moving out of the dropshipping business, Chou has moved into new projects demonstrating that it is the challenge to build and grow which drives a successful entrepreneur – much in the way Elon Musk has gone from electric cars to boring tech to reusable rockets.
One venture he’s currently growing is Far & Away; a direct-to-consumer brand focused on the homeware niche. Faith in his ability and products came not just from customer sales but loyal customers and investors. Far & Away raised $150,000 in angel funding plus an extra $75,000 on Kickstarter.
In addition to this, he also buys, develops, and sells digital assets via his other company, Indexsy. This has included the recent purchase of Laurel & Wolf and Towing Less. We look forward to seeing where Jacky Chou turns next as he continues to build his reputation as a successful young entrepreneur.