Lily Lin was super efficient this time; by the next day, she had added two desks to the consumer team office and set up interviews. After she conducted the initial interviews, Grace Li would handle the second round.
The day before, Lily Lin and Grace Li finalized the plan: Mike would assist Scarlett Harris going forward. The projects he was working on could continue, but he wouldn't be involved in Grace Li's new projects. Also, they were hiring two new people—one to replace Mike and assist Grace Li, and the other to be Mike's investment assistant.
Grace Li interviewed two candidates and ultimately chose one who had a law degree. Since Mike also came from a law background, having worked as a lawyer for a few years before switching to the VC world, hiring someone with a legal foundation would help fill the gap he would leave.
By the time May rolled around, spring had passed, and the weather in New York was gradually heating up. People on the streets swapped their winter coats for lighter clothes, and the lawns of Central Park were filled with people basking in the sun. The smell of hot dogs from nearby vendors filled the air.
In mid-May, New York hosted a large tech exhibition with many tech companies showcasing their products. These kinds of events were highly valued in the VC industry. As a major global financial and tech hub, New York boasted a unique entrepreneurial ecosystem, with areas like Silicon Alley featuring a tech startup hub that attracted many innovative companies. Several well-known startup incubators were also located there. The VC investment style here was bold and focused on innovative applications. Attending such events was a great way to broaden one's perspective, learn about the latest tech trends, and potentially discover promising projects.
Although Grace Li led the consumer team, her interest in frontier tech had grown ever since she joined the AgroTech project.
On the day of the exhibition, she arranged for her entire team to attend. The venue was huge, so to improve efficiency, they decided to split up.
As soon as they entered the exhibition hall, Grace Li said, "This place is massive. We definitely won't get through it all in one day. Let's split into three groups, two or three people per group."
Olivia immediately hooked her arm through Grace Li's and said, "Boss, I want to be with you."
Aiden Thompson chimed in, "Count me in."
Ryan quickly protested, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, that's not fair! Haven't you heard the saying, 'men and women make the best teams'?"
Olivia raised her chin and shot back, "It's two girls and one guy, that's still a team with mixed genders!"
Ryan grinned mischievously, "Olivia, I bet Peter wants to team up with you."
"Stop joking around," Peter glanced at Olivia and quickly denied, "That's not true."
"Yeah, right, even if you wanted to, I wouldn't want to be with you. Boss, let's go." Olivia clung tightly to Grace Li's arm and led the way into the exhibit, with Aiden Thompson following closely behind.
The tech exhibition featured a dazzling array of cutting-edge products, with so much to see it was hard to keep up. Olivia, like a cheerful bird, was full of curiosity, dragging Grace Li from booth to booth. Grace Li occasionally glanced back and saw Aiden Thompson, hands casually tucked into his pockets, dressed in a crisp suit, his demeanor cool yet slightly lazy—like a business tycoon casually surveying his empire, ready to snatch up any company that caught his eye.
After two hours of walking, Olivia, wearing two-inch heels, started to feel the pain in her feet.
"Ugh, I should've just worn some comfy shoes. My feet are killing me."
Grace Li asked with concern, "Want to find a booth to sit down for a bit?"
"That sounds perfect, I was just thinking I need a break."
As they were walking, one booth caught Grace Li's attention. Unlike the nearby flashy and high-tech displays, this one was incredibly simple. The booth was barely decorated, with only a few products on display and a couple of promotional posters in the background.
Grace Li walked in, and Olivia immediately plopped down in a chair. Just then, a man in his early thirties, wearing a black polo shirt, walked up with a big smile and greeted Grace Li. "Hey, welcome! How can I help you today?"
"I'm Li."
"Hi, Miss Li. Feel free to look around."
Grace Li took a look at their products, mainly a few wheelchairs, which were a bit different from the usual ones. She asked, "You guys in the medical device business?"
"Sort of, but not exactly," the man explained politely. "Our products are more accurately called intelligent human assistive devices."
Grace Li was immediately interested. "What's the difference?"
"Basically similar, but with more detailed features," the man said, pointing to one of the wheelchairs on display. "For example, this intelligent wheelchair has multiple functions. Helping people with limited mobility move around is the most basic feature. See, the armrest can extend out, and at the same time, supports form at the bottom to help someone in the chair reach higher objects or practice walking. Also, this wheelchair can flatten into a simple bed. Plus, we've implanted an intelligent chip that enables navigation, obstacle recognition, and even autonomous driving. It connects to our mobile app and can use your home Wi-Fi to set locations in a small area."
The man pulled out his phone and showed it to Grace Li. "For example, if we set a small area as home, we can set locations for places like the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, balcony, or even the shoe cabinet, fridge, and TV. With voice commands, the chair can take you where you want to go. It's also really handy for people with limited mobility when they need to use the bathroom. Check this out..."
Grace Li listened intently, impressed by the wheelchair's features. "That's really useful for elderly people and those with limited mobility."
"This wheelchair is just a prototype. I'm planning to add more features in the future."
Grace Li asked, "Are you the R&D engineer for your company?"
"Yeah, I wear a lot of hats since we're a startup," the man said, remembering something. He quickly grabbed a business card from the shelf beside him. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kyle Brooks. Here's my card."
Grace Li took the card and saw that he wasn't just an engineer but also the owner of Everjoy Technology, a truly fledgling company.
Grace Li was intrigued. "How many people are in your company right now?"
"Only about seven or eight. We're in the process of setting up a factory and planning to expand soon."
"How long has the company been running?"
"It was founded just last year," Kyle Brooks said. For some reason, he seemed to feel comfortable talking to Grace Li and spoke openly. "I used to be a medical device designer. I started this company early last year, and we're just getting started."
"Have you reached out to any venture capitalists?"
"Not yet," Kyle Brooks replied. "But I know this type of business needs a lot of capital, so I'm planning to look for VC investment."
Grace Li smiled and took out her business card. "Well, coincidentally, I'm in venture capital. Let's stay in touch."
Kyle Brooks's eyes lit up when he saw her card, recognizing her as the investment director of Nova Capital. "Does that mean you're interested in our company, Miss Li?"
Grace Li took another look at the wheelchair he had introduced. "I'm definitely interested. However, I mainly focus on consumer-oriented investments. But we have another department that handles this type of thing. I'll pass your card on to them."
"Great, thank you so much."
Grace Li glanced around the booth. "Are there any other interesting products?"
Kyle Brooks replied, "Yeah, we've developed a health-monitoring bracelet for the elderly. There are a lot of similar bracelets on the market, but ours is specifically designed for seniors. With the growing elderly population, there will be more elderly people living alone in the U.S. in the future. For elderly people with underlying health conditions, the worst-case scenario is having no one around when an emergency strikes, missing the best window for treatment. My idea is to connect this bracelet to the hospital's emergency system. If it detects abnormal vital signs, the hospital can track the person through the bracelet and provide the quickest possible treatment. Also, when the person feels unwell, they can press a button for five seconds to call for help. And for elderly people with dementia or Alzheimer's who might wander off, this bracelet can be linked to family members' phones for real-time tracking."
After listening to the introduction, Grace Li nodded. "That sounds really promising."
"Thank you," Kyle Brooks said with pride, his eyes sparkling as he spoke about his product.
Grace Li glanced at the booth again. "The booth could use a little more decoration though."
Kyle Brooks scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "I focused more on the product display. With the limited budget for this exhibition, I didn't put much thought into the decorations."
Grace Li smiled. "The products are great, though. I hope to see them widely promoted in the future."
"Thank you."
Kyle Brooks was polite, much different from the rough-around-the-edges engineer she had expected.
After leaving the booth, Olivia said, "Boss, that guy was pretty good-looking."
Grace Li smiled. "Yeah, he's not bad."
Olivia teased, "Boss, are you into him?"
Grace Li noticed Aiden Thompson's eyes on her and cleared her throat. "No, I'm just interested in his products."
"Too bad we mainly focus on the consumer sector. Otherwise, we could have partnered with him."
"Actually, his products are more focused on elderly care, which is somewhat related to our field. But I'm not familiar with medical devices, so I'll pass it on to the team that handles that."
"Got it." Olivia noticed the restroom sign. She'd just had coffee and really needed to go. "Boss, do you need to go to the restroom?"
"I went half an hour ago."
"Then I'll go. Wait for me."
As soon as Olivia left, Grace Li turned around and almost bumped into Aiden Thompson.
Grace Li jumped back, startled, then laughed. "You scared me."
Aiden Thompson put his arm around her waist and looked down at her, their pose a little intimate.
Grace Li glanced around the crowded exhibition hall and whispered, "There are so many people watching."
"I'm your boyfriend. It's perfectly normal."
Grace Li was a little confused. He wasn't usually this way in public.
Aiden Thompson raised an eyebrow. "That guy at the booth, was he really good-looking?"
Grace Li blinked and answered honestly, "Not extremely, but he's decent."
Aiden Thompson's expression darkened. "Oh? How do I compare to him?"
Seeing him getting jealous, Grace Li held back a smile. "Why are you being so childish?"
"Answer my question."
Grace Li took a deep breath. "You're the most handsome. You win."
Aiden Thompson's frown disappeared. Grace Li pushed him lightly. "Let go, Olivia will be back soon."
Aiden Thompson released her.
Just then, Grace Li's phone rang. It was Huiyun Liang calling. She stepped into a quieter corner to answer.
Huiyun Liang said on the phone that she and Shichen Li had come to a hospital in New York for a check-up and decided to drop by and stay the night.
Grace Li immediately tensed when she heard about the hospital visit. After listening to Huiyun Liang explain that it was just Shichen Li who wasn't feeling well, and they were worried because the local hospital couldn't make a clear diagnosis, so they had come to a larger hospital in New York. The test results showed there was nothing serious.
Grace Li finally relaxed.