The two of them walked out hand in hand. The tech park covered a large area, with several office supply stores scattered around. Grace Li and Aiden Thompson walked into the one closest to their building. As soon as they entered, they bumped into someone.
Grace Li paused for a moment. She recognized him immediately—it was the entrepreneur working on smart wheelchairs, the one she had met at the tech exhibition.
It had been a few months, and she couldn't quite remember his name, but he recognized her right away. "Ms. Li! What are the chances of running into you here!" he said.
Tom Wilson added, "Your words at the exhibition really stuck with me. They gave me a huge boost. I've been thinking about them a lot."
Grace Li smiled, "I meant every word."
She had also passed his contact info to James Shun from the neighboring team, though she wasn't sure if anything had come of it. "By the way, I passed your info to my colleague. How did things go with him?"
Tom Wilson smiled sheepishly, "I had a chat with your Mr. Shun. He asked for a business plan, and I sent it over. But then... nothing. Guess our project just wasn't his thing."
Grace Li had been pretty optimistic about the project at the time. She hadn't expected James Shun to lose interest. "So, where's your company at now?"
Tom Wilson sighed, "Still grinding away, trying to drum up investment."
Grace Li felt a little sorry for him. She was glad he hadn't found an investor yet, though, since she was also on the lookout for promising projects.
Grace Li said, "Well, I've struck out on my own and started a company. I'm on the hunt for promising projects. If you're game, I'd love to dig deeper into your company."
Tom Wilson's eyes lit up, "Absolutely! That would be awesome."
They had been talking for a while when Aiden Thompson cut in, "We've been chatting away, but I still don't know your name, man."
Tom Wilson looked at Aiden, "I'm Tom Wilson. Here, let me give you my card."
Grace Li looked at the card and finally remembered his name.
Aiden Thompson took the card. "Sorry, my cards aren't ready yet. I'm Thompson, Grace Li's boyfriend and business partner."
Tom Wilson looked at the two of them, a bit surprised to learn they were a couple. "No kidding! Nice to meet you, Mr. Thompson."
Grace Li asked, "By the way, Tom, what brings you to this neck of the woods?"
"My company's just around the corner."
"What a small world! Our company's also in this science park. We've been knee-deep in setting up the office these days."
"Which building are you in?"
"We're in Building A8."
Tom Wilson smiled, "We're in Building A3. Practically neighbors!"
"Then if you're free later, we'll swing by your place."
"Sure thing! Anytime."
Grace Li was very interested in Tom Wilson's company. The next day, she and Aiden Thompson visited it.
The distance between the two companies was only a five-minute walk.
Tom Wilson's company was on the sixth floor. As soon as they entered, they noticed all the employees were working in wheelchairs. Even when going to the water cooler, they used their wheelchairs to move around.
Just as Tom had said before, their smart wheelchairs allowed precise small-range movement. If someone wanted to go to the water cooler, the wheelchair would automatically take them there.
Tom Wilson smiled, "This is all part of the product testing. We're all using the wheelchairs we developed, myself included."
To outsiders, it might seem unusual, but Grace Li really admired this approach. "You've really got the right idea. Trying it yourself is the best way to understand how to improve the product. That's amazing."
"That's exactly what I thought. Anyway, shall we head to the conference room and grab a cup of joe?"
"Sure."
They entered the conference room, and Tom Wilson asked one of the employees to make coffee for them. He was a little shy, "Ms. Li, I really appreciate you coming. To be honest, I'm a tech guy through and through. Financing is a whole new ballgame for me, so I haven't really prepped a ton of materials. Just ask away if you've got any questions."
Grace Li didn't mind that Tom wasn't well-versed in finance. When she was working as a financial advisor, she often met entrepreneurs who didn't know much about finances. That's why financial advisors existed. As for Tom, he was sincere and approachable. She was here to get a basic understanding, "How about you give us the low-down on the company first?"
"Sure." Tom Wilson clasped his hands on the table and began, "Our company specializes in R&D, production, and sales of human-assisted devices. Right now, we have a total of 27 employees. Nine of us are in this office in the science park, including me. Our factory was up and running this May, and we have 18 people there handling assembly and packaging. We outsource some of the parts."
While Tom Wilson spoke, Aiden Thompson typed notes on his laptop. Then he asked, "What are your main sources of orders right now?"
Tom Wilson said, "At the moment, we're doing OEM for a few domestic medical device companies. They're keeping the lights on."
Aiden Thompson followed up, "What's the order volume like? Is it pretty steady?"
"The order volume's around 6,000–7,000 units per month, with a value of about $900,000."
Grace Li was curious, "Your wheelchairs are high-tech. Why is the average unit price so low?"
Tom Wilson explained, "The OEM orders aren't for the model I'm focusing on now. The companies that requested OEM wanted my first-generation electric wheelchairs. They're not as advanced, so the price is lower."
Grace Li asked again, "What's the price tag on the wheelchair you're currently developing?"
"The ex-factory price for a fully-loaded configuration is around $6,000."
With a price of $6,000, considering other costs, the retail price would likely be close to $10,000. This price was relatively high for typical American families.
Tom Wilson added, "I'm always brainstorming ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality."
After some more questions, they moved on to visit Tom Wilson's factory. The factory had 18 employees, with a manager in charge. There were two people in the warehouse handling incoming and outgoing shipments. With only two assembly lines, many auxiliary tools were used to help the workers easily assemble the wheelchairs.
Because of her previous work, Grace Li had visited many factories, including high-tech ones. But this assembly line was clearly special.
Tom Wilson explained that he had designed and customized the assembly line himself, which helped speed up production and reduce labor costs.
Grace Li was once again impressed by his innovation, "Did you take out a loan to build the factory?"
Tom Wilson nodded, "Yeah, I have several patents, so I managed to secure a loan from the bank."
Grace Li asked directly, "How much was the loan?"
"$8 million."
"Then how much have you paid back so far?"
"Only one-third."
"Ms. Li, watch your step," Tom Wilson reminded kindly.
Grace Li hadn't noticed a wooden box filled with metal parts in front of her feet. She looked up and saw Tom turning to one of the workers.
"Hey, buddy, clean up these parts and store them properly. We don't want anyone getting hurt, right?"
The worker scratched his head, "You got it, boss."
While Aiden Thompson was taking pictures of the factory, he overheard their conversation and glanced back at Tom Wilson.
The factory wasn't large, and half of it was a warehouse. As they walked around and came out, they ran into someone—a bit overweight, with a beer belly. The person smiled when he saw them, "Tom, are these the investors you've been waiting for?"
Tom Wilson replied, "Yes. Let me introduce you. This is Ms. Li and Mr. Thompson from Chenyu Capital."
"Ms. Li, Mr. Thompson, this is Jack Brown. He handles all business-related matters for us."
They shook hands, and Jack Brown said warmly, "I was out hustling for business today and got back late. It's dinner time. How about I take you two out for a nice meal? My treat!"
Aiden Thompson smiled, "Appreciate the offer, but we've already got plans. Maybe next time."
"No problem. There will be plenty of opportunities if we end up working together. Looking forward to it."
Jack Brown and Tom Wilson were quite different. Jack Brown had a strong business presence, clearly skilled in handling business, while Tom Wilson was more focused on the tech side.
The two of them complemented each other well. Grace Li and Aiden Thompson exchanged a glance, both thinking this could be a very interesting project to invest in. Tom's innovative tech and Jack's business savvy might just be the perfect mix they were looking for.