Many, many years ago I arrived in this country from China with two thousand dollars in my pocket. Unfulfilled by teaching Spanish to affluent undergrads, I abandoned my scholarship in Spanish literature to pursue a legal education. To supplement my income, I worked as a cashier at Chinese restaurants.

In the past two decades, I reinvented myself several times: from a graduate student majoring in Spanish, to a licensed lawyer working in big law, then a mid level procurement manager in silicon valley, and now a founder of a two year old startup.

A decade ago, when I quit my lucrative law firm job to embark my MBA journey at Duke Fuqua, many, including my own mother, considered me insane. I couldn’t articulate exactly why, but I just sensed that if I remained on that path, life would drain the last drop of joy out of me. So, in my thirties, as a single mom, I returned to the classroom, interviewed for jobs with significantly less pay than I was making before, and eventually became a junior global supply manager at Apple.

I didn’t have a clear idea of where I was headed. I have switched jobs frequently, spending on an average two years at each company. I’ve worked for large corporations, mid size companies, sizable startups and now a tiny startup of our own. But why? In the words of Steve Jobs put it, https://medium.com/@chuckreynolds/steve-jobs-connect-the-dots-quote-10a768873c51. And now, after a long and winding journey, all the dots have finally coalesced into a clear picture.

Over the past decade, I spent most of my time perfecting this art called procurement. While some may dismiss it as merely buying and haggling, I find it to be an intriguing field, while learning a huge variety of subject matters. It encompasses negotiation, strategy, relationship building. Ultimately, it’s about being a trusted advisor to help people get what they need (and advise them of what they may consider and what they may not need), negotiate a favorable price and achieve savings for the company.

Finally, I’ve always had a natural passion about building better software and better systems. Because I started my career buying software, I have seen the ascent of industry titans such as Workday, Databricks and Looker. I’ve always hated outdated, clumsy and clunky software (not naming names) and loved a sleek design, optimal UI, and cutting edge AI. My passion is to create a superior experience in this field.

This entire journey has led me to this path of building our own SaaS software for procurement and legal automation. This is the culmination of my entrepreneurial sprit, my quest for autonomy, deep passion for technology and innovation, and my ability to connect with people to help them solve a problem. After years of searching, it finally feels like everything has come together, and I am connecting all the dots.

Admittedly, building a company from scratch is a daunting task. Many times I feel this is the most challenging task I’ve ever tackled in my life. But this is also the happiest I’ve ever been when it comes to work. I am finally doing what I WANT to do. So, what comes next? Build the company. Grow the team. Develop the product. Generate sales. Rinse and repeat.

Anything else I would like to do? May pursue my passion for art further, maybe take a couple of years of formal training, perhaps in Paris? Learn an instrument and learn to sing and play, maybe the guitar, maybe the piano. Explore countless new destinations. Write a book about my life story, leadership or even the journey of building a startup. Teach at a laws school or business school and finally share my learnings and my passion for coaching. Who knows, inspired by Yellowstone, maybe I’ll un for a political office one day. Here is to the second half of my life. I am feeling stronger and more powerful than ever.

到今年， 我在美国的时间已经超过了我在中国的时间。 二十几年以前， 我孤身一人来到这个陌生的国家， 并无一技压身， 更无几两碎银。 从一个教西语的小留学生， 到几乎完全没有外国人的法学院， 再到纽约的大律所， 然后来硅谷做一个负责采购的小职员。 最后， 我终于揭竿而起， 成立了自己的小小的创业公司。

十年以前， 当我毅然抛弃高薪离开律师职位而回美读MBA时， 很多人都不以为然。但我以三十岁的高龄， 一拖二的单身妈妈， 去了苹果， 拿着极低薪资开始学着做采购。路漫漫其修远。 我从大公司换到小公司， 一次次的换工作， 换工种， 几乎是两年一换。经历了好几个创业公司以后， 最终自己出来创业。 为什么？ 我一直难以回答自己这个问题， 我在寻找什么？ 又在探索什么？ 正像我本家乔教主所言， 最终， 这些点终究会连成一线， 昭显我们的来时路。

过去的十年， 我一直在学习这门叫做采购的艺术。 这并不只是讨价还价， 锱铢必较。 在这个过程中不但可以学到各行各业的专业知识，更涵盖了各种商业谈判，战略步骤，人情练达。与此同时， 我也一直对好的系统， 软件， 方法论心向往之。 万途归一， 这段旅程终于让我决定建立一个自己的采购和法务的自动化软件。

说实在的， 从零到一建一个自己的公司真的很难。 有时候我觉得我这辈子从没做个这么难的事情。 但这也确实是我此生以来最快乐的时光。 无论如何， 终于有一次， 我在做我想要做的事情。那接下来呢？ 把公司做大。 扩大团队。 开发产品。 完成销售。 然后再次循环。那我还想要做些什么呢？也许去正式的学习画画，也许学一种乐器， 或者写一本书，也许去像先父一样做个老师， 教教法学院或者商学院？看来电视剧黄石， 我还甚至有些想从政呢。一生很长也很短。 以此， 致敬我的前半生。 来着可追，彼方尚有荣光在。