Start-up expert talks with Wuhan young entrepreneurs

The founder and president of Next Galaxy Media, a technology company that produces, distributes, and markets digital media, spoke with representatives of young start-ups at the Youth Business China (YBC) office in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Thursday Sept 20.

Mary Spio spoke on "The Age of Innovation" and shared her own startup story with the young entrepreneurs and revealed that she was once a worker at a MacDonalds in New York City, and an engineer at NASA before finally becoming the founder and president of Next Galaxy Media.

Also present at the gathering were Andrew T. Lee, public affairs officer of the US consulate in Wuhan, Kelly Zhang, secretary of the consulate’s public affairs office, and Chen Jungang, ddeputy cchief of the Wuhan Youth League.

"Perseverance is what has helped me through all the suffering, and mentors have also played an important part in my success." Spio explained in answer to a question raised from one of young representatives.

YBC is an educational organization that helps young people start businesses and even arranges a mentor for people aged 18 to 35, along with three years of tutoring and funding of 50,000 yuan ($7,900) to help them turn their idea into a successful business.

Spio also visited the government offices of the city's Jiangxia district, on Sept 19, where she spoke with entrepreneurs in its IT industry. She also visited the Huazhong University of Science and Technology where she addressed a group of female students and teachers and encouraged them to be adventurous in starting a business of their own.