JEFF TOWSON: Finance, Healthcare, and Investing in China
#051 - Finance, Healthcare, and Investing in China | Jeff Towson
This week’s guest is Jeff Towson. Jeff has a very eclectic career, ranging from finance to healthcare and media. He is a professor of finance at Peking University, an investor, and a popular blogger and influencer online on topics most often related to business in China. I’ve enjoyed and have learned a lot from reading his articles and watching his videos, which you can find at his website linked below. Enjoy!
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Jeff Towson online: http://jefftowson.com
Articles: http://jefftowson.com/my-writing/
Videos: http://jefftowson.com/resources/
Books: http://jefftowson.com/one-hour-china/
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MARCUS MEDINA: From Cal-Mex to QMex
My guest today is Marcus Medina. Marcus is a chef from California by way of Mexico, Manhattan, and many stops in between. He’s also the food mastermind behind QMex and it’s sister restaurant here in Beijing, QMex Taqueria. If you’re a long-time listener to the show, you might swear I’m on the PR payroll for QMex, but it’s honestly my favorite restaurant in Beijing. I have always loved Mexican food, and being from California, where Marcus first developed his style, I especially love and relate to the flavors he brings to his dishes. There’s also the fun fact that my very first guest on the show, Loren Heinold, is a partner in the restaurant and gets some of the credit for me being able to enjoy it in the first place, so there’s that.
This interview was recorded just before the lunch rush earlier today on the patio outside of QMex, so there’s a little street noise but it’s not obtrusive. I liked how alive it made it feel so much that this interview is very unedited, which is impressive considering just how much both Marcus and me like to talk! My average interview probably has about 150 edits, mostly to remove random noises or unproductive tangents, or to shorten pauses between thoughts and keep a consistent pace, but Marcus and I found a groove right off the bat that rocked along so well that the edits are mostly to wait for a passing delivery cart or loud conversation to pass.
I have known Marcus just a little before doing this interview but when we sat down with no distractions and got into it, it felt like I'd really found a kindred spirit. At a surface level that makes sense, since we each have the gift of easy conversation and we both have California as a home in common - his my birth, mine by choice - and that goes a long way to explaining it. But as we talked, I realized that I related to Marcus’s story on a different, much more philosophical level too...
He talks about his love for New York, but how he probably stayed a little too long in NY. I can relate, since I feel like I stayed a little too long in LA. We both have lots of love for the places that helped redefine us, but if you’re driven by the spirit of adventure, staying in one place too long is about as close to death as you get with your eyes still open, and one thing you will never say about Beijing is that it’s stagnant.
Speaking of stagnation: I want the show to grow and expand as organically as possible, but to do this, I need YOUR help. Moral support is great, and is sincerely appreciated, but that doesn’t pay the bills. If you like the show, please subscribe to us in iTunes / Apple Podcasts, on Google Play or Castbox, and give us a good rating or even a review. And if you REALLY like it, please visit the SUPPORT page on the website, which is crazyinagoodway.com, and you can make a one-time donation as you see fit. There are links to both PayPal and WeChat Pay, and any amount truly makes a difference. THANK YOU as always for your comments and positive feedback and moral support, and if your support becomes material as well, then that’s amazing.
QMex on WeChat: qmex_mexican_grill *** Marcus Medina interview on FM Lifestyle:
http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/m1Fs0gSUAx7B5nZJPz_dDw *** Brendan Davis on WeChat: BrendanDavis *** Brendan Davis on Twitter: @VeritasInLux *** BFMK website: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com *** BFMK Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigFishMiddleKingdom/ *** Other links to LISTEN:
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COCA XIE: Building A Red Carpet Bridge Between China and Hollywood
Building A Red Carpet Bridge Between China and Hollywood | Coca Xie
This week’s episode features Los Angeles TV producer and red carpet host Coca Xie, which flips my show’s usual format on it’s head. I usually feature foreigners who have come to China to do something interesting, but now that we are a few months into the podcast I wanted to begin getting another kind of voice in the mix, namely: Chinese people who have taken their insights into things here and gone to another country in order to build a bridge to China from their new side of the sea. Every 10 episodes I will add one of these into the mix, and I can’t think of a better person to start with than Coca.
I have known Coca for just a few years, but in that short amount of time she has accomplished a great deal. She’s established herself in both New York and L.A. as a bilingual reporter and host for Chinese and China-centric entertainment shows and events, but as a producer, she’s building a platform that is the first of it’s kind and is uniquely positioned to connect the US and Chinese entertainment worlds like never before. She’s a genuinely nice person on top of being very driven, and there are lots of funny stories as well as sharp insights in this one, so I hope you enjoy it.
To learn more about Coca or the show, please visit the links below. Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE wherever you get your podcasts, tell any friends you think would also like the show, and if you think you or a friend would be a great guest on the show, let me know!
Coca Xie - Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/littleleafyuko/?hl=en
Coca Xie - Weibo:
http://weibo.com/littleleafyuko
"BFMK" site:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/
Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux
Carl King (composer):
http://carlkingdom.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2
CastBox:
http://castbox.fm/u/4711710