評論
打印
Have pillow fights with your friends, camp on the roof of a villa, dress up like a pirate and hunt treasures, or put on clown face paint to fight against Batman. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?
和朋友來場“枕頭大戰”、露宿別墅屋頂、扮成海盜去尋寶，或是扮“小丑”大戰蝙蝠俠。這些聽上去是不是很有意思？
In a blunt challenge to the warning in American Dreams in China, which says “never start a business with your best friends”, Ouyang Sidi, a graduate from Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, and Wang Jingsheng, a graduate from South China Normal University, who are best friends, are offering these fun activities through their company. According to them, they're “on the right track”.
為了挑戰《中國合伙人》中王陽的那句“千萬不要和最好的朋友合伙開公司”，廣東仲愷農業工程學院畢業生歐陽斯迪（音譯）和華南師范大學的畢業生王京生（音譯）這對好友合伙開了家公司，專門提供以上這些有趣的活動。在他們眼中，這條路算是走對了。
The pair met while working for a local department store in Guangzhou after graduating in 2008. They were bored with the daily routine of their work.
2008年畢業后，二人在廣州一家百貨商場工作時相識。日復一日的日常工作令他們感到厭煩。
“There aren't many interactive activities in China for adults,” says Ouyang. “So we thought, why not set up a company ourselves to offer more interactive events? It could be a good idea for a startup.”
“國內還沒有多少家專門為成年人提供互動活動的公司，”歐陽斯迪說。“所以我們想，為何不自己開家公司，來提供更多的互動活動呢？這或許是個創業的好點子。”
So they set up a company that offers young professionals a platform to socialize and have fun. They make money by organizing the activities and getting sponsored. They figured that young professionals are an attractive target for advertising companies.
于是他們創立了一家公司，專門為年輕白領們提供一個交友和娛樂的平臺。他們的公司通過組織活動和拉贊助來盈利。他們發現，對于廣告公司而言，年輕白領是一個極具吸引力的目標群體。
But ideas are always a step away from reality. After founding the company in 2009, Ouyang had many ideas that he thought were interesting, but no clients picked up on them.
但理想與現實間總是有一步之遙。自2009年公司成立以來，歐陽想出了許多他自認為很有趣的點子，但沒有客戶愿意采納。
For his pillow fight idea, Ouyang's calculation was as follows: Inviting 300 people and charging them 200 yuan each equals 60,000 yuan in income.
關于“枕頭大戰”這個想法，歐陽斯迪的預估是這樣的：邀請300人前來參加、每人收取200元，這樣就能賺到6萬元。
That's a lot of money, but it didn't turn out as expected. “Only 30 people signed up, so we reduced the price several times,” says Ouyang. “Finally it was a free event.”
盡管這是筆不小的數目，但結果卻差強人意。“只有30人報名參加，所以我們不得不多次降價，”歐陽斯迪說。“最后成了一次免費活動。”
They discussed the problem of not having enough publicity for their company and the activities they offered. So they set up event pages on Douban.com to attract young people, handed out flyers on university campuses, and recruited student volunteers to help organize and promote the events.
針對公司及活動宣傳力度不足的問題，他們展開一番討論。之后，他們便在豆瓣網上設立活動網頁來吸引年輕人關注、在大學校園里發傳單并招募學生志愿者來幫忙進行活動組織和推廣工作。
Ouyang and Wang found that the passionate and energetic student volunteers were full of inspiration and made a good team. So they invested more money in training them and communicating with students.
歐陽斯迪和王京生發現這群充滿熱情與活力的學生志愿者經常會靈感迸發，善于團隊協作。所以他們在培訓志愿者和與學生交流這兩個方面投入了更多的資金。
But creativity doesn't guarantee commercial success.
但是創造力無法保證商業上的成功。
In the first two years, the company didn't win any sponsors and lost money on nearly every event.
剛開始的兩年，公司沒有拉到任何贊助，幾乎每個活動都虧本。
“The sky was gray for us. We couldn't find a way out. It was very frustrating,” says Ouyang.
歐陽斯迪說：“我們眼中的天是灰色的，找不到任何出路，十分沮喪。”
But after constantly trying, an idea for throwing a Halloween party finally paid off. They got a call from Coca-Cola Co, who agreed to sponsor the event, and for the first time they made money.
但是在一次次的嘗試過后，舉辦萬圣節派對的提案終于大獲成功。可口可樂公司打來電話表示愿意對此次活動提供贊助，他們第一次嘗到了賺錢的滋味。
“I almost cried. From then on, everything became better,” says Ouyang.
歐陽斯迪說：“我幾乎快哭出來了。從那以后，一切都變得越來越好。”
More and more companies started asking them to organize activities, including Pearl River Beer, Ricoh and Star Cruises.
越來越多想要組織活動的公司找上門來，其中包括珠江啤酒、日本理光以及麗星郵輪。
Last week the two best friends bought a BMW sedan and they think it's now time to expand the business.
上周，這對死黨買了輛寶馬汽車，因為他們覺得是時候要擴大業務了。
“Others have begun copying our business model and we're about to launch some new projects,” says Ouyang.
歐陽斯迪說：“其他人開始效仿我們的經營模式，而我們也將推出一些新項目。”
Fingers crossed.
祝他們好運！
