Scott Hinton
Tolerance means less limitation in cultures and thoughts. The collision of disparate ideas always inspires innovation and vitality.
Meet Samuel Yang, an ex-product designer, with a lot of experience and knowledge in product structure and the production process of various household products.
He is the founder of Golmate Daily Commodity Limited, whose aim is to provide high-quality OEM, ODM, and wholesale services to global companies. Their mission – ensuring finely designed and affordable products worldwide.
In this interview, Samuel gives us insight into just how important the designing aspect of a particular product is. He goes as far as saying that “Design is the secret.”
He further touches upon all the things he has learned during his entrepreneurial journey.
Let’s learn a little about you and really get to experience what makes us tick – starting at our beginnings. Where did your story begin?
Samuel Yang: Everyone has been through these: the coffee gets cold at about an hour even in a thermal bottle; beverages leak in the bag; clothes get wet when drinking due to the outlet being in an inappropriate size; the cover presses against the nose, making it uncomfortable… Most of these products on the market have more or less the same problems as I mentioned above. There are small parts of them that are good-looking, exquisitely designed, and practical but expensive. They are unaffordable for many average consumers. Because the list price on the market is in a huge difference, several times and even a dozen times, it is generally believed that the cost prices are in the same situation.
However, based on the knowledge of engineering design I learned in university, it seems to me that the difference of cost price between the products with no design and poor practicality, and those with fashion outlooking, exquisite designs, practicability, and high quality is not that exaggerated. Design is the secret. And to design a nice-looking and user-friendly product, identifying the pain points of consumers is the key. The next step is to strengthen the quality control in the production and improve the precision of the mold so that the cost can be reduced and more consumers will be able to buy.
It strikes me that everyone needs and should have the right to enjoy the pleasure brought by good products. And that’s how Golmate was found. We hope that every consumer can enjoy the happiness and the joy of life through the product we manufactured. Not only in a lovely, practical, elaborate design but also at an affordable price are what we pursue.
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Samuel Yang: When I first decided to start my own business, I was young and confused, so I went to many proseminars to look for inspiration. And then I met Joseph at a meeting, a young designer, who had the same views on drinkware designs as I did. We hit it off and set down a style of Golmate: practical, simple, affordable. He always provides a lot of insightful ideas on our designs because he is good at finding bullet points in regular life. Joseph must be the one I am most grateful for.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Samuel Yang: I would say fickleness. The speed of social development is faster than we thought, and it won’t get any slower but faster. The information spread very fast too, and the media advocates success all the time. Many young entrepreneurs believe that a great scale can lead them onto the highway. So they set a great plan, recruited a bunch of workers, and invested a lot at one blow. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them couldn’t get through and failed in a short time. I think a successful enterprise should have an everlasting foundation that can support them for a long enough period, serve more people, and bring value to society. That is to say, a great business can still grow stronger even though it has been through so many challenges, and most importantly, it is still strong enough to break the blocks in the future.
Has the pandemic and transitioning into mostly online shopping affected your company positively or negatively?
Samuel Yang: It seems to me that online shopping is a global trend. The epidemic accelerates its development to a certain extent and it’s a positive effect on us. Networking and “electronization” are trending in all industries now that bring us a more convenient life and allow us to work efficiently. For our company, online shopping provides us a platform to collect information data which helps us research and invent new products. Global clients or consumers can get more information about newly released products easier and clearer.
What is most important to your organization—mission, vision, or values?
Samuel Yang: They are equally important to us. Mission and vision are the lamps to our development, while values are the core of a team. Since they are crucial for a company, none of the three is dispensable.
What Makes a Good Team Leader? A Guide to Effective Team Leadership
What do you consider are your strengths when dealing with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers?
Samuel Yang: In the Chinese old saying, being “kao pu” is my attitude which means honesty and responsibility.
What Is Leadership Today? Situational Tools to Help Enhance Your Power
What have you learned about personal branding that you wish you had known earlier in your career?
Samuel Yang: People get mature and realize some truths after they have been through such things. Young people always have a hero dream that one can beat all, so was I. We’d like to work by ourselves rather than turning to others for help. But I realize that one has limited capability to accomplish all the stuff when getting older. Even though one can get it done, it still is a small success in a particular way. To realize a bigger success, we need a team to gather every small drip. The achievement of everyone in the group will be greater than one work on himself.
What’s your favorite leadership style and why?
Samuel Yang: Open and tolerant. I am always open to many different voices that make me think and help me make good decisions. Tolerance means less limitation in cultures and thoughts. The collision of disparate ideas always inspires innovation and vitality.
Do you think entrepreneurship is something that you’re born with or something that you can learn along the way?
Samuel Yang: Einstein once said: “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” People learn after they are born, the same applies to entrepreneurship. On the path of setting up your business, you will encounter many unpredictable situations that are hard to deal with by talent only. It requires an amount of knowledge from various aspects that we had to learn. Plenty of successful entrepreneurs around the world encourage living and learning. You will never cease to learn as long as you live.
What’s your favorite “leadership” quote and how has it affected the way you implement your leadership style?
Samuel Yang: I love what Jobs said:” We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why else even be here? ” I was impressed by his persistence for career and his lofty ideals and aims. He put forward a philosophical question: What are people living for? I believe that very few of us had thought it over or just a flash thought. Many of us would love to be a hedonist, enjoying ourselves with feasting and all kinds of entertainment. I’m not judging what we should choose or should not. But I’d like to follow Jobs’s lead to change the world, giving impetus to the development of humans.
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings