"At 19, with no degree and only a year left on my visa, I had no idea what would come next. Starting a business seemed like the only way I could keep living in Hong Kong. So, I signed a four-year lease on a restaurant. I had never managed a team, raised capital, or run a kitchen. But I knew I wasn't ready to leave. It was the first city that finally felt like home."
"My mom gave me two choices: pay rent or work 30 hours a week. I quickly realized it was a trick question, as I couldn't pay rent without a job. I chose the latter and started working at Casa, a tapas restaurant in Sai Kung, a laid-back seaside town about an hour from Hong Kong's city center. I started at the bottom of the ladder, working mainly on the floor and at the bar, before becoming the bar manager after six months."
Nikolai Smirnoff moved from Portland to Japan and then to Hong Kong as a teenager, where he finally felt at home. He returned to the US for college but left after one semester and went back to Hong Kong. With one year left on his visa and no degree, he signed a four-year lease on a restaurant despite having no managerial, fundraising, or kitchen experience. He began working at Casa in Sai Kung, advanced to bar manager after six months, and endured long workweeks that taught hospitality skills, reduced social anxiety, and built confidence. When his parents prepared to leave Hong Kong, he faced the visa challenge that prompted entrepreneurship.
Read at Business Insider
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