Ice Cream, Masa Son, and Bringing Wireless to China – with UT Starcom Founder Hong Lu

The Harbinger - China Tech & VC Podcast

Today we have a special episode with Hong Lu, founder of UT Starcom, one of the pioneering telecom companies in China. Hong is widely respected not only as a tech entrepreneur, but also as founding chairman at SoftBank China Venture Capital (which wrote an initial $18m check for Alibaba), and for his close friendship and successful collaboration with Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank Group and the Vision Fund. The story goes, while working the night shift at an ice cream shop near UC Berkeley, Hong met Masa Son, who refused to pay for a milkshake unless it was made extra thick. The two Japanese speakers became fast friends and eventual business partners on Masa’s first start-up, an electronic translator that would sell to Sharp for $1.7m, and the rest is history. Hong shares with us his personal story, what it was like partnering with Masa on multiple ventures over the years, bringing wireless services to China, and key lessons learned along the way. Enjoy! Link to write-up: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/ice-cream-masa-son-and-bringing-wireless-to-china-with-ut-starcom-founder