Alice Chen saw early success with her first business, Export Ventures Group. The company developed an export market in China for Canadian wine.
“It was my first venture and we ramped up pretty quickly,” Chen said. “We caught onto good timing … in terms of the growth of wine consumption in China.”
Developing the relatively new export market for Canadian wine was a passion for Chen, but looking back, she wishes she had thought more about the size of the total market for Canadian wines in China, which is only around $18 million annually.
Export Ventures Group is still running and is now working on adding seafood and other food exports. But Chen is also looking to develop business in a much larger industry.
“What I learned is to go backwards … looking at the GDP breakdown by sector,” she said.
“If you’re going to play in the sandbox, you might as well pick a big sandbox.”
Chen’s search has led her to focus on the energy sector. “Oil and gas, liquefied natural gas and clean energy are all possibilities at this point.”
Chen is working with several partners, who are looking for a business to acquire in British Columbia or elsewhere in Western Canada.
“We’re very open-minded at this point, but we’re looking at a product with the potential of growing market share.”
Chen believes that having five years of business experience under her belt, as well as working with partners who can bring both knowledge and capital to the table, will help her succeed in a larger industry.
“Of course we want to partner up with industry leaders and we want to be able to recruit talent to make up a strong operating team.”
On knowing your strengths | “My skill set is more in the deal-making. I focus on identifying opportunities, seeing the vision three years before it happens and putting the right people in place for the execution. I’ve done a lot of the operating myself, so I know all the facets.”
@jenstden
