Young entrepreneur Mario Ho stresses the importance of facing challenges head-on and maintaining a resilient mindset during an entrepreneurial journey.
At the age of 29, Ho stands as one of the youngest CEOs of a publicly-listed company worldwide, NIP Group. The company went public on Nasdaq in July, officially becoming the first e-sports stock from China.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Ho reflected on his early attempts that did not achieve the desired success which he sees as valuable experience in shaping his current ventures.
"When I first started, I wanted to make a platform for bookings. I tried AR, I tried AI, I tried other versions of games. None of those things took off. Then again, I don't exactly blame myself because I was very, very early. So but then again, looking back, those are very valuable experiences that helped build land today," Ho said.
Ho points to a key moment in his career when his group secured a significant sponsorship deal with BYD, which enabled them to attract more sponsors.
"I think my first bucket of gold for NIP Group had to be when we signed the sponsorship deal with BYD. That was our largest sponsorship deal. That really kick started everything, because after BYD, numerous other very recognizable brands came into the group and became sponsors as well. We were able to unlock a lot more partnerships, and we were able to use those funds to actually buy some new star players, which ended up winning us, I think, four or five trophies. So that really was a key moment," Ho said.
Giving advice for fellow young entrepreneurs, Ho stressed that obstacles are inevitable in the path and encourage them not to give up.
"Don't give up. I think that is the most important thing when it comes to entrepreneurship. Understanding that problems are always going to arise. That's the nature of entrepreneurship. So you can't run away from it. You can't procrastinate. You have to be at war mode, at any point in time in your career. But most importantly, you are going to get defeated. You are going to lose, you are going to succumb to certain pressures and issues that you're not able to solve. However, as long as you don't give up, you give yourself another fighting chance, another day. I think that has to be the most important advice I can give," Ho said.
Mario Ho stresses resilience, perseverance in entrepreneurial journey
