An entrepreneur’s journey with a rooftop bar

An entrepreneur’s journey with a rooftop bar

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BeeNow podcast, Episode 45 Having lived in Chengdu for more than 8 years, Vas is a local veteran who has been involved with a number of local, community events and runs his own weekly event, Chengdu Film Society. He ran Berlin Haus for 2 years and recently closed that chapter of his life. In this episode, Vas shares his journey with building Berlin Haus, which was has been a work and entertainment space for local creatives. Berlin Haus has been a go-to spot for comedy nights, music nights, movie nights, and other nights and days as well. We go into the "fuck yeah" moments and the "fuck no" moments of running a small business, the learnings, and why Berlin Haus finally came to a close.
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Curiosity and optimism for a design leader with Momo Estrella

Curiosity and optimism for a design leader with Momo Estrella

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BeeNow podcast, Episode 44 Momo Estrella is a design executive based in Shanghai since 2010. He has worked across corporate, consulting, and startup setups in leadership roles where he has defined the foundations and set the capabilities to sustain human-centered innovation. He has worked at companies like EF Education First, Imagination, Publicis Sapient, IDEO. He currently serves as the Design Director / Head of UX at IKEA. In exploring design, creativity, and leadership, I couldn't ask for a better guest. In this chat, Momo talks about his journey as a designer, the importance of staying inspired, how to deal with mental blind spots, and a perspective on human-centered leadership. We also explore the unavoidable dimensions of creativity like confidence, listening, failure, and the unknown. We also address an ageless question,…
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Infant on the floor with Nicole TooMuch

Infant on the floor with Nicole TooMuch

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BeeNow podcast, Episode 43 Nicole TooMuch has performed bitterly hilarious standup across China for several years. She takes a deeper look into the grim parts of life and teases out the fun. She also teaches Chinese and studies Psychology. I met Nicole through Chengdu Comedy and now she teaches me Chinese. With her dark humor, I couldn't ask for a better guest for the podcast.  In this episode, Nicole shares why happiness is boring and the importance of questioning everything. She goes into why she does standup comedy and why it's a wonderland for those of us who are broken inside.  We explore what it means to be independent, to have a purpose, and why babies deserve to get punched in the face. --
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Home, youth, and visa stories with Edd

Home, youth, and visa stories with Edd

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BeeNow podcast, Episode 42 From his colorful second-hand clothes to his crafty storytelling, it's no mystery that Edd is a unique cat. In this chat, Edd talks about the importance of taking the time to make a home your own. He shares the tale of installing a bum gun in his bathroom with a golden hose. We riff on funny encounters with locals and share a few visa stories, one where Edd proudly fishes through the trash bin looking for a receipt at the Chinese visa office in Hong Kong. He also answers an essential question: how do you want to leave China?
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Drama, imagination, self with Xiaolong Chen

Drama, imagination, self with Xiaolong Chen

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BeeNow podcast, Episode 41  Born and raised in Chengdu, Xiaolong Chen has been teaching drama since 2017. He did not set out to be a drama teacher but with a twist of fate, he became one and he is now part of this new and emerging field in Chinese education. He says, "I am not the most creative person but as a drama instructor, I'm constantly inspired by the originality I see from my students." Xiaolong and I met last year at an adult drama class in Chengdu. We got to know each other over the many months but never really got to sit down and chat outside of class. In this episode, we got to explore how educational drama can impact identity and creativity within a person. He also shares his personal journey in finding himself as…
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