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BUSINESS // 广 告 • 商 务<br />
ENTREPRENEURS<br />
OF HANGZHOU<br />
EPISODE 3: THURAYA J. TALEB, FOOD & BEVERAGE CONSULTANT<br />
By Luke Wainhouse<br />
This month’s entrepreneur is<br />
Thuraya J Taleb. Thuraya is a<br />
Lebanese expat who grew up and<br />
lived in Saudi Arabia and Jordan<br />
for six years before coming to<br />
<strong>Hangzhou</strong>, and her food and<br />
beverage (F&B) consultancy<br />
is having a shot at changing<br />
the face of the F&B scene in<br />
<strong>Hangzhou</strong>. Her company, Lionne<br />
Inc., started in December 2018<br />
and has been making some<br />
great impressions across the city.<br />
<strong>REDSTAR</strong> recently had the chance<br />
to sit down with Thuraya and<br />
discuss her plans, the city, and<br />
what any aspiring entrepreneurs<br />
can expect from it.<br />
Tell us a bit about yourself.<br />
I am from Lebanon but grew up and lived in<br />
Saudi Arabia for 26 years, where my parents<br />
still live. I moved to Jordan for my master's<br />
degree and worked for another six years,<br />
before moving finally to China. I would say<br />
I developed my work philosophies and<br />
business ethics in my previous jobs, working<br />
with others for 11 years, then building my<br />
own company, then refining them further<br />
here in <strong>Hangzhou</strong>.<br />
I heard a voice inside my head in 2015<br />
telling me, “Go to China; something big is<br />
waiting for you there”.<br />
On the same day I headed to work (I was<br />
still living in Jordan at the time), sat down<br />
at my computer and looked up China. The<br />
first thing that was apparent was that I<br />
needed to learn Chinese. I had, in the past,<br />
wanted to learn Chinese. It had been on<br />
30 redstarhangzhou.com<br />
my to-do list five years before then. I rang<br />
a local school; they told me I could come<br />
down that day and register. So, straightaway<br />
I started putting things into motion.<br />
Luckily, the school was in the same building<br />
as where I studied my master’s, so the<br />
atmosphere was perfect.<br />
Why <strong>Hangzhou</strong>?<br />
<strong>Hangzhou</strong> chose me. I woke up one night<br />
at 3:00 and texted a friend who already<br />
lived in <strong>Hangzhou</strong> and asked him about the<br />
city and how I can live there, then I started<br />
researching more about it. As I researched<br />
more about the city, I realised it was rapidly<br />
advancing, and to start a company in a city<br />
which is advancing at such a fast pace is<br />
a really good opportunity. It allows other<br />
fresh entrepreneurs and me to grow with<br />
the city, together.<br />
Tell us more about your company,<br />
and you as a fresh entrepreneur<br />
in China.<br />
My company, Lionne Inc., is a food and<br />
beverage consultancy. I work with hotels,<br />
restaurants, bars, cafes, bakeries, and even<br />
food trucks (mobile food concepts). I put<br />
together concepts, strategies, plans, and<br />
teams to create widely diverse cultural<br />
experiences. My aim is to bridge the gap<br />
between China and the Middle East through<br />
cultural experiences, starting with food.<br />
I am also trying to position my company<br />
as a professional F&B consultancy by<br />
working first with five-star hotels on their<br />
F&B concepts, then restaurants and bars.<br />
Moreover, these establishments aim more<br />
towards my target audience, my clients.
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