Hello, this is Rita Liao. Welcome to Episode #4 of Leapfrog, a podcast about entrepreneurs who have left home and are reshaping a slice of the global tech landscape. You can read more about why I started this project in About.
In recent years, many young Chinese have decided to leave their homeland for better job prospects and a greater sense of security abroad. Netizens named this phenomenon “rùn” (润), a play on the English word “run”. The term reflects the motivations behind the exodus: economic uncertainties and increasingly limited personal freedom, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. China’s net outflow of emigration surpassed 300,000 in both 2022 and 2023, a significant jump from the 100,000s annual range between 2011 and 2017, according to United Nations data.
Among those fleeing, people from the crypto industry are particularly motivated to leave. In 2019, China cracked down on all forms of cryptocurrency trading. Scores of crypto exchanges left China, often moving their founders and employees abroad. But restarting a life in a foreign country isn’t easy. Those who remain in China keep a low profile and manage a remote team across the world, with no physical office or company registration in China.
Leah, my guest for this episode, decided to pack up everything and move her family to Singapore. She sought more regulatory certainty for their business and a brighter future for her children. Her move is difficult for her parents, who benefited from China’s rapid economic growth up to the 2010s, to understand. For them, the idea of leaving China, even as it faces challenges, is incomprehensible.
Timeline:
2:13 Leah joined the crypto industry, attracted to its promise of giving users control over their own data
6:15 Crypto gave Chinese people a unique chance to participate in a global economy
8:10 Crypto as a belief for people
9:29 Leah’s old job at a Chinese tech giant, and monetizing user data
11:35 China’s economic uncertainties prompted people to seek opportunities in a new industry and asset class
14:44 Living in China’s censored-internet is like being a fish in an aquarium
15:15 Leah moved abroad to give her children a “more open and free” education
16:00 Why Chinese entrepreneurs stay in web3 despite the crypto ban
18:26 Why Leah moved to Singapore
25:17 Managing a team of 60 people across the world
26:55 Boosting employee morales when crypto’s image is tainted
28:10 Few people in crypto are actual idealists
34:22 Leah studied English literature in university, but her old job never required her knowledge of the outside world
36:41 Leah’s career track is the 1% outliner in her university class
38:44 Leah’s parents, who benefited from China’s economic miracles, have a difficult time understanding why she left
41:10 Recommendations
Links:
This piece by NYT’s Li Yuan is a great read on China’s “run” phenomenon and its disillusioned generation.
Despite crypto ban, China’s tech talent rides the global web3 wave (TechCrunch, 2022)
#4 Running for a better future: A Chinese founder’s Singapore move