From Chemistry Graduate to $500 Million Fund Manager, with Julian Zhu | Ways to Wealth EP150

This week on the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie speaks to Julian Zhu, founder and managing director of MiDeer Limited and partner at Skychee Ventures.Julian has spent over 25 years leading cross-border business between New Zealand, China, and the US, managing a $500 million investment fund and advising organisations from Fortune Global 500 companies like Tencent and NTT through to New Zealand health brands entering the Chinese market for the first time.Julian graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Nanjing University, one of China's top ten, and later completed an EMBA there alongside a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from Massey University. He was named Person of the Year by the Nanjing University Business School in 2016.Before building his own advisory practice, Julian worked at a company backed by Peking University and spent time at US Fortune 500 firm Shaw Group. After arriving in New Zealand 26 years ago, he started as a research assistant at the University of Auckland before falling into cross-border consulting through helping Good Health Products become one of the first NZ supplement brands to enter China.In this conversation, Julian explains why he calls himself a lighthouse rather than a bridge, because most Kiwi businesses looking at China can't see where to go, who to trust, or how to structure a deal that works across both cultures. He walks through how he structures partnerships that give NZ companies access to Chinese capital, agents, and distribution without requiring them to sell equity, and why co-branding agreements and agent-funded marketing models often close faster and protect both sides better than traditional raises.He also talks about why China should never be treated as a single market, the trust-building process that sits behind every deal, and the radio story about New Zealand birds that made him choose this country over anywhere else in the world.Learn more about JulianLearn about Julian’s companyWatch every episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast#waystowealth #crossborder #nzbusiness #chinamarket #export #tencent #entrepreneurship #investment #auckland #shanghai #capitalraising #jointventures #traderelations #wealthbuilding