From Top Student to Loading Lemon Boxes: Jack's 1/10 Mini Comic Journey to a $5.5 Billion Company
Problem:
I recently stumbled upon an inspiring story about Jack Zhang, the founder of Airwallex. His journey, filled with seemingly insurmountable hurdles, resonated deeply with me. As I devoured his story, a long blog post, I realized there's a need for a more concise and visually engaging way to showcase his incredible perseverance.
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byOutcome For Reader:
This post aims to tackle that by introducing a new approach: short comic strips! By distilling key moments from Jack's journey into bite-sized comic scenes, we can inspire readers facing their own challenges.
Learning Journey (Actions):
Creating this comic strip format wasn't without its challenges. Here's what I discovered:
AI Limitations: Initially, I tried using AI tools (like Gemini, chatgpt) to access and process the full article from The Generalist. Unfortunately, these tools couldn't access the content. This led me to explore alternative methods. Finally registered Claude and … it has the same limitation.
Breaking Down the Text: Since AI couldn't access the full story, I broke the text down into smaller chunks to understand Jack's key challenges.
Trial and Error with AI: While AI couldn't access the entire article, I experimented with different AI tools and prompts to try and generate scenes for the comic strip. While it wasn't perfect, it helped spark ideas.
AI image generation: From the previous newsletter where I learnt How to create FREE high quality AI-generated images using this tool. This approach aligned perfectly with the comic strip concept. (Tested with copilot and MS swiftkey)
Product Management - ship value(MVP) fast and get feedback.
Results:
These are fantastic scenes that capture Jack's struggles and resilience! Here's how we can integrate them into the comic strip format:
Scene 1:
Panel 1: A young Jack stands proudly on a podium in China, holding a trophy (representing his top 100 academic ranking).
Panel 2: He arrives in Australia, looking lost and confused amidst a bustling cityscape. Speech bubble: "New country, new language, new life."
Scene 2:
Panel 1: Jack washes dishes in a crowded restaurant kitchen, sweat dripping from his brow.
Panel 2: He strains under the weight of heavy lemon boxes, highlighting the physical demands of his labor job. Speech bubble: "Anything to survive."
Scene 3:
Panel 1: Textbooks and papers are scattered on a messy desk, with a failing grade circled on a test paper.
Panel 2: Jack works late at night on a computer, illustrating his dedication to studying despite his workload. Speech bubble: "Juggling studies with work."
These three scenes effectively portray Jack's initial challenges as he adapts to a new life in Australia.
We can combine Scenes 4 and 5 into one scene to highlight his entrepreneurial spirit:
Scene 4:
Panel 1: Jack sits glued to a computer screen, intensely focused on a game of Counter-Strike. Speech bubble: "Gaming sparks a passion."
Panel 2: He stands proudly next to a line of code on a computer screen, representing his successful development of a trading algorithm. Speech bubble: "Learned from a loss ($500,000!)."
This scene showcases Jack's ability to turn his interests (gaming) into a skill (coding) and learn from a financial setback.
Scene 5 (Optional):
This scene could depict the "dots connecting" moment. Perhaps Jack sketches out a diagram with arrows showing the connection between Australian products, the real estate business, and the potential for a coffee business (his future venture?).
Weekly Quest!
Feeling stuck facing a challenge? Let's take a page out of Jack Zhang's playbook and turn it into a stepping stone! Here's your 5-minute mini-challenge:
Identify Your Hurdle: Write down 1 problem you’re trying to solve.
Break it Down: Tell AI chatbot, chatgpt or gemini the problem you’re trying to solve and ask it so suggest 3 simple actions that you can take.
[1/3]: Pick the easiest of the 3 and just do it.
Recap:
Inspiration: Jack Zhang's journey with Airwallex resonated, prompting a need for concise storytelling.
Introduction of Comic Format: Short comic strips distill Jack's challenges into visually engaging scenes for inspiration.
Learning Journey:
AI Limitations: Initial attempts to use AI tools like Gemini and chatGPT to access content faced obstacles.
Text Breakdown: Despite AI limitations, breaking down the text facilitated understanding of Jack's key challenges.
Trial and Error: Experimentation with various AI tools sparked ideas for the comic strip.
AI Image Generation: Utilizing free high-quality AI-generated images aligned perfectly with the comic strip concept.
Results: Scenes crafted effectively depict Jack's struggles, resilience, and entrepreneurial journey.
Call To Action:
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