喬希?詹姆斯????

年齡：38歲

城市：美國(guó)猶他州鹽湖城

????“第二硅谷”正迅速成為鹽湖城的非正式昵稱，因?yàn)樵S多加利福尼亞州的高科技企業(yè)——包括Adobe公司、易趣網(wǎng)（Ebay）、甲骨文公司（Oracle）、Twitter和美國(guó)藝電公司（Electronic Arts）等——都在這里擴(kuò)大了業(yè)務(wù)或設(shè)立了新的部門。

????而且，他們有充分的理由這么做。畢竟鹽湖城的稅率全美最低，并且猶他大學(xué)（University of Utah）是美國(guó)最著名的成功創(chuàng)業(yè)者搖籃。布魯金斯研究所（Brookings Institute）稱該地區(qū)工作人口的生產(chǎn)效率在美國(guó)居于首位。

????此外，該地區(qū)到處都是充滿雄心壯志的年輕創(chuàng)業(yè)者，夢(mèng)想著有朝一日能成為下一個(gè)喬希?詹姆斯。

????二十世紀(jì)九十年代初，現(xiàn)年38歲的詹姆斯在就讀伯明翰楊大學(xué)（Brigham Young University）期間成立了Omniture軟件公司。該公司位于鹽湖城郊區(qū)，之后規(guī)模擴(kuò)大到2,000多名員工，并與美國(guó)在線（AOL）、沃爾瑪（Wal-Mart）、美國(guó)運(yùn)通（American Express）和福特（Ford）等公司建立了合作關(guān)系。

????2009年， Adobe公司斥資18億美元收購(gòu)該公司。但被稱為“技術(shù)宗師”的詹姆斯卻表示，他當(dāng)時(shí)覺得出售Omniture并不是什么令人激動(dòng)的事；不過(guò)，“投資者對(duì)Adobe公司給出的價(jià)格非常感興趣，而面對(duì)能在一夜之間為他們帶來(lái)100%收益的機(jī)會(huì)，作為公司經(jīng)營(yíng)者，很難提出反對(duì)意見?！?/p>

????目前，在Adobe短暫工作一段時(shí)間之后，詹姆斯決定從頭再來(lái)。最近，他收購(gòu)了商業(yè)智能公司Corda，并計(jì)劃在7月13日為這家120人的公司更換字號(hào)。

????詹姆斯表示，他希望“改變商業(yè)智能發(fā)揮作用的方式”。他認(rèn)為即便在日益數(shù)字化的時(shí)代，CEO們依然無(wú)法直接獲得實(shí)時(shí)信息。

????詹姆斯表示：“CEO必須依賴IT部門提供信息，但這些信息之前都經(jīng)過(guò)他們的修改、篩選和編撰。好像所有人都接受了一個(gè)事實(shí)：CEO只能坐等IT部門為他們發(fā)送報(bào)告。但實(shí)際上并不是只有這一座獨(dú)木橋?！?/p>

????從頭再來(lái)對(duì)于詹姆斯個(gè)人來(lái)說(shuō)也是一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)。他曾公開表示自己喜歡創(chuàng)立公司，白手起家。

????詹姆斯表示：“我當(dāng)初離開Omniture時(shí)，收到了400多封員工發(fā)來(lái)的電子郵件，他們都說(shuō)，這是他們工作過(guò)的最優(yōu)秀的公司。我希望能再造一家這樣的公司?！?/p>

?

Josh James

Age: 38

City: Salt Lake City, Utah

????Salt Lake City's unofficial nickname is quickly becoming the "Silicon Slopes," as several California tech companies -- including Adobe, Ebay, Oracle, Twitter and Electronic Arts -- have expanded or opened facilities there.

????And why wouldn't they? The city's taxes are among the lowest in America and the University of Utah leads the nation's universities in creating successful start-ups. The Brookings Institute calls the area's workforce the most productive in America.

????The region is also slammed with young entrepreneurs who want to be the next Josh James.

????James, 38, founded Omniture, a software company, during his days at Brigham Young University in the early 1990s. The company -- based in the suburbs of Salt Lake City -- grew to more than 2,000 employees while working for AOL, Wal-Mart, American Express and Ford.

????The company was bought by Adobe in 2009 for $1.8 billion in cash. The tech guru said he wasn't excited to sell Omniture, but the offer was "something our investors were interested in, and it's difficult to make an argument that you shouldn't give them a 100% windfall in one day."

????Now, after a brief stint working for Adobe, he's starting anew. James recently bought Corda, a business intelligence company, and plans to unveil a new name for the 120-employee company on July 13.

????James says he wants to "change the way business intelligence works." He said CEOs often lack direct access to live information, even in an increasingly digital world.

????"You're beholden to IT people getting you the information that's been massaged and cleansed and spun," James said. "Everyone has kind of resigned themselves to the fact that you have to wait for IT to send you a report. But it doesn't have to be a one-way street."

????It's also a personal challenge for James, who admittedly loves building companies and starting from scratch.

????"When I left Omniture, I had over 400 emails from employees saying this was the best place I've ever worked," James said. "I want to do that again."

路易斯?穆尼奧斯

年齡：51歲

城市：哥倫比亞波哥大市

????哥倫比亞咖啡在全球的代言人是一位名叫Juan Valdez的咖啡種植園主——這是為推銷哥倫比亞最著名的出口產(chǎn)品而虛構(gòu)的一個(gè)人物。而Juan Valdez咖啡的代言人則是51歲的CEO路易斯?穆尼奧斯。

????五年前，為提高哥倫比亞原產(chǎn)咖啡的收益和聲譽(yù)，哥倫比亞咖啡聯(lián)合會(huì)（Colombian Coffee Federation）創(chuàng)建了Juan Valdez公司。超過(guò)500,000家咖啡制造商都將Juan Valdez作為主打品牌，其中20,000家持有該品牌的少量股份。

????Juan Valdez公司位于哥倫比亞繁華的首都波哥大，2010年公司總收入達(dá)4,700萬(wàn)美元。目前，該公司的業(yè)務(wù)遍及七個(gè)國(guó)家，并擁有164家獨(dú)立商店，公司產(chǎn)品在2,000多個(gè)零售市場(chǎng)中均有銷售。

????穆尼奧斯表示：“Juan Valdez最初只是作為哥倫比亞咖啡的象征，而現(xiàn)在它已經(jīng)成為一個(gè)真正的品牌。”

????與此同時(shí)，由于波哥大擁有優(yōu)秀的年輕勞動(dòng)力，同時(shí)政府推行了利于商貿(mào)發(fā)展的政策，麥當(dāng)勞（McDonald's）和花旗銀行（Citibank）等跨國(guó)公司也都在該市設(shè)立了辦事機(jī)構(gòu)。

????要在全球推廣Juan Valdez品牌，尤其是在全球經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退的背景下，面臨著諸多困難。穆尼奧斯表示，越來(lái)越多的人選擇批量購(gòu)買咖啡，在家中沖泡，而放棄購(gòu)買價(jià)格昂貴的軟飲料。他認(rèn)為，這與哥倫比亞市場(chǎng)恰恰相反，哥倫比亞的咖啡愛好者仍然熱衷于嘗鮮。

????穆尼奧斯表示，正因?yàn)槿绱?，Juan Valdez“改變了策略，轉(zhuǎn)而拓寬零售市場(chǎng)?！惫驹诿乐拊黾恿藱C(jī)場(chǎng)零售點(diǎn)，服務(wù)于進(jìn)進(jìn)出出的乘客。他表示，公司也在研究亞洲市場(chǎng)，并與墨西哥和中美洲國(guó)家建立了合作伙伴關(guān)系。

????穆尼奧斯表示：“目前，我們的發(fā)展情況還不錯(cuò)，而且增長(zhǎng)穩(wěn)定。我們還在思考，并正在為市場(chǎng)增加價(jià)值?！?/p>

?

Luis Munoz

Age: 51

City: Bogota, Colombia

????The worldwide face of Colombian coffee is Juan Valdez -- a fictional coffee grower created to market the nation's most famous export. And the face of Juan Valdez is 51-year old CEO Luis Munoz.

????Juan Valdez is a five-year old company created by the Colombian Coffee Federation to boost revenue and prestige for Colombian grown coffee. More than 500,000 coffee producers -- with about 20,000 owning small shares of the company -- are represented by Juan Valdez Coffees.

????Based in Bogota, the country's booming capital city, Juan Valdez brought in $47 million during 2010. It now operates in seven countries, has 164 standalone stores, and is sold in more than 2,000 retail markets.

????"Juan Valdez went from just being a symbol of Colombian coffee to being a real brand," Munoz said.

????Meanwhile, multinationals such as McDonald's and Citibank are moving offices to Bogota for its young, talented workforce and business-friendly government policies.

????Taking the Juan Valdez brand worldwide -- especially in the midst of an economic recession -- has brought challenges. More people are buying coffee in bulk and brewing at home instead of purchasing pricey solo drinks, Munoz said. That contrasts with the Colombian market, where coffee drinkers are still mesmerized by novel drinks, Munoz said.

????So Juan Valdez has "changed strategy and become more present in retail points," Munoz said. The company has added airport locations in America for travelers on the go. Juan Valdez is also studying the Asian market and creating partnerships in Mexico and Central America, Munoz said.

????"So far we're doing well and growing steadily," Munoz said. "We're thinking, dreaming and adding value to the market."

賈揚(yáng)?辛格

年齡：37歲

城市：印度古爾岡市

????印度的古爾岡曾經(jīng)是首都新德里一個(gè)默默無(wú)聞的郊區(qū)，而最近幾年，這里已經(jīng)成為一個(gè)商業(yè)中心，到處都是正在籌備的新店鋪，熱火朝天的房地產(chǎn)開發(fā)項(xiàng)目，以及新建的高檔餐廳。37歲的創(chuàng)業(yè)酒店顧問(wèn)賈揚(yáng)?辛格在這里如魚得水。他在古爾岡成立了服務(wù)業(yè)咨詢公司——國(guó)際飯店合伙公司（International Hospitality Partners）。

????辛格表示：“幾乎每10到15天，古爾岡的面貌就會(huì)發(fā)生新的變化。到處都是熱火朝天的建筑工地。所以，選擇在這里落腳完全符合我們的戰(zhàn)略需要。”

????目前，IHP正在充分利用家鄉(xiāng)經(jīng)濟(jì)騰飛的良機(jī)，幫助酒店、飯館、企業(yè)餐廳和其他服務(wù)類公司招聘和培訓(xùn)員工。公司甚至?xí)椭蛻粼O(shè)計(jì)必要的設(shè)施，甚至包括菜單的設(shè)計(jì)。辛格還與一位合作伙伴成立了一個(gè)葡萄酒中心，專門培訓(xùn)侍酒師和葡萄酒專員。僅僅幾年前，印度人對(duì)葡萄酒專員這個(gè)職業(yè)還聞所未聞。

????辛格曾在泰姬酒店集團(tuán)（Taj Hotel group）擔(dān)任過(guò)四年?duì)I銷總監(jiān)。IHP可以完美結(jié)合他的專業(yè)知識(shí)和企業(yè)家的直覺。十年前，他曾嘗試涉足網(wǎng)絡(luò)領(lǐng)域，成立了一個(gè)名為Razorfinish.com的旅游折扣網(wǎng)站，不過(guò)最終未能取得成功。

????盡管IHP的業(yè)務(wù)已經(jīng)足以讓辛格忙的團(tuán)團(tuán)轉(zhuǎn)了，不過(guò)目前他依然在與其他酒店進(jìn)行談判，希望尋求機(jī)會(huì)利用技術(shù)來(lái)改進(jìn)飯店業(yè)務(wù)。去年，他成立了一家求職網(wǎng)站，專門面向需要招聘廚師的飯店。他希望這個(gè)網(wǎng)站能在一年內(nèi)實(shí)現(xiàn)盈利，招聘新員工的公司將是該網(wǎng)站的主要利潤(rùn)來(lái)源。

????辛格認(rèn)為：“你不能只看到目前的成功，而要主動(dòng)尋找機(jī)會(huì)，并敢于承擔(dān)商業(yè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。我們的一切成功都有賴于冒險(xiǎn)?！?/p>

?

Jayant Singh

Age: 37

City: Gurgaon, India

????In recent years Gurgaon, India -- once a sleepy suburb of New Delhi -- has emerged as a business center in its own right, bustling with corporations setting up shop, ambitious real estate developments, and new upscale restaurants. The city is the perfect market for 37-year old Jayant Singh, an entrepreneurial hotel consultant who launched International Hospitality Partners, a service-industry consultancy in Gurgaon.

????"Every 10 or 15 days, the entire landscape of Gurgaon is changing. There's some kind of construction happening around at all times," Singh said. "So it makes perfect strategic sense for us to be there."

????Today, IHP is capitalizing on the business boom in its home city by helping hotels, restaurants, corporate cafeterias, and other service-sector companies hire and train employees. The company also will help its customers design their facilities, even help plan menus. Singh and a partner also opened a wine center to train sommeliers and wine stewards, a profession that was almost unheard of in India just a few years ago.

????For Singh, who worked as a marketing executive for the Taj Hotel group for four years, IHP is the perfect vehicle for combining his expertise and his entrepreneurial instincts. A decade ago, he tried his hand as a dot-com founder, launching a discount travel website called Razorfinish.com that ultimately failed.

????And while IHP has more than enough business to keep Singh hopping -- he's currently in negotiations to manage other hotels -- he's still pursuing opportunities to use technology to improve the hospitality business. Last year, he started a job search website for restaurateurs looking to hire chefs. He hopes the website will be profitable within a year, with revenues from firms looking for new employees.

????"You cannot think of short-term success," Singh said. "You have to see where the opportunities lie and take business risks. Everything we've done successfully came from taking a risk."

喬希?威廉姆斯

年齡：31歲

城市：德克薩斯奧斯汀市

????長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)，奧斯汀市一直以其奇特的文化和濃厚的音樂(lè)氣息而聞名，而隨著諸多創(chuàng)業(yè)企業(yè)和高科技公司涌入這一座美國(guó)科技最發(fā)達(dá)的城市，這里也迅速成為新的商業(yè)中心。

????比如奧斯汀每年舉辦的“西南偏南”音樂(lè)節(jié)（South by Southwest festival）最開始是一項(xiàng)純粹的音樂(lè)活動(dòng)，后來(lái)衍生出了一個(gè)小型多媒體峰會(huì)，去年僅其科技活動(dòng)便吸引了20,000人參加。過(guò)去20年，奧斯汀的人口增長(zhǎng)了一倍。德克薩斯大學(xué)（The University of Texas）培養(yǎng)出大量?jī)?yōu)秀的創(chuàng)新人才，在全世界都具有較高的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。而且，該市不征收州所得稅。

????總而言之，對(duì)于喬希?威廉姆斯和他在2008年成立的社交媒體創(chuàng)業(yè)公司Gowalla來(lái)說(shuō)，奧斯汀是最理想的地點(diǎn)。

????威廉姆斯表示：“不論是創(chuàng)業(yè)還是生活，奧斯汀都是美國(guó)最迷人的城市之一，唯一可以抱怨的或許就是華氏105度（40.56°C——譯注）的氣溫?！?/p>

????威廉姆斯是在太浩湖旅游時(shí)，產(chǎn)生了創(chuàng)建Gowalla的靈感。當(dāng)時(shí)他用手機(jī)拍攝了一張低空云團(tuán)的照片，希望與他的父親分享。當(dāng)時(shí)的優(yōu)美畫面啟發(fā)了威廉姆斯，他希望能創(chuàng)建一項(xiàng)社交媒體服務(wù)，允許用戶查看業(yè)務(wù)、收錄美好記憶，并與朋友保持聯(lián)系，這一想法在一年后趨于成熟。

????目前，Gowalla擁有超過(guò)100萬(wàn)用戶和33名員工，但依然遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)落后于同行Foursquare。Foursquare公司目前擁有超過(guò)1,000萬(wàn)用戶和約70名員工。不過(guò)，威廉姆斯的目標(biāo)是用戶數(shù)量“突破1,000萬(wàn)”。

????但Gowalla公司正面臨艱巨的挑戰(zhàn)。這項(xiàng)服務(wù)在城市地區(qū)頗受時(shí)尚、年輕的專業(yè)人員歡迎，但在較小的城市和美國(guó)偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)卻遭到冷遇。

????威廉姆斯表示：“早期用戶非常了解Gowalla或者Foursquare的服務(wù)。現(xiàn)在的問(wèn)題是，我們?nèi)绾巫叱雠f金山、奧斯汀和紐約，并在世界其他地方得到更多主流消費(fèi)者的認(rèn)可？”

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍

Josh Williams

Age: 31

City: Austin, Texas

????Austin -- long known for its quirky culture and stellar music scene -- has surged in business circles, as startups and tech companies flock to one of America's most technologically advanced cities.

????Consider this: the annual South by Southwest festival, which started as a music event and later spawned a small multimedia summit, attracted some 20,000 attendees last year to its tech affair alone. Austin's population has doubled in the past 20 years. The University of Texas provides a talented crop of innovators that compete worldwide. There is no state income tax.

????In other words, it is the perfect place for a social media startup like Gowalla, founded in 2008 by Josh Williams.

????"It's one of the most fantastic cities in the United States, both from an entrepreneurial perspective and just as a wonderful city to live in," said Williams. "The only thing to complain about is the 105-degree weather."

????Williams' inspiration to create Gowalla came during a trip to Lake Tahoe, where he snapped a camera phone picture of a low-hanging cloud and wanted to share it with his dad. The picturesque scene inspired Williams to create a social media service that would allow users to review businesses, document memories, and keep in touch with friends, which came to fruition one year later.

????Gowalla now has more than 1 million users and 33 employees, though it lags behind Foursquare, which has more than 10 million users and about 70 employees. Williams' goal is "north of 10 million" users."

????But Gowalla faces a formidable challenge. The service is popular in urban areas with trendy, young professionals but struggles in smaller cities and rural America.

????"The early adopters certainly knew what Gowalla or Foursquare was," Williams said. "Now, it's how do we move beyond the San Francisco, Austin, and New Yorks of the world and develop a more mainstream understanding?"