At the end of such a year, you may be relieved-the terrible year 2008 is finally coming to an end. But as a business magazine, we want to remind readers not to ignore opportunities in bad situations. "Fear when others are greedy, and greed when others are afraid." Buffett's famous words work almost every time.

Instead of ignoring the crisis, we are more willing to talk about opportunities. The four entrepreneurs reported below all chose to start their businesses in 2008. They do different things, but they are either looking for opportunities in the crisis or just born by chance in this unusual year.

In an era of great depression, what role will startups play? Historical statistics in the United States tell us that startups are the protagonists. From the great American economic crisis of 1929 to the two oil crises of 1970, a large number of small companies founded by entrepreneurs provided most employment opportunities and economic aggregates for the United States. When the economy is facing an approaching economic slowdown and higher unemployment rate, startups will repeat their roles in the United States in China.

In the past few months, we have seen dazzling news of layoffs. We don't want to avoid many people in the company becoming one of them, but please remember that this is just another beginning, not the end. In the new year, we will launch a new entrepreneurship column, focusing on those companies that come out to start businesses.

We hope to share the following sentence with everyone in the company-if you learn to be optimistic, then the bottom of 2008 is the best news.

By the end of 2009, we will look at them again. Now, let's make it the first season. Let's start!

0 1 Citigroup graduates in the global financial crisis? China market is a rare opportunity for me!

Evening 10: 30, 4th floor, Building 2, Gina International, Beijing Financial Street, Sun Lu is alone in the office. The lights on the whole floor are turned off except this room. 10 minutes ago, he just sent off the last guest. During the conversation for more than an hour, he kept a speech-like posture and made various gestures to help the listener understand his point of view. This is his third guest today. Since June+10, 5438, Sun Lu has been intoxicated with this busyness.

This kind of busyness is not enjoyed by Sun Lu in the United States. Six months before he returned to China, the financial turmoil had begun to appear: the crumbling Northern Rock Bank suffered a run, Morgan Stanley announced its first quarterly loss in 72 years, and Prince, the chairman and CEO of Sun Lu's old club Citigroup, lost his job because of the huge losses caused by subprime loans. "This kind of panic will spread all over the world, and it is difficult for China to be immune." Sun Lu's judgment.

Before returning to China, Sun Lu worked as an investment consultant for three years in Smith Barney, a subsidiary of Citigroup, which provided brokerage, investment and asset management services for enterprises and individuals. In 2005, Smith Barney held a national training course in New Jersey. Among the 150 people who participated in the training, Sun Lu was the only one from China.

Sun, currently a partner of Beijing Hengju Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. This is a small company with less than 20 people, focusing on providing all-round investment management solutions for enterprises, institutions and wealthy individuals. Hengju is a third-party financial institution, which does not represent financial companies such as banks and insurance companies, but provides comprehensive financial planning services by independently analyzing the financial situation and needs of customers.