Anton Piëch, CEO of Piëch Asia Enterprises (PAE) and PAE Media
Interview by Jennifer Thomé, photo by Sui

Tell us a little bit about yourself and Piëch Asia Enterprises (PAE).

I was a lucky privileged kid with no worries in the world. And I then grew up to be a lucky privileged, slightly ambitious adult. So I designed PAE as a system that would allow me to do what I love – start new businesses – and at the same time serve a social purpose and give back. On a deeper level, however, PAE is really meant to be a prototype for a new kind of venture that harnesses the raw forces of lean and mean entrepreneurship, but adds an uncompromising social intent on top of the whole enterprise.

PAE develops fast, creative, and occasionally eccentric ventures. Give us some examples!

We have developed PAE Media, a company that produces primetime TV content for Chinese television stations. We finance our TV shows via multinational brands. It’s a nifty and highly profitable, way of raising budgets for large projects, which enabled us to become market leaders in just a few years.

Another venture is PAE Design Talent, a specialized recruiting agency for the creative sector. When we started, recruiters didn’t focus on specific industries and people shook their heads at our strange model. Now we are leading the market in our sector after only two years in business.

How do you maintain this kind of energy, not to mention integrity? Are you ever tempted to cash in, instead of investing your revenue in philanthropy?

Like most entrepreneurs I am tempted by many things, both when cash is scarce and abundant. But PAE is such an airtight and clean model that it would be totally unthinkable to break it. I would have never been able to attract the amazing talent across our companies without the vision for the whole PAE group. And even for myself: knowing that everything we do ultimately goes to “do good” purposes is a really powerful motivator. I have to admit, though, that there was a pitcher of margarita that I bought with company money for my team last month. I confess.

What are some issues you’ve faced as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome them?

Honestly, I think I’ve seen most of the challenges a budding entrepreneur can go through. But I have a smart, fast, and extremely ambitious team around me that feels a lot of ownership over PAE. Nobody at PAE quits. But, well, my real secret is this: I have a wonderful family backing me up; an amazing wife and two healthy happy kids that can take my mind off business in no time.

What about your board of directors? What role do they play in your business?

Just last week, we had our annual board meeting during a 44-hour train ride from Beijing to Lhasa. These 11 people aren’t only my board. They have been with me from the birth of PAE through everything, and they are really the godfathers of PAE. They keep me real. They tell me lots of hard truths. And they do it for free; don’t ask me why.

What are your favorite entrepreneurial resources?

Inc. Magazine. Full disclosure: I used to work for them in NYC, so I might be slightly biased. My friends at EO – Entrepreneur’s Organization, and caffeine.