"The beauty of being an entrepreneur is that you haven't done it yet and you don't know what is ahead," Speth says. "If we had the opportunity to know what was ahead of us, we would never have done it, we would have been insane."
"We put literally everything we had into it, we just couldn't let it fail," adds Delkin.
The couple first moved to Asia in 1994 when Speth was posted to Taiwan. Delkin gave up his US career in advertising to follow his wife. "I was a pioneer for male trailing spouses," he wryly admits.
They moved to the Chinese mainland, spending four years - from 1996 to 2000 - in what they describe as the "wild, wild west days of Guangzhou" (Guangdong Province).
An opportunity to head up a regional CSR program saw the couple move to Bangkok. She then quit her job to pursue the couple's business dreams.
"I just felt like there were things I wanted to do that are not so easy to do in large corporations, it felt like the right time," Speth says.
After she resigned, Speth undertook post-graduate studies at the Asian Institute of Technology, looking at greener methods of production.
"I was just itching to apply my knowledge and bamboo seemed to be one of the most accessible, viable, versatile and flexible materials that fit that criteria," she says.
"We were noticing its application in almost every conceivable aspect of everyday life wherever we traveled in Asia," adds Delkin.
Inspired by the potential for bamboo, Speth spent two years studying every aspect of bamboo.
"We really wanted to turn other people on to this great material and renewable materials in general," Delkin says.
The functionality, everyday utility and durability made homewares the ideal products to showcase bamboo's unique qualities, says Speth.
During the couple's five years in Shanghai they have also helped encourage a growing awareness in a green lifestyle, contributing to a range of events and talks focused on environmental education.
They donate 1 percent of net sales to nonprofit environmental organizations and also volunteer for the Grameen Foundation that uses microfinance to help the poor set up their own businesses.
"Shanghai is home and I often say we are living in the center of the universe," Delkin says.
"China is a very exciting place to be right now and years from now we will look back and say, 'Wow, that was really something.' Our time here is not with a multinational," Speth adds. "It is just us."
Rachel Speth and Jeff Delkin
Nationality: American
Age: 40s
Profession: Entrepreneurs
Q&A
Description of self:
Rachel - Intuitive, idealistic, pragmatic; Jeff - Curious, charming, "un-uptight."
Favorite place: Top of Lupu Bridge on a clear day.
Strangest sight:
Santa Claus on a crucifix.
Worse experience: Haven't had one yet.
Motto for life: Rachel - Wear sunscreen; Jeff - Smile more.
Motto for life: "As you live your days, so you craft your life" (R. Sharma).
How to improve Shanghai:
A more pedestrian-friendly environment. More green spaces. More blue-sky days.
Advice to newcomers:
Rachel - Be patient; Jeff - Make no assumptions.
(Shanghai Daily April 22, 2009)
