「生意就像是逆水行舟。他別無選擇；要麼勇往直前，要麼挫敗倒退。」美國商會主席Lewis E. Pierson這一段取意於中國《增廣賢文》「學如逆水行舟，不進則退」的金句在被《福布斯》雜誌引用之後，被美國商業社會的奉為經典。
Design & fit-out are still very much male-dominated sectors. So when a brand-new start-up, with a bright pink logo, run by two young ladies, won a prestigious contract to design and build a new office for one of China’s leading internet portals, it aroused a great deal of curiosity within the industry. Who was this new company? And who were the two glamorous young founders behind it?
而這次，我們的故事要從將「他」改為「她」開始。
Leslie Zhang和Lucy Sun，這兩位乍看性格和風格完全背道而馳的女生，卻能憑藉默契和堅持，在男性主導的建築設計界，讓看似遙不可及的夢想化為了現實。
The company is Mi2, and its two founders are Leslie Zhang and Lucy Sun — two individuals whose character and style have always run contrary to conventional norms.
這個關於貫注熱情，追逐夢想的故事叫做《Mi2》，獻給那些還在等待別人為自己創造奇蹟的人，也給那些一直想要了解Mi2的人。
時光倒回至2000年，熱衷時裝設計的Leslie穿著剪裁裙裝、10釐米高跟鞋奔波在Master Builder築博辦公室和各個建築工地；而在美國生活長大的Lucy則剛回國不久，還在努力地平衡iVaxo依維思高和她如出一轍的前衛個性與客戶對傳統建築師事務所的保守預期。
Mi2 was born in Beijing in 2000. At that time, Leslie was running her own integrated fit-out design agency — 「Master Builder」. A keen fashionista, she cuts an unorthodox figure in a strongly male industry, regularly clambering across construction sites wearing designer dresses and stilettos. Lucy, meanwhile, had recently returned to China from the US. On returning to Beijing, she founded 「iVaxo」, an architecture firm, where she faced a constant challenge balancing her own avant-garde design instincts with the often-more conservative expectations of her clients.
幾乎將全部的時間、精力和激情投入工作的年輕女老闆，沒有時間也不會想到，在她每天通宵加班、趕工程進度的繁忙時光裡，樓上，也有同樣一位女生和她一樣，為自己的夢想而努力。
Although they had never met, both ladies were in similar situations: young entrepreneurs working long hours to deliver projects, and therefore lacking the time to chase their own dreams and aspirations. They didn’t know it, but they also worked in the same office building.
或許在無數次擦肩之後，工作機緣讓Leslie和Lucy相識，直到那時，她們才意識到彼此原來早就是鄰居。沒有任何的商業計劃、沒有周密的商業數據分析，兩位個性迥異的女生用一句玩笑話開啟了各自人生的新篇章——取自兩人公司名中的「M」和「i」，她們合體的新公司叫做Mi2，「蜜兔」，就像很多人戲稱的那樣。
The pair were introduced by a mutual client. When they realized that they were young female entrepreneurs with similarly big ambitions, they jokingly suggested that they should go into business. Take the first letter of Leslie’s company, 「Master Builder」, then the first letter of Lucy’s, 「iVaxo」, add in the number of founders, and voila: Mi2 was born.
命運對這兩位極為努力的女性無疑是眷顧的。Mi2的第一個項目就成功斬獲中國網際網路巨頭。在網際網路蓬勃發展期，這一項目的競爭十分激烈，Mi2的出色設計和技術工程規劃細節讓她們最終中標，這讓業界開始對這樣一個有著粉紅色logo的公司產生好奇，而它背後的兩位女性老闆也為Mi2增添了一分神秘色彩。
Neither likely realized on that first day just how serious a business proposition they had entered into. The internet portal pitch was their debut project together, and the competition was fierce. But Leslie and Lucy’s rare combination of skills – precise architectural design; technical planning; high-quality construction; project management; plus delivery – enabled them to win the day.
「建築公司，卻能呈現最優秀的設計；設計師事務所，但能保證最佳的建築品質。」Mi2的客戶這樣評價道。將簡約、創新的空間感與最大化實現地實現功能性結合，Mi2的每一件作品都貫注客戶企業及品牌的個性。
Plenty more happy customers have since joined the list. As an integrated architecture and fit-out company, Mi2 has garnered rave reviews from its clients by combining outstanding, innovative designs with top-quality construction. Its designs manage to achieve a minimalist, innovative sense of spaciousness, while ensuring maximum functionality. At the same time, each and every one of Mi2’s spaces are a clear manifestation of the client’s unique corporate and brand personality.
現在，這兩位女性的夢想版圖已從北京、上海拓展至香港、臺灣、新加坡和馬來西亞。Mi2僅在亞太區域完工的項目已超過1800多個，其客戶包括300多家世界500強企業和零售業品牌，行業種類跨足航空航天、汽車、交通運輸、新型能源、銀行以及房地產開發等不同領域。
Nowadays, Mi2’s presence extends well beyond Beijing and Shanghai. It has delivered more than 1,800 successful projects across the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. It now counts more than 300 companies and retail brands from the Fortune 500 among its clients, spanning sectors ranging from aircraft manufacturers to auto makers, logistics to renewable energy, banks to real-estate developers.
「相比起上市和營業額這些經濟目標，我更希望Mi2能成為一個有影響力的平臺，除了帶給客戶高品質的服務，呈現具有代表性的作品，還能讓來自不同背景，擁有不同風格特點的年輕建築師和設計師們最大限度地發揮、探索自己。」 Leslie這樣說道。
But while running a successful business and hitting financial targets is clearly important to founder Leslie, she hopes that, above all else, Mi2 can continue to make its mark on the design world by becoming a hub for the next generation of talent. Or as Leslie puts it: 「As well as delivering first-class projects and high-quality service, we also want to be a platform for young architects and designers, from a range of backgrounds, and with different styles, to express and explore themselves creatively.」
16年過去了，Mi2的故事還在續寫，而開始於這裡每一個筆觸，都將構築未來的經典。
故事未完待續， Mi2總裁Desmond Tan，其優秀的專業背景以及豐富的項目管理經驗讓Mi2實現了多元發展，並在亞洲迅速擴張。他將於下周在另一個維度，向你繼續講述Mi2這個夢想故事。
Sixteen years on from their first meeting, Leslie and Lucy continue to drive Mi2 forward. And, in order to further develop the business, they have brought in a new Group Managing Director: Desmond Tan, a Singaporean with a wealth of project-management experience. With Desmond on board, Mi2 is confident that it can continue its rapid expansion into south-east Asia, as well as enlarging its project management capacity and expertise. Desmond will outline the next chapter of Mi2’s remarkable story in the coming weeks.
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