Founder Profile: Lucy Xu

An Inside Look at the Port

Lucy Xu grew up as a first-generation Chinese American in the suburbs of Detroit, so she understood early on how two cultures come together. After graduating from Wharton with a B.S. in Economics, Marketing & Management, she worked in Athens at an early-stage edtech startup. She immersed herself in the local startup ecosystem and identified an emerging tech market with unlimited potential. She realized there was an opportunity to equip Greek founders with the best practices from abroad to help them successfully globalize and scale.

Lucy’s initial hypothesis, that building a bridge between Greek and international markets would allow Greek companies to realize their full potential, became the impetus for founding The Port.

Today, The Port is an International Marketing and Business Consultancy (IMBC) doing just that. Having achieved success in Greece — proving that emerging tech markets on the national scale benefit from internationally focused marketing and business best-practices — The Port has set course for similar ecosystems, with the goal of providing international expertise to emerging tech markets across the globe.

Tell us a bit about your company

The Port is an International Marketing and Business Consultancy providing expertise to startups and businesses in emerging tech markets across the globe.

What inspired you to start your business / what opportunity in the market are you seeking to address?

“The Port was founded by Lucy Xu, after a trip to Greece in 2016 inspired her to do more than just sight-see. What she identified during her stay was an emerging tech market with unlimited potential. Bringing the skills she honed in NYC, Lucy moved to Athens with the goal of equipping Greek founders with the best practices from abroad to help them successfully globalize and scale in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Lucy’s initial hypothesis, that building a bridge between Greek and international markets would allow Greek companies to realize their full potential, became the impetus for founding The Port. Today, The Port is an International Marketing and Business Consultancy (IMBC) doing just that. Having achieved success in Greece — proving that emerging tech markets on the national scale benefit from internationally focused marketing and business best-practices — The Port has set course for similar ecosystems, with the goal of providing international expertise to emerging tech markets across the globe.”

How can the WAFFA community help you?

The network has already been invaluable in our success. We’ve found one of our advisors through the community, and we’ve also had the privilege of hosting an event together (Roundtable starting a business in a new environment). Look forward to continuing to partner together on events, contributing to the community, and connecting with other like-minded founders/funders!

What advice would you give to aspiring student entrepreneurs?

Earlier this year, Lucy was profiled in Wharton Magazine by Taylor Durham, Director of Marketing & Digital Studios at the University of Pennsylvania’s Venture Lab, and answered this question as follows.

The one piece of advice I’d give is to forget the “shoulds.” They all come from people who are not you, who don’t have your same background, experiences, or vision — and, therefore, cannot understand that for you, your dream perhaps is your “should.” Don’t get me wrong, it is definitely important to be grateful for all the frameworks and goals that your parents, educational institutions, professors, managers, and mentors help set, but they don’t need to determine your course.

So, if you know in your heart of hearts what you want, go after it, trust the process, and I promise that the adventure, experience, and growth will be invaluable beyond what words can explain.

More, More, More!

Learn more about The Port here.

Did you know that the origin of the idea of innovation was born in Ancient Greece? Check out Luxy Xu’s TedX Talk.

Read more about Luxy Xu in Wharton Magazine, 2/11/21, “Scaling Startups in Emerging Tech Markets” by Taylor Durham