Chinese tech founder pivots to live streaming to repay his mountain of debt

The life of Chinese tech entrepreneur Luo Yonghao seems like a series of misadventures. After founding popular smartphone brand Smartisan, Luo fell on hard times last year. His situation became dire enough that he landed on China’s notorious debtor blacklist that banned him from planes and high-speed trains.

But after seemingly unsuccessful ventures into vaping and something called “shark skin” technology, the phoenix is rising from the ashes again. Luo announced through his Weibo account on Thursday that he’s moving into ecommerce through live streaming and is looking for partners who want to promote their products.

“Although I am not fit to sell lipstick, I believe that I can be a great seller for many products,” Luo said, signaling his desire to achieve the stardom of male beauty vlogger Austin Li, who’s known for his viral lipstick-selling skills.