This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with He Jiabin, 35, the CEO of Ropeta, a Beijing-based robotics startup. His words have been translated and edited for length and clarity. When it comes to decisions, I follow my instincts. I grew up in Zhuzhou, Hunan, in central China. At 17, I left home to study product design at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, where I started researching wearable hardware . In my third year, I interned at Microsoft Research Asia, where I helped